My Dubai Rent takes you inside a reader's home to have a look at what they pay each month, see who they live with and ask what they like and don't like
Toby Shaw, a property investment consultant from the UK, pays Dh48,000 ($13,070) a year to live in a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai Hills.
The reason he lives here is because he loves the greenery around him and the fact he is within walking distance of a shopping centre, cafes and restaurants.
Mr Shaw, 24, who pays his rent in two cheques, also loves the view from his balcony, which takes in Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa, and no prizes for guessing where he will be on New Year's Eve.
He invited The National into his home to show us exactly why it is so very special to him.
Why did you choose to live here?
I just love the community. It’s very green, there is so much to do here and everything I need is very close by.
There’s a main strip beside me with restaurants, pharmacies, cafes, coffee shops and bakeries.
I live close to a golf course which has bars and restaurants and Dubai Hills Mall is only five minutes walk away.
Everything I could really need is more or less right on my doorstep.
Is this your first home in Dubai?
No, when I first moved here I was staying in an Airbnb in JVT, then I moved around a bit and was staying in a friend’s villa in Arabian Ranches for a while.
I moved in here around the end of August.
What are the benefits of the building itself where you live?
There is a great co-working space downstairs, which comes in really handy when I am working from home.
I work about two days a week there and the rest of the time is in the office.
Dubai resident pays Dh48,000 to live in building with co-working space
There is a great vibe in the building, and it’s full of people in their 20s and early 30s.
There is a pool table downstairs, so when I have friends around, we can hang out here for a while and then go down there.
Did you have to look at many properties before deciding on this one?
I looked around a lot, and my budget was initially around Dh40,000. I looked at quite a few places including JVC, Town Square, Arjan and Studio City.
But it all came down to the same thing, they were lacking that green area I wanted.
The way I saw it was I wanted that green space because I needed a nice environment to live in when I come home from work.
I found this place and it felt perfect. Since I moved here, I have gone out less and less because there is so much right here.
There are loads of trees, greenery and bushes, which you don’t get everywhere in Dubai.
It’s great to walk through and there’s a big park too, which is amazing.
Is there anything you would change about your home if you could?
Like a lot of other places in Dubai, one of the main frustrations is the road structure.
If I am driving anywhere, I have to go all the way to the bottom of the road, even if I am going somewhere that’s right beside me but just the other side of the road.
You have to drive down, do a big loop and come all the way back up again.
