One word…Opulence.
Dubai is opulence personified. Everything is larger than life. The Malls, buildings, offices, hotels, roads, cars.. everything is large. As a first timer, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed by it all. It takes time to get used to it. I feel out of place and frankly, out of my depth. This is not the type of surrounding that I have seen or experienced in daily life. And it feels kinda otherworldly to be surrounded by this orgy of…opulence !
Of course, this can be easily compared to the other Asian super-cities – Singapore & Hongkong, but like I said – I have visited both places as a tourist, not having had to lead a daily life there.
The most famous road here – Sheikh Zayed Road is like a “mine is bigger than yours” competition brought to life. Every building seems a landmark building. We have the world’s tallest residential tower, the world’s tallest hotel, the world’s tallest “luxury suites only” hotel.. and of course, the world’s tallest structure ever, by far. And yes, most of the 2nd tallest things are here too !
Like I said, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed.
It is difficult to imagine that this was the economy that had faced a major crash & downturn 3-4 years back. Well, everything is on the upswing now. Real estate construction is on, prices are booming & markets look optimistic.
Moving on, my first 2-3 weeks here had a sole purpose – find a house, before my sponsored hotel stay runs out.
And, I soon realized that it is not an easy process. The rental market here is crazy (I am sure that is the case at most places – however this is my 1st experience of house hunting). So, there are multiple ways you can search for a house here
1. Scourge the classifieds online or in a newspaper – house listings there may be dated, however you get numbers of many agents. Call up those agents and arrange for house viewing if they have anything which matches your specifications.
2. Property Companies – there are a few prominent property companies that do not deal through agents. Get their numbers, call them up and see if any flat is being vacated in any of their buildings
3. Random Search – select an area (diff area every couple of days), get a vehicle (cab or friends car) and drive slowly through the neighborhood. If you like any building, go in and talk to the watchman and find out whether any flat is being vacated. Leave your number and a few tens of dirhams with the watchman if you want to get lucky !
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Well, I tried all the 3 methods. Before landing, I had already selected the area I wanted to be in – close to work (~30 mins door to door), close to shopping, supermarkets & restaurants, siginificant Indian community and close to the few people I know in Dubai. My daily schedule was something like this – go to office and since there was little to do due to most of my team being on vacation, I used to go to the online classifieds, call a few agents and set up 5-6 house viewings in late afternoon and evening. And make a list of those and a few more agents and leave in the evening. Then, steps in my support system – my friends here (details in next blog). They took me around to those places & that’s how my day ended.. and same process for the next day…
Over 2 weeks, I visited almost ALL buildings in that area and knew of all vacancies. I mean, by the end of week 2, if an agent called me with a potential house, I would have already seen it & rejected it ! I did not like most places due to a multitude of reasons & my unsuccessful evenings were getting to me. It was a tiring search. Every evening post office & full weekends – ALL gone for the househunt.
After 2 hectic single-focus weeks, I was left with a few options
1. House 1: absolutely new building, not yet opened for leasing. The Flat was very small, with 2 pigeonhole windows and barely enough storage space. When I saw this, i was actually grasping for straws in my househunt. So, in my mind, I agreed to take it up – even confirmed to the agent. The only non-negotiable point was the possession date. The builder was not ready to commit & that was a big red flag in my mind. I could not NOT have a house by mid Jan ! My hotel booking by office was (after requested extension) only till Jan 10. And by Jan end, was hoping for Nidhi to be here & parents were coming too. So, I had to have the house !
2. House 2: This was perfect, almost. Huge 1 BHK, Close to the metro, close to a few supermarkets, nice balcony facing the main road, <20 mins travel distance to work. Like I said, perfect. However, I had gone for this viewing along with Varun (a friend here, more details in next blog) & his wife. He is also searching for a house. Varun’s wife somehow did not like the house. Woman’s intuition or gut feel, call it whatever you may. She did not like it, and she could not put a finger on any tangible reason. I tried to probe her, but did not get much. Again, I had liked it and thought I will book it. I even asked Varun to give his visa copy to the agent to block the flat till the time I arrange for the initial funds. I would have taken this up on lease, had I not been bothered by Nidhi’s (Varun’s wife.. also Nidhi) gut feel. I thought, “kuch toh hoga” & decided to give it a few days. If I did not find anything else – will book this !
