Dubai - quick help needed please!

[biffytutu]

So DH is entering 'discussions' this week about relocating to Dubai... To narrow down endless Googling, could those who are there/have lived there recently please advise me about the areas we should be considering for living. Also schools for primary and preschool age children. I'm aware there are waiting lists but in an ideal world, where would you live/send your children to school?

We know nothing and need names and locations to help in financial negotiations. Plus we should start contacting schools...

I'm also going to start a thread about relocation experts. Any recommendations there?

Many thanks. It's much appreciated.

We pay 15000 dirhams per year ( per child) for an international school (one of the six outstanding)

Where would your dh be working .. That makes a BIG difference

Btw ..sitting outside by the pool still in a swimsuit drinking wine... It's not too shabby

Thanks for your reply.

The office looks central (to me, on Google maps!) - Oud Metha.

The school fees are part of the package so I think it's down to our preference. If we could get the office, accommodation and school all pretty close to each other, that would be the ideal scenario. Which are the outstanding schools?

Oud Metha is nearish the airport in the old (Creek) part of Dubai. In terms of your DH being close to work, that slightly rules out the new residential areas of Dubai- Springs, Meadows, Marina etc for living as that is quite a commute, but people do it. Old Town (by Dubai Mall) is nice if you don't mind an apartment. Jumeriah, Al Safa etc would also be nearish. Mirdif used to be quite popular with airline families. Not sure if it still is.

However, I would say live near the school over live near your DH's work as you have to do the school run 4x a day, whereas he only has to do the commute twice

Labootin do you mean 15000dhs per term? Our fees were just under 40000dhs per year also for an outstanding school but British
Ciriculum . Working and living near our metha the nearest British school is Dess which has a very good reputation. Also wellington primary would be close We lived in jumeirah which is a very popular area with expats but not sure what the commute would be like to oud metha maybe look at jumeirah 1 as oppose to jumeirah 3 which would be further away. Also bear in mind there is huge demand for the lower years for school places you may not have a choice of school it may just be what is available

Doh that'll teach me to drink and mums net .. Sorry It's just over 32000 per year, British curriculum in Jumeriah. Have just paid 15000 for the term for my two that's where that came from.

Definitely you choose where you live rather than worry about dh commute.

Google kdha to get the school version of ofsted reports

School waiting lists aren't as bad as they were but agree on the younger years Being stressful and some schools will happily charge you 500 aed to put you on the waiting list with no actual chance of ever offering a place.

Most schools are also selective ( ie your dc will have to take a entrance test)

I'm in al safa which is in Jumeriah
Look at expatwoman that has a good guide to Dubai ( they are a evil nest of vipers though

gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/khda-names-six-outstanding-schools-in-dubai-1.805342

Is the newspaper link for outstanding schools and it has a link to the kdha website as well

Be wary of the 'Outstanding' label. This basically means that the school has conformed to the Ministry's requirements to the letter, it does not necessarily mean that it is a good school.

If your dh is going to work in Oud Metha, traffic can be a bit meh round there. Personally if your allowance is unto it I would live in Jumeriah. We currently live in umm Suqeim and it does only take 20 mins to get to our Metha but.....traffic is a nightmare. Much nice over on the beach side near Jumeriah than mirdiff, although mirdiff is cheaper.

Regarding schools do check if dh company will pay preschool fees, most companies don't and the costs are the same as school fees. There is loads of anti gems feeling (gems is an education company) having said that ds and I are more than happy with his outstanding school.

If you lived in Jumeriah 3, dh could easily get to work, schools could include, dess, jess, wis, star, Jps, safa, and horizon. Also kings at a push. Lots of good nurseries. Get the school then the house then the nursery.

Make sure package includes, good health ins, school fees, shipping plus ins (usually the same cost about as the container), housing allowance, you need a look see trip as well if poss.

Take a peek at expatwoman and also dubizzle so you can get an idea of how much property costs. Ignore the pics most are stock and bear no relation to the real villa. Also FYI most agents are dreadful and will not entertain you until you ar actually ready to move. Most peoples co put them in a serviced apartment for 1 month whilst they decide where to live and get everything sorted.

Yes it's tax free but it can be very expensive, so do your sums carefully. Having said that we've been here more than 5 years save a fair bit and have a good time and get to travel a lot.

Thank you for your replies.

Already feeling a bit phased by the waiting lists and the idea of applying (proof of resident's visa in the passport before sending in the application form?). I have children in Y1 (which looks like a sticking point), Y4 and Y6 as well as one in the year before Reception. One of the DC is severely dyslexic - would we be able to find specialist help for him?

I've had a look at expatwoman and dubizzle but as we are 6 in number, we need a fairly big place to live. I've no idea on the websites whether I'm looking at Hampstead or Peckham, and what is 'reasonable'. I've run the prices through xe.com so I know what the prices are in pounds but not what would be acceptable/what we should expect from the housing allowance. Could anyone help there please?

Well firstly, do you want a villa, or would you be happy with an apartment?
How many bedrooms do you want/need? If villa, do you want own pool?

