Western groups to jon to make friends

Hello EmmaUK.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope you'll soon get answers to your questions.

Concerning the accommodation, you can post an advert in the Housing in Abu Dhabi section. It may help.

Thank you,
Aurélie

HI!

A lot of western expat here in AD, I think Abudhabi is better in Dubai.,try Accomodation in AD.gudluck!

EmmaUK wrote:

I am currently been considered for a role in AD and live in the UK so would be relocating as a single, western female.
I would appreciate if anyone can help me with the below queries

I know Dubai very well and like their social scene, is there a good social scene in AD ?

Would it be pratical to communte from Dubai to AD or would it make sense to be based in AD ?

Is there any groups you can join to meet expats in the AD as I would like to meet people and gain a nice circle of friends.

Is it easy to find shared accomodation with expats ? can you recommend any website links.

If you want to rent a apartment on your own do you have to pay a years rent upfront ?

Would you recommend AD for a western , single female in her 30s ?


Any help would be appreciated.

Kind Regards and thank you for your help.

I've been living in Dubai for 2 years, before that 3 years in Abu Dhabi... ever since I moved to Dubai... I have rarely visited Abu Dhabi, and everything changes so fast in UAE... so keep in mind, my info is probably a bit outdated...

EmmaUK wrote:

I know Dubai very well and like their social scene, is there a good social scene in AD ?

In general, Abu Dhabi is following in Dubai's footsteps in every aspect of life... Demographically, Abu Dhabi would have more Asian & Arab percentage, less European percentage than what Dubai has, so probably the social scene is less western-like...

EmmaUK wrote:

Would it be pratical to communte from Dubai to AD or would it make sense to be based in AD ?

That would be exhausting... depending on where in Dubai you choose to live and where in Abu Dhabi you would be working, this could range from 1 to 1.5 hours drive... x 2 ... with 9 - 10 hours of work everyday... you will have no time to enjoy your weekdays anyway... so I think you should live in Abu Dhabi... and if Abu Dhabi doesn't seem to be entertaining enough, then come to Dubai for the weekend.

EmmaUK wrote:

Is there any groups you can join to meet expats in the AD as I would like to meet people and gain a nice circle of friends.

Yes, check meetup.com , lots of groups are there, I haven't tried to join any activity... so not sure how that would turn out to be.

EmmaUK wrote:

Is it easy to find shared accomodation with expats ? can you recommend any website links.

yes, dubizzle.com, but be careful... real Estate agents here are untrustworthy (at least my experience)... I think you should try to get your own studio though... its not too expensive (compared to the average income and of course depending on the location ).

EmmaUK wrote:

If you want to rent a apartment on your own do you have to pay a years rent upfront ?

No, you can pay it with 4 checks... even some do agree to 6 checks... will probably be more like 10% more expensive than paying all the amount at once.

EmmaUK wrote:

Would you recommend AD for a western , single female in her 30s ?

Yes, UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) are way ahead of the rest of the Gulf Region... I think you would like it here. (I still hear my European colleagues complain about life here... but I think its good )


Goodluck

Yeah, You'll love it get yourself across