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
Clemence Powney and her family moved to Dubai from Toulouse, France, in 2022.
They picked a three-bed apartment in the Lamcy Residence in the established area of Oud Metha, a stone's throw from Dubai Creek, particularly because it is close to their daughters' school.
The Dh140,000 unit also has epic views of Burj Khalifa, is just minutes from Downtown Dubai and has a traditional community feel where everyone knows each other.
Ms Powney, who is a French-British resident, has also filled her home with artwork and even did a mural in the kitchen with her daughters.
She took The National on a tour of their home.
Tell us about your home
We live in a very large three-bedroom apartment. We love it because it's large and there are bathrooms in each bedroom.
Our kitchen is so long it feels like a bowling alley sometimes. It feels like hotel living.
We can see the whole Dubai skyline with the Burj Khalifa from our living room and bedroom.
Who lives there with you?
We are a couple: Clemence (French/British) and Aurelien (French, founder of Phyleas Event Agency) and with our two daughters Hanae, 10, and Mila, eight, and our cats, Coca and Oreo.
Why did you choose Lamcy Residence?
We chose it mainly because of its proximity to our daughters' school (Lycee Francais International AFLEC), and also because it was within our budget.
We are extremely fortunate to be within walking distance of the school, which is a very rare thing in Dubai.
How have you made the apartment your home?
I'm an artist specialising in performances for all kinds of events and the first thing I did was hang my artworks all around the house. I enjoy having lots of plants at home too and my harp as I'm also a musician.
Our latest project with my daughters was to paint our large kitchen wall with some leftover paint I had from a mural job I did recently. We had a great time doing it and it transformed the room.
What are the other advantages of living there?
We live in a beautiful flat with lovely neighbours, some of whom have become very good friends.
We feel like we're part of a community, with the kids going to the pool together, playing together and even going trick or treating on each floor together for Halloween.
Where did you live before?
This is our first apartment in Dubai. We moved here in the summer of 2022 from Toulouse, in the South of France.
Is it a sociable neighbourhood?
Oud Metha is an amazing neighbourhood. It has so many restaurants, shops, etc. It is always very lively and full of people. We enjoy taking a walk there in the evening, while drinking smoothies and karak tea.
Everyone's very friendly and great with kids.
We have a metro station, are very close to Healthcare City and the Wafi Mall, and we have Dubai Creek Park at the end of our road, which is a great place to go with kids.
What do you like and what would you change about the place?
I like everything about the place. The only thing I would change is being a little further from the motorway, because although it is very practical to move around, it's a bit noisy when we're on our balcony
Do you plan to stay in the property?
For the moment we are happy here. It is very good value for money, especially now that prices have gone up everywhere in Dubai.
We're only 10 minutes away from Downtown Dubai and so close to our daughters' school. We are not planning on moving out anytime soon.
Do you think living there offers value for money?
Yes, the standard of the flat is amazing. We've got a pool and a gym with stunning Burj Khalifa views.
We would pay much more if we were in Downtown Dubai for example but we prefer Oud Metha.
Are there any downsides to living in that unit?
No downsides.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Match info
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Tottenham Hotspur 2
Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