If you want 6 beds (one per child and a spare) that makes it quite easy as there arent that many of them around. If you can double them up and only need 4 beds, that gives you more choice.

It's hard to know what is reasonable in terms of package without knowing what your DH does (i.e. it might be reasonable for the employer to foot the bill for a 6 bed with pool in Emirates Hills if he's going to be "Head of Middle east" for a bulge bracket bank, but not if he's going to be a teacher in an international school IYSWIM)

Previous poster are right, get school sorted first. Some still have places, horizon and star international for instance. They are in jumeriah, however where you children go to school will drive your residence. Schools are used to people coming from uk and not having a visa yet, so usually you sort it on arrival. As long as you talk to admissions, secure a place and your husbands comPany can go and pay the fee for you. makes sense to get a hotel apartment or something for one month on arrival so you can look at villas. When do you arrive? Schools start later than uk and to arrive in the extreme heat of summer and Ramadan will tax you all. Plus most people are simply not there - most uk expats with kids leave for the summer , so you might want to factor that in each summer from mid June til around 10 sept and where you will go. Some people stay but it's quite rare. You should concentrate on schools and then worry about a house when you arrive, never just do it on the Internet. Is you husband going out before you??

Ok, school stuff first. Dont worry about residency visa the school will know you are coming from abroad and that you wont have this till your husband starts, he gets sponsored and then you get sponsored with the kids. schools are used to this and it can be a few months before you get all the docs to gether.

School assesments, little children, its just sitting in with the others and making sure they are socially enabled. Older kids will probably have to do a test (really for most schools its just to see their English is at the right level, which will be fine for native English speakers), this can be administered at your current school who may or may not charge and goes in conjunction with the last 2 years reports. And usually head teacher reference. The KHDA annouced their result of the inspections today, more schools got outstanding than ever, however it is a bone of contention because they can then increase fees upto 6%. This has peoples varied opinions and a link to the KHDA. www.expatwoman.com/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=179546

You really must check the schooling allowance as costs rise to 75k pa for 6th form in the top schools. Some schools offere sibling discount but nothing that would make a huge inmpact. I meant to say that there seems to be quite a bit of movement with people leaving, so hold your nerve, be very kind and friendly to ALL administrators and registrars. Schools would love 4 kids rather than 1, so you could be lucky. Otherwise you'll be all over the show at different schools, people do it and its hard, but lots of people move schools whe a place comes at their prefered school.

Ok villas. hmm I have a seen a 6 bed apartment but not in an area or building I would be happy to recomend. So that means villas. 6 bed villas are not impossible to find but .......... in the older parts of town Jumeriah, Umm Suqeim, Mirdiff lots of villas are stand alone and so there is no way of knowing what will be available when you need it. Other areas like Lakes, Meadows, Arabian Ranches, (springs villas are too small for you 3 bed max with study) vv small IMHO. have floor plans so you can see what you are getting. Bear in mind older villas quite often have a naff kitchen and can be a deal breaker (in my case with just one child) because it was too small and dark and not possible to have a table. Its not always the case just something to bear in mind. If it was me showing you I would proably include a couple of compounds that include gym pool etc, lots of other kids. REally though you need to know what the company are going to offer before we can really help. And work out if you are prepared to add to your allowance to live in a place you want to not what you can afford by the company. After it is about quality of life as well as saving.

Phew, ask more if you need to ;-)

Regarding the age and the fact that one of your children has dyslexia. Here is what I would do . The best schools for dyslexia in my opinion are either JPS, English College and Wellington international I think either Horizon or Safa use the lexicon centre which is a specialist dyslexic and learning centre as an in house support in which case they may be good as well.
There may be others which I am not aware of as a lot of new schools are just building up these depts but ask the question as a lot of schools talk the talk but don't deliver. Another thing to consider is your year 6 child will be heading to secondary in a year. Dubai does not have catchment areas but certain schools have their own secondary school on site with automatic feeder. Ideally choose a school with an automatic feed. Unless you have an exceptionally bright child in which case you can apply to Dubai College for secondary .otherwise you may finding yourself scrambling around for a good secondary school next year as well I personally would consider sending my children to different schools in the short term if I could accommodate either of these needs. Especially as year 1 and FS1 are two of the most over subscribed years. Once you have a child in a school you automatically go to the top of the waiting list for siblings so hopefully it wouldn't be for long and most schools have school buses which would help with the logistics of dropping off

Thank you so much for your replies. They are really helpful and I'm running off and checking out your recommendations in between work and the school run...

The school is so much harder than I (naively) imagined. They are all at the same school here (with feeder preschool) so the idea of them being at different ones is not great.

Negotiations have started though, so I'm going to have to keep a lower profile. But I really do appreciate you taking the time to help.

They are all at the same school here (with feeder preschool) so the idea of them being at different ones is not great.

All schools have school buses. You need to be careful as safety standards here aren't great. But at my DS's school for example, they have helpers who ensure that the children are well-behaved and wearing their seat belts. They have photographs of the people allowed to meet your child from the bus, and if you are not there, they will take the child back to school. Also, the helpers and driver are always contactable by mobile phone.