3. House 3: By far, my favourite. It was the one I WANTED, anyhow. Would have closed the deal during the first visit itself. Again, a HUGE I BHK, close to a metro & a mall, the area is quite lively & happening, the building had a squash court, swimming pool & gym. And, the house had a beautiful large balcony connecting the living room & bedroom. I pursued the agent relentlessly. He kept on delaying & delaying. I called him 2-3 times a day. Dinesh uncle (a friend’s uncle – an angel in this unknown land) called him & his boss multiple times, but to no avail. He ignored us & I could not do anything, but to give up my dream home here !
4. House 4: When Dinesh uncle saw it, he said, “shut your eyes & take it”. Of course, he also liked House 3, but he liked this one a lot too. So.. what about this place. Conveniently located, above a supermarket, relatively close to the metro. Located in the middle of a host of shopping malls & restaurants, huge living room, large kitchen & a huge bedroom. A nice little balcony outside the living room & a large balcony outside the kitchen overlooking a park. No gym or swimming pool in the building though ! And yeah, nice neighbours !
House 4 was a clear winner over House 1 & 2. And with no response for House 3 from the agent, I went ahead & booked House 4 !
I move sometime in mid-Jan – like they say here – inshallah !!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Dubai Diaries 1: Goodbye India
Why ? I still find myself asking myself Why ?
I have moved to Dubai, and as the date was drawing closer, the questioning of the decision has only increased.
The logical answer is that I have managed to get a good job there – the employer is globally recognized, working in this geography gives me international exposure, the scope of work is wider than what I had been doing previously, growth opportunities seem better. All well & good.
However, I have my parents in India.. I have my family there..I have my friends there.. life is comfortable.. I had a decent job that I was enjoying.. my travel time to work (a huge pain in Mumbai) was very less..I lived at home.. there was no rent I had to pay..expenses were minimal.. we were making enough savings.. we were happy.. there was no dissatisfaction..
Then Why ?
Yes, I listed down the logical rationale. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that that cannot be the only reason.. that should not be the only reason !
Dubai is an expensive place, my savings wont be astronomically higher than what im making now. In fact, I would be giving up a lot of comforts there, which if I spend on, my savings would further reduce. So yes, if money was the only factor, I would NOT be moving there.
And to think of it, most people move because they are making much more !
Next – future prospects – yes, they seem brighter with a global firm & international exposure. However, at the cost of moving away from family & friends.. umm, not a fair bargain..
So, again.. WHY ?
And so, I delved some more into it.
No one knows this – when I had started out on my career, 6 years back, my colleagues were all from out of Mumbai, living alone in the city, managing their lives along with work. Me, I had it sorted like most of the people living & working in the same city. Mom made food that I carried, did not have to worry about rent and daily comforts like washing & ironing, did not need to buy a car etc. And when I spoke to my colleagues, I was attracted to the idea of having to face daily obstacles & managing your life. I went to my parents and proosed that I move out, as an experiment, for a year & live like my colleagues were living. Just to know how I can manage & whether I will survive (of course, it was very exciting as I was thinking I will live like characters of “FRIENDS” did). I wanted to have a roommate, worry about the apartment, pay the rent, and other accompanying stuff.. the whole idea was exciting. Of course, I was shut down by my parents and that idea died there.
Now, maybe this move to Dubai gives me the chance to live that dream. Yes, it’s a different set of circumstances. It’s a different country, not the same city. I am not single anymore, I am married & responsible for my wife too. Luckily, she encouraged me to take up this offer & has been with me all through. Of course, we had 2nd thoughts and we told ourselves that this would be a 2 year thing.. maybe a 3 year thing. However, one can’t decide for the future. The only decision we had to make is whether to go to Dubai or not. And then we take it from there.
