Contract signed on the Friday. Moving on the Monday. This one happened fast.
We have already explained why we left Villanova and moved back to Sobha Hartland, so this is the practical half: what it cost, what caught us out, and a full tour of the new place at the end.
Why we moved, in one line
We prefer apartment life, and we never really wanted to leave Sobha Hartland in the first place. Adam needed to try a villa community before committing to buying somewhere. We have now tried both, and this is where we are staying. The plan is to rent here for a year or two, then buy, lay roots, and have the boys walk to school. From the balcony, we can see it.
The context, honestly
This move did not happen in a calm week. Alerts were still going off at night, sleep was broken, and we could still hear bangs. We wrote about that period separately in our honest account of those 24 hours.
Alongside that: homeschooling started, spring break was brought forward a week, Adam's mum and stepdad had to postpone their first ever trip out to see us, and Adam left his job three days into it all.
Dubai itself was around 95% business as usual, though that phrase needs care. Life carried on, but the roads were unusually quiet and a lot of small business owners we know were having a genuinely hard time commercially.
And then, for good measure, it flooded.
The flood
It rains here perhaps four or five times a year, and the buildings and drainage are not built for it. We had a leak, water ran into the fuse board, and we woke up to no electricity, no water and no Wi-Fi. With the boys needing to be online for home learning, we got out of the house and drove to Dubai Mall so everyone could work.
Big shout out to Connor ten doors up, and to the electrician who sorted the fuse board.
The real costs of moving within Dubai
| Item | What we paid |
|---|---|
| Movers (townhouse to apartment) | 1,800 dirhams |
| Curtains (quoted 3,000, negotiated) | 2,200 dirhams, including one new curtain |
| Move in and move out permits | Arranged through building and community management |
On negotiating
The curtain quote came in at 3,000 dirhams and Adam, in his words, spat his dummy out. The moment we said we would get other quotes, it dropped to 2,500. We settled at 2,200.
For the record, Sara negotiated that, and would like it noted.
"It is probably a testament to us settling in here now. The first year you take everything at face value. You pay the money they ask for. Now we are turning the screw."
That is genuinely one of the better markers of feeling settled somewhere.
The permits nobody warns you about
This is the one that will catch you out.
Buildings and communities here have security, and they will not let just anyone in. For a large vehicle, or anyone coming to do work, you need a permit.
You give the details of the company you are using to the building or community management, they issue a document, and the movers show it at the gate.
We had been told on the phone that the movers would be let through and that security would be called. That was not the case. They were held at the gate until the physical move out permit was produced, which pushed the whole morning back.
Get the paperwork in hand before the day.
Packing tip learned the hard way
On our previous move, the company brought the boxes on the morning itself. So the team had already wrapped and taken down all the furniture and were stood waiting while Sara packed. Deeply stressful.
This time we had the boxes delivered in advance and packed the day before. Completely different experience.
Switching your internet without downtime
This one genuinely impressed us, and it is worth knowing because it is the opposite of the UK experience.
With du, Adam went into the app and said we were moving. A phone call came about an hour later, and an engineer came out the next day.
The bit worth knowing: you do not have to accept a gap. You can tell them you are moving out on a certain date and let the old connection run an extra day or two, so both addresses are live at the same time. No downtime at all.
Small note from moving day: there is a box you need a key for. Ours was locked, and Adam was ready to jimmy it open with a spoon rather than let the engineer leave. Thankfully our friend Thea lives in the building and had a key, so nothing had to be violated.
Moving day
Sara dropped Adam and the boys at Dubai Mall so they could do home learning from a coffee shop, then went back to handle the move.
The movers, once through the gate, were rapid. Around 45 minutes in, most of the townhouse was done.
Highlights of the day included the neighbour's dog relieving itself on our wrapped furniture, which Sara had disinfected minutes earlier, and Adam pulling his back at Trampo Extreme while allegedly supervising the children.
The taxi between the two homes was eight minutes and 22 dirhams, which rather underlines how close everything actually is.
The full apartment tour
We are on the 10th floor at One Park Avenue, and about 80% of the way to finished.
- Living space: open plan with the dining area, sofa, TV, kitchen and bar stools. Adam's desk is set up with the school visible out of the window.
- Balcony: with IKEA furniture we are very happy with, including a coffee table that doubles as storage.
- Riley's room: built in wardrobes, his own bathroom, and his sunglasses lined up neatly.
- Reggie's room: his own bathroom too. The showers are enormous.
- Our room: the least finished. We still need a vanity and desk area, and more drawer space, because wardrobe space is the one thing we are short on.
- Utility: washing machine cupboard, plus three shelves we had put in.
Every room is a genuinely good size. There is no small bedroom, which is not always the case in apartments here.
Reggie's bed arrived damaged and we were told 48 hours for a replacement. It came in 24.
And Spinneys is roughly ten steps from the door.
Are we happy?
"It just feels like we are home again. Like we are back where we should have stayed, where we should have been the whole time."
Three silver linings we landed on. We would not appreciate Sobha Hartland this much without the stint in Villanova. It genuinely feels like where we are meant to be. And there is more to look forward to, starting with walking the boys to school again.
One last thing. On the day, a man called Daniel stopped Adam and Riley outside Spinneys to say we were the reason his family moved to Dubai, and that we should not forget we have an impact on people. That one stuck with us.
If you are weighing up communities, our neighbourhoods guide is the place to start, and do the schools research first. And if you want the numbers side, cost of living has the rest.
Planning your own move? Take our neighbourhood quiz to work out where suits your family, or take a look at the relocation package if you would like help with schools, housing and the whole process from someone who has done it twice within Dubai.