Villa Living

Dream House..

There’s so many options when it comes to making a home in Dubai. But the two main choices faced by ex-pats are:  apartment or villa?

I’ve always chosen the apartment route. I liked the brand-spanking glamour of Downtown…the locations, the views, my lovely family were all nearby. 

Occasionally I would visit friends in their villas and hanker after their gardens…their space…their WARDROBES!!! If asked about my ultimate dream home I would think about a white Malibu bungalow close to the beach, with palm trees whispering outside and a lush green garden.

But overall, I loved apartment living and was filled with joy every time I came home after a tough day at work or trip overseas.

And then I stumbled across what I thought existed only in my dreams….a white Malibu beach bungalow…newly renovated with new kitchen, new bathrooms, huge garden and pool. Only this wasn’t in Malibu. It was in Dubai. Satwa, to be exact. 

When the Universe throws your dream home into your direct path, you’d be a fool to ignore it.

Which means that I’m now firmly ensconced in a villa. I won’t dwell on the stresses and strains (finding one year’s rent in advance, utility bills quadrupled, no delivery driver can find the place) and instead I’ll just mention the joys.

The joy of opening my own front gate when I come home and walking into my own walled, private garden. 

The joy of sitting on the (front or back) terrace and looking at the beautiful skyline of Sheikh Zayed Road. 

The joy of feeling grass between my toes as I stroll all around the house with an Amaretto Sour.

The joy of hearing one of the (many) mosques ring out as the sun sets and rises.

The joy of living strolling distance from Rydge's Plaza and Ravi’s, making the Saturday night ritual just that bit sweeter.

And of course, the joy of wardrobe space. Oh, so much wardrobe space. My clothes sparkle out at me, colour co-ordinated jewels that quite often, I’d forgotten that I owned.

It’s safe to say, villa living is very, very good.

Home Sweet Home

Any of these downthe back of the sofa?

There are some funny anomalies in Dubai: one of the most modern, forward thinking cities in the world, boasting the world’s tallest, biggest, best, first, la la la.  It’s also a place with no postal system, hideous driving and one of the most antiquated rental systems I have ever heard of. 

I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: we pay our rent up front.  Worst case scenario, one year up front, best case scenario, three months up front (post-dated cheques, handed over when you sign your contract.) 

Non-Dubai dwellers stare at me incredulously when I explain this – it is true, honest.  There are some (lucky) ex-pats whose rent is paid by their employer – in which case – not so much of an issue. But if you’re forking out for this yourself, you find yourself in a monthly game of ‘don’t forget to save your rent money instead of spending it on wine’ so that you always have funds available. 

So how much cash are we talking here? Let’s just say you’re looking for a 3 bedroom villa on a modest (for Dubai) budget. IF you had to pay your rent in one lump, plus your rental agent fee (5% of total annual rent) plus your deposit (5% of annual rent), you’d be looking at……drum roll……30, 000 GBP. And this is, trust me, a modest budget. There will be people out there paying far, far more.

Never mind how you find that kind of moulah, there’s also the issue of: what if I want to move, how do I get the money back that I’ve paid? How do I have any kind of leverage if anything goes wrong with the property? More landlords are realizing that people just don’t have the funds to pay in one cheque any more (and why should they?)but not enough, in my opinion. Dubai, catch up with the rest of the world, please?