“Our house it has a crowd, There's always something happening, And it's usually quite loud” - Madness
Part of the benefits package we get for my employment includes housing. They do not own housing, but rather provide housing in the community. It is a nice benefit and was one of the reasons we decided to re-locate here in the UAE for this adventure. We had heard lots of mixed information about the type of housing provided and what to expect, but it all seemed a little vague. We were curious to see what it was like and after a few nights in the hotel (even though it was nice) we were anxious to start settling in. It took a while, but we finally were driven to a suburb of Dubai called Mirdif to see our housing. We got a short tour, and then were asked if it was suitable. Funny that they asked…. We had already been informed that we didn’t really have a choice and if we were not happy with it, there was not an alternative.
Well, the housing had some pros and some cons. Fortunately, we spent most of the last 10 years in a studio apartment in Hawaii, so it wasn’t too difficult to get our “approval.”
The good:
- Plenty of space – 3 bedrooms
- A private backyard-area that is enclosed… we’ll have to wait a while until the weather cools
- Private parking
- A relatively short commute to work – Around 20 minutes while others may have an hour or more
- Various convenient shopping options within 5-10 minutes
- A swimming pool (see the bad)
The bad:
- DIRTY… Yvonne was not happy
- Noisy – Right in the Dubai Airport’s flight path
- No fridge, stove, …. Appliances at all
- Strange water system – You have to turn on the bathroom sink for a second before you can flush the toilet… then, the toilet leaks a little.
- The swimming pool is small. And, it is shared with the 3 neighbors (I know, picky picky ;)
- Small kitchen
All in all, it is very livable (once we actually get appliances, furniture, beds, etc), but it will take some work. I’m sure the blog readers really are mostly just interested in what it looks like. So, here are some photos:
There are some things to get used to. It is 100% tile. With no furniture and 3 little kids that love to run around and explore… and yell while doing so, it is LOUD. Talk about Echo and the Bunnymen ;). The jets flying over every 5 minutes don’t help, but I’m sure once we get some furnishings and rugs we’ll get used to things.
Another interesting thing, they don’t really have addresses here. Yes, that doesn’t make sense, and is very confusing. I asked the housing rep that showed us our place what the address was and he just said “Villa 3”…. Huh? Are you serious? I guess he was. Apparently, you basically have to give directions (not addresses) for everything. No one has mail delivered to their house, and yes, it is kind of a pain. Interesting.
I hate moving into a place that is dirty and feels like a massive spring clean is needed before you can put anything anywhere. Then it takes days and days before you feel like ok it's at least sanitary.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe no anything in the place for you guys. Man-o-man. What types of foods have you been eating since you go there with those type of facilities? pots, pans. Thank goodness it has cupboards.
Will they be providing a car or will you be getting one?
Sharole