Anyone in Dubai?

[MacaYoniandCheese]

We're moving in March and living out of suitcases for a few months and I've no idea what to pack! Most of our clothes, coats etc are getting packed and shipped at the end of this month and we'll be staying in a furnished suite here in Canada before we go and on the other side until we find a villa. It's absolutely freezing here so will have to pack Canada winter stuff AND Dubai clothes in a couple of suitcases! What kind of temperature will it be then? We'll be going to visit schools, looking at houses etc. HELP!

We went on holiday there in May and it was in the high 30's...In march I think its about 28ish. My husband works there a lot so am used to hearing how hot it is.

If it helps there are literally Malls everywhere with normal clothes shops on...not all high end designer so you could pick up summer clothes really easily if you don't want to take loads with you.

March is generally the last month of pleasant warmth before the heat begins to crank up

Thing is, no matter how hot it gets in Dubai, you'll be inside with air con (on to the max!) most of the time, so actually, I'd advise layers. Cardigans, light jumpers - and hats scarves and gloves for the cinemas which for some reason are like being in the arctic!

In the evenings when it's not June/July/aug/sep you can generally sit outside in the evenings and it's very very pleasant warmth- dry heat- so no layers required

Bear in mind when in malls, public places etc, although not "insisted" you may get strange looks if you walk around in skimpy shorts and vest tops, especially if you're going to be a resident, so therefore should know better. Keep a pashmina in your bag for quick covering ups if you need to

You can't walk anywhere in dxb, so wearing heels all day isn't a problem

Have an amazing time. If you need friends out there / advice, there is an expat forum on MN that could help

V jealous. I moved back from Dubai a few years ago and miss it terribly. Send the sandpit my love!

Me!
At the moment it is cold!! (well cold for Dubai) I am currently wearing jeans, long sleeved top a woollen poncho and ugg boots ;-) and this is inside our villa!

The weather in March will be nice ( can range from mid 20s to mid 30s )so short sleeved tops and jeans will be fine, but it is normally a month when it can rain quite a bit so a light weight rain jacket can come in useful and a closed toe pair of shoes ( I live in havaianas 99% of the time)

In summer it does get very hot 45+ but I still live in jeans as everywhere has the air con set to freeze so cardigans, wraps and fleeces are still needed (cinemas are so cold it is actually unbelievable!)

Stock up on clothes before you leave because shopping in Dubai is terrible :-( It is mainly over priced rubbish about 3 seasons behind. Open a shop and ship account as this is the best way to shop.

Childrens clothes are especially expensive so ship loads over, you mentioned schools.....how old are your children as school places can be a nightmare...........

If you have anymore questions just ask :-)

Brilliant! Thanks so much for your replies! I hadn't thought about the air conditioning . Glad to know that jeans will be OK...I'm not a big fan of shorts anyway so that's good news.

Thanks also for the heads up about children's clothes...they all need new summery things so I'll try to pick up a few things here for them before we go.

50degrees Oh God...the schools. That has basically been my full-time job the last few months . The kids have been writing assessments here at their Canadian school. DD has a place at the huge British-curriculum prep school that begins with an 'R' but the boys did not pass the test so we've got to find them places when we arrive! There's a new Gems school in Al Khail that has spots, so we're going to have the boys sit that test in Dubai rather than have them do any more in Canada. This is all new territory for me...here, you just sign-up at your local state school and walk in with your books the next day! No tests, no waiting list, no exorbitant school fees.

It's a long time since I lived in Dubai - I've been back a few times since on holiday and it changes each time I go!

DD1 used to go to JCPS (Jumeirah College Primary Section) and was one of eight children in her class. This was 12 years ago now and the population has since exploded, so I imagine it's a bit different now. We had no entrance exams, just enrolled, bought the exorbitantly priced uniform and away she went. We worked for the ruling family, so all fees etc were taken care of - oh how lucky we were!

I'd echo pretty much what the other Dubai residents have said. There is little you can't get when there, so I wouldn't stress too much about what to bring. March is a lovely time of year, but it gets hot quickly - by early April expect mid-30s and escalating rapidly, although it is a dry heat, so not too debilitating (except high summer, although I was always back in Europe by then). It's certainly an experience especially driving - I hope you enjoy it!

Just something to bear in mind is the distance between schools, as the traffic in Dubai can be bad. Have you tried Gems Silicon Oasis? as this is much closer to repton. I drove Past the new Al Khail one today and it is still under construction so not sure when it will finally open.......
Schools out here is the biggest money making scheme going :-(

Thanks Grumpy. A class of eight! Wow...I can't imagine.

Does everyone really disappear during the summer then? We're thinking that I'll bring the kids back to Canada and/or the UK for a few weeks in July or August. I've heard that it's too hot to even go to the beach or pool during the day during those months .

50 the Al Khail school is using the facilities of the school next door at the moment...I wondered about the driving; it's hard to get a sense of that (and the traffic!) just from looking at maps. We looked at the Gems Wellington school in Silicon Oasis but they only had space available for one of the boys, unfortunately. That was back in October though, so possibly things have changed. We may think about sending DD on the school bus to Repton as she'll be in Year 7 so can probably manage that.