So, the opportunity to live on your own may the driving force. The excitement of setting up your home, living in a new city, settling in, making a living, struggling, succeeding..is something that I am looking forward to and that is something that excites me. (sounds a bit like Ranbir’s “mujhe udna hai, girna hai” speech from Yeh Jawaani.. but yeah, kinda true).
What makes the decision is easier is that it’s a place close to home, travel time by air is 3 hours, tickets are affordable – so it will be easy to be in touch with family back home. And we told each other – what is the worst case scenario – we would have to come back sooner than expected if things don’t work out. Well, if we can envisage and manage the worst case scenario – gotta give it a shot.
And that shot is what we are giving. Hope it works out for the best, And yes, the intention is to come back home.
Goodbye India.. for now...
I have moved to Dubai, and as the date was drawing closer, the questioning of the decision has only increased.
The logical answer is that I have managed to get a good job there – the employer is globally recognized, working in this geography gives me international exposure, the scope of work is wider than what I had been doing previously, growth opportunities seem better. All well & good.
However, I have my parents in India.. I have my family there..I have my friends there.. life is comfortable.. I had a decent job that I was enjoying.. my travel time to work (a huge pain in Mumbai) was very less..I lived at home.. there was no rent I had to pay..expenses were minimal.. we were making enough savings.. we were happy.. there was no dissatisfaction..
Then Why ?
Yes, I listed down the logical rationale. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that that cannot be the only reason.. that should not be the only reason !
Dubai is an expensive place, my savings wont be astronomically higher than what im making now. In fact, I would be giving up a lot of comforts there, which if I spend on, my savings would further reduce. So yes, if money was the only factor, I would NOT be moving there.
And to think of it, most people move because they are making much more !
Next – future prospects – yes, they seem brighter with a global firm & international exposure. However, at the cost of moving away from family & friends.. umm, not a fair bargain..
So, again.. WHY ?
And so, I delved some more into it.
No one knows this – when I had started out on my career, 6 years back, my colleagues were all from out of Mumbai, living alone in the city, managing their lives along with work. Me, I had it sorted like most of the people living & working in the same city. Mom made food that I carried, did not have to worry about rent and daily comforts like washing & ironing, did not need to buy a car etc. And when I spoke to my colleagues, I was attracted to the idea of having to face daily obstacles & managing your life. I went to my parents and proosed that I move out, as an experiment, for a year & live like my colleagues were living. Just to know how I can manage & whether I will survive (of course, it was very exciting as I was thinking I will live like characters of “FRIENDS” did). I wanted to have a roommate, worry about the apartment, pay the rent, and other accompanying stuff.. the whole idea was exciting. Of course, I was shut down by my parents and that idea died there.
Now, maybe this move to Dubai gives me the chance to live that dream. Yes, it’s a different set of circumstances. It’s a different country, not the same city. I am not single anymore, I am married & responsible for my wife too. Luckily, she encouraged me to take up this offer & has been with me all through. Of course, we had 2nd thoughts and we told ourselves that this would be a 2 year thing.. maybe a 3 year thing. However, one can’t decide for the future. The only decision we had to make is whether to go to Dubai or not. And then we take it from there.
So, the opportunity to live on your own may the driving force. The excitement of setting up your home, living in a new city, settling in, making a living, struggling, succeeding..is something that I am looking forward to and that is something that excites me. (sounds a bit like Ranbir’s “mujhe udna hai, girna hai” speech from Yeh Jawaani.. but yeah, kinda true).
What makes the decision is easier is that it’s a place close to home, travel time by air is 3 hours, tickets are affordable – so it will be easy to be in touch with family back home. And we told each other – what is the worst case scenario – we would have to come back sooner than expected if things don’t work out. Well, if we can envisage and manage the worst case scenario – gotta give it a shot.
And that shot is what we are giving. Hope it works out for the best, And yes, the intention is to come back home.
Goodbye India.. for now...
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