I'm moving to Abu Dhabi ....

Head over the the Cheesecake Factory talk to James Howard. I worked with him while he was at the Utah store. It's their first international store he should still be there in September. PM me if you do decide and I will drop him a line

 

Derek,

I'm in Kuwait, and my wife and I sometimes 'vacation' (for a weekend) in Bahrain, but haven't been to Dubai or Abu Dhabi for at least five years.

Everyone I know that knows says that Abu Dhabi is a much better place to live in than Dubai: Less traffic, relatively cheaper housing, etc.

What will you be doing there? PM if you'd prefer.

Mike

 

Hahaha... I'm not sure the extra fifty miles or so would even be a blip on the radar screen.

Seriously thought... things may have turned around over the last five years, and the prices of rentals in Dubai dropped, and with stability the rents stayed the same or even gone up in Abu Dhabi...

Interesting.

Make sure your wife has the chance to ask about traffic noise in each location... the Corniche may be noisy...

Mike

 

Derrick,
Let me know if you are hiring .. Lol


Enjoy Abu Dhabi, I prefer it to Dubai

 

Rent is higher in Abu Dhabi compared to Dubai, the traffic is heavier and parking is a nightmare in the city too.
Eventhough Dubai rental prices have gone up slightly this year, it is still cheaper than Abu Dhabi. That is why there are people that choose to live in Dubai and commute everyday the 70 or so miles each way from the Dubai border to AD but they usually fall in the lower income bracket and cannot afford the AD rental prices.

I suggest that you do not even think of commuting as it's extremely boring and tiering and will end up costing more once you filter in the cost of fuel and car maintenance.
If you are going to be a one car household I would suggest a Japanese 4x4 like a Toyota or Nissan these things were built for the climate here with fantastic reliability and AC systems.

If you have any questions regarding life in the UAE feel free to shoot me a pm.

Regards,

 

I have lived in the UAE for almost 8 years, one of them (2011) spent living in AD. There is a reason most people would rather commute 220 km round trip each day from Dubai.

 

I love UAE. My father used to work 10 years there.
I ve never been to Abu Dhabi though. I think you are allowed to register one car per person. Mind the radars. They used to give you a 50$ fine regardless your speed. Now they may confiscate your car. I hope traffic jam is less in Abu Dhabi because Dubai is a true nightmare.
Im not sure how exotics would behave under 45 degrees Celcious. Most people there buy Toyotas, especially Land Cruisers and everything is 4wd. There are many muscle cars also like Challengers and Mustangs, CLS,s, Panameras etc. Last time i was there i saw an Mc Laren MP4. Nice.

 

I'm also in finance in AD & although I commute from Dubai I would not recommend it. I have a joint family situation which I'd like to keep so moving to AD is not ideal for me. Also there is more to do / social life in Dubai so I would like the wife & kids to enjoy that and I can sacrifice a bit by commuting.

In terms of what to drive there should ideally be a separate car for the commute (if you choose to commute) with limited / predictable depreciation for high usage and should therefore be pre-owned, something within the Toyota/ Lexus family.

Besides the commute car, there is a wide variety available. Having bought several cars over the years I would be glad to advice which dealerships to avoid or the required dd in case of pre-owned. Just PM me if you have any specific query.

There is a common terminology here with regards to cars. Customers and dealerships frequently say "full options". However "full options" can mean different things so ask for a conplete list of options to compare. AD dealerships generally are more friendly & negotiable. Dubai dealerships sometimes appear to be more expensive as their "full options" cars can have more equipment. For instance, when considering a Porsche grade where Bose is not standard, you'll hardly see a AD sold Porsche with optional Bose but you'll hardly see a Dubai sold Porsche without the optional Bose.

 

You can have as many cars as you like under your name.. i live in dubai and have 4.. cars do get locked up if you are exceeding speed limits by more than 60km/h, and even then you can avoid the lockup by paying a legal $1000 penalty.. fines under 60km excess speeding is around $200..
And mate, this is the home of exotic cars.. there are many many many... probably some of the best performing showrooms of various exotics in the world... porsche has confirmed its dubai showroom to be the highest turnover..
Usually best to have a 4WD + a sports car..

Weather is perfect for 7 months, bad for 2, and horrible for the remainig 3... All cars including exotics sold here are GCC spec so can handle the heat... i wouldnt recommend importing a euro spec car here

 

So can you register more than one car on your name in Abu Dhabi?

 

Yes. I had several. (Now am back in Dubai).

Your car is registered where you live. Normally that is where your residency visa is issued from, but you can have an AD visa and live in Dubai. You can register the car in Dubai, just be prepared to prove you live there with a copy of your lease, utility and phone bills, etc.

It is a pain, because you need to do it for every car you buy and refister. If you are a car person you will eventually own a bunch (we have 5) as collecting is infectious.

You also will have to perform annual registration renewals. A bit of a hassle, but not that bad.

 

I now live in Dubai, I'm a GCC member so things might be different with me (us).

I used to live in Sweden, Saudi Arabia and now Dubai. Drive my super car everyday to work. If there is one thing I know about Dubai is this "it rocks"

Drop me a PM if you need any help.

 

Since you probably knew the big price difference, howcome you didnt sell your cars is Singapore so you can buy others in Dubai for much less?

 

How often you relocate?
Also domestic used car market there may be a bit restrictive on sports cars, since local people there prefer mostly SUV's and luxury sedans. However i think importing a car is subjected to mild taxation and restrictions so this is an option