My Dubai Rent: Writer swapped swanky Downtown for charming Old Dubai - and hasn’t looked back

Heather Clayton pays Dh57,000 for a one-bedroom apartment in Al Hudaiba

American Heather Clayton rents a one-bedroom apartment in Al Hudaiba, Dubai. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

The living room area.

The kitchen in the apartment.

The living room and dining area.

The balcony at the apartment.

The bathroom.

The swimming pool in the building.

The courtyard at the property.

The local mosque in Al Hudaiba, Dubai.

A local supermarket.

The building that Heather Clayton calls home in Dubai.

My Dubai Rent takes you inside a reader’s home to have a look at what they get for their money, how much they pay in rent and asks them what they like and don’t like

Escalating rents forced Heather Clayton to move from her home in Dubai's Downtown almost two years ago.

However, she has not looked back since moving into her one-bedroom apartment in the city's Al Hudaiba area, near Satwa, where the teacher/writer pays Dh57,000 a year in rent.

She invited The National into her home to show us exactly what makes it so special to her.

Why did you choose to live here?

I live here because, a couple of years ago, I was moving out of Downtown because of the soaring rent prices and needed a place I could afford.

I was looking all over and I stumbled upon this building in an area I'd never visited before. I liked the space and I just had good vibes when I came to check it out.

What do you get for your money?

I feel like it's got a lot of space. There's enough space for a dining table. To have a place where I can have friends over was important.

It has an outdoor balcony where I can go to get fresh air. People tend to stay in this building for a very long time, and I think that's very reassuring, especially in such a transient place [Dubai].

Our maintenance guy has been here for 22 years. Everyone in the building is like his family now. There's a real community feel. It's nice to see a familiar face when you're going to your apartment or have people who actually say hi to you. I didn't get much of that in other buildings I lived in.

Is there much around where you live?

There's tonnes of restaurants here. There's a cafeteria behind my apartment where I can get a Dh5 falafel from when the paycheck's thin. There is definitely a variety, as there's a Korean chicken place, there's pizza and there's a barbecue place, too.

What touches have you made to the apartment to make it feel like home?

I've definitely decorated. I come from the US in the south, and us southern women tend to put a lot of decorations out. I have my art that I've collected from my time in the UAE.

I have my own photography that I've done. I've got pictures from the US that I bought while shopping with my mom. She's never been here, but it's like she's here because there are so many things that I've brought from the US.

Is there anything you would change about where you live?

I would say the main disadvantage is that it's an old building, so it doesn't have the shine or sheen of a new building. There are two things that I would change. One is the tub. It's a very small tub. I would like a nice soaking tub. The other is our parking situation, in that there is one parking spot for each unit, but it's not assigned. So if I get here at a certain time, I'm left with that parking space that no one wants.