My Dubai Rent: Marketing professional relishes living in 'hidden gem' for Dh74,000

Filipina Cristille Cruz Cabral rents in Liwan Oasis after 10 years in the UAE

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  Cristille Cruz Cabral and her husband Raymond rent a two-bedroom apartment in Dubai's Liwan Oasis area. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  The living room of the property, which costs Dh74,000 to rent

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  The kitchen. The family, which includes three children, moved to Dubai in 2022, having lived in Abu Dhabi for six years

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  The dining area. The interiors are is inspired by Japandi style, a mixture of Scandinavian and Japanese design

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  The master bedroom of the 78.2 square metre home, which also has a small balcony

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  All buildings in the area are low-rise, with a maximum of five or six floors

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  The apartment overlooks a park with a running track and basketball court

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  The basketball court in Liwan Oasis, an area Ms Cabral calls a 'hidden gem' in Dubai

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  The local park. Silicon Central Mall and hypermarkets are nearby

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  There is a variety of restaurants and shops in the area

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Filipina Cristille Cruz Cabral recently moved to an area of Dubai she describes as a “hidden gem”, which also saves her family some rental outlay.

The 36-year-old mother of three, who works in marketing, has lived in the UAE for 10 years. She and her husband Raymond, 37, who is the chief executive of their fledgling business, decided they needed quality space and economical rent. Their children are aged eight, four and three.

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They took an apartment in Liwan Oasis, in the Dubai suburbs, in July. She gave The National a look around.

Please tell us about your home

We recently moved to Liwan 2, Liwan Oasis, having spent three beautiful years in Town Square, Al Qudra.

It is a 78.2 square-metre, two-bedroom apartment with two toilets and bathrooms, plus a small balcony. It costs us Dh74,000 to rent.

Why did you choose this place?

Liwan Oasis is a hidden gem in the middle of Dubailand, seven minutes away from Global Village and 20 to 25 minutes away from either the north or south of Dubai.

All of the buildings are low-rise with a maximum of five or six floors.

Since we moved to Liwan, we've also decided to establish our first physical office at Misa Business Centre, in Wavez by Danube, which is five minutes away from home.

Our house is right across from a public park, which has a sand playground, greenery, a picnic area, running track and a basketball court.

You can find lots of grocery stores like Viva and Madina, and most of the online stores do same-day delivery to our area as it’s in the middle of Dubai. Since both of us have cars, we find the location very convenient.

What made you move from your old home?

We moved to Dubai in 2022, having lived in Abu Dhabi for six years.

Since it was our first time living in Dubai and our little family was growing – I was pregnant with my third child – we chose Town Square and loved it.

But we had to look for an alternative when we decided both of us would be full-time with our business, Kyte Marketing, and to focus on our children’s well-being.

My husband started the agency two years ago, focusing on healthcare and lifestyle brands, while I was still a full-time marketing manager for Emaar’s Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club. But now, we are growing it together.

Rent in Town Square ranges from Dh90,000 to Dh120,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. When we first moved in 2022, we started at Dh60,000.

Since we’re establishing a start-up, the first consideration was to shift to a more price-competitive option.

Are you happy with what you pay now?

We found it an average, fair rate compared to other areas.

We tried looking for options in Dubai South, Dubailand, Production City, and even Sports City, but felt we were always destined for a new community we wanted to be a part of.

Liwan Oasis is in the middle of Dubai and we believe that we scored a good deal.

How have you made it your home?

I have to give credit to my husband for this; he’s the one into everything interiors and aesthetics.

Our home is inspired by Japandi style (a mixture of Scandinavian and Japanese design) with touches of modern elements from our hobbies and what we like. We designed our home with wooden furniture and nature’s colours.

What amenities do you have?

The last and major consideration for why we moved to Liwan Oasis was the proximity to our children’s school.

Raya (eight) and Rose (four) are both studying at Gems Winchester Dubailand, which is nine minutes away from our location.

My three-year-old son will go to nursery next year and there are great options in the neighbourhood.

Opposite Liwan Oasis is Dubai Silicon Oasis, where we usually buy stuff that we need. There’s Silicon Central Mall there, and larger hypermarkets.

I also got my gym membership from Gymnation DSO, where I go for RPM, body pump and fitness classes two to three times per week.

What would you change about living there?

Given more space for the balcony, I could set up a nice outdoor table with chairs, but we prefer it to be plain for now.

Parking is a challenge since we have two cars. Only one is allowed in the designated parking area.

Are you planning to stay there?

We have thought of buying our own home, but we need to be practical while we’re trying to grow and get settled with our business.

Renting gives us the freedom to make choices that wouldn’t hurt us so much financially.

We have a new business to pursue for growth, and employees to prioritise for now.

Do you think you might buy in the future?

We have friends who have already bought and have been encouraging us to do so.

Since both of us are no longer employees with monthly salaries it would be better to keep it on the list unticked for now.

Once we have mastered the synergy of our business and family life then we definitely would buy, and consider it an investment. We believe we’ll get there in the right time.

We are eyeing a three-bedroom villa in the south of Dubai (Jebel Ali or Dubai Investment Park). Our clients are from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so it would be good to be in the middle.