My Dubai Rent: Palestinian family love life in Al Furjan so much they never want to leave

Dareen Alsarraj pays Dh90,000 to live in three-bedroom apartment near metro station

Palestinian Dareen Alsarraj,42, pays Dh90,000 a year for her three-bedroom apartment in Al Furjan, Dubai, where she lives with her husband and their three boys. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

Ms Alsarraj, who works in communications, favours an uncluttered style and low couches to help create space in the living room

Finding a home with a semi-enclosed kitchen proved a challenge

The apartment's dining area. The family have lived here for four years

The master bedroom. The apartment's bedrooms are the only rooms with curtains, as Ms Alsarraj likes to let light in where possible

The second bedroom

And the third bedroom

Ms Alsarraj says her family enjoy good quality of life in Al Furjan

The balcony provides a relaxing space with some greenery

The exterior of the building, which is close to restaurants, supermarkets and community centres

The family also have access to the pool

The nearby Al Furjan Metro. It was only an eight-minute journey to Expo 2020 from here

The courtyard area provides some green space

The grocery store in the building

The view from the apartment. If the family were to move, Ms Alsarraj says it would still be in Al Furjan

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

Palestinian Dareen Alsarraj loves living in Al Furjan so much that if she were to move it would only be to somewhere else in the same community.

The 42-year-old, who works in communications, lives in a three-bedroom apartment with her family.

They pay Dh90,000 to live in Al Furjan, where they have been for the past four years.

She invited The National to take a look around her home and see why she could never imagine leaving.

What makes your home so special to you?

I have everything around me, which is convenient. My three boys are a little older and want to go and visit their friends.

Having the metro station right beside us is so handy for that because I know they can travel safe, as can I.

They commute all the time and I’ve got peace of mind when they do.

The metro makes life so convenient. It was only an eight-minute journey to Expo 2020 from here, which was where we spent every weekend when it was open.

There's a restaurant, supermarket and community centres here, and we also have gym and pool access.

There is so much greenery too.

We have a really good quality of life here. I would describe it as affordable quality.

Did you have much trouble finding the right place to live?

Yes because we are Arabic and that means we prefer the kitchen area to be closed off.

Places with kitchens like that are not easy to find in Dubai. In the end, we moved here because it has a semi-closed off kitchen.

We had to adjust our expectations slightly because all of the places with closed-off kitchens were so expensive.

Do you see yourself moving anywhere else?

I don’t want to move. I have discussed this with my husband and we both agree that if we did, then it would just be to somewhere else around here.

Even if it was a case of upgrading to a bigger or more expensive place, it would still be in this area.

We just love it here and the boys are so settled.

There are great people around and we have built a community here.

What kind of touches have you made to make the apartment feel more like home?

I am a very minimalist person so we haven’t put too much on the walls.

I do have my own style though so the couches are low and there is a lot of space, which is important to me.

None of the rooms have curtains, except the bedrooms. That’s because I want to get as much light in here as possible.

I actually hate having curtains.

Is there anything you would change about where you live?

We have community centres around us but we have to pay for the facilities.

That’s despite the fact we are residents of the community and are already paying Dh90,000 in rent.

Since the costs are high, I feel the community centre facilities should be included in that.