A mother picked a serviced hotel apartment in Jumeirah Lakes Towers for her family to live in so her son is a short drive away from his school in Dubai.
Proximity to the school guided her choice as Vivi Wu did not want her son spending hours in traffic jams and congested roads.
The furnished two-bedroom hotel apartment comes with cleaning services, internet, water and electricity bundled into a yearly rent of about Dh180,000 and is a smart choice for the small family that has been living in Dubai for nearly two years.
The Chinese mother enjoys living in the popular neighbourhood. She chose to live in the community when the family first moved to Dubai in 2018 – they moved back home to Beijing just before the coronavirus pandemic shut national borders in March 2020 – and she now appreciates her surroundings all the more.
The lawyer, who specialises in intellectual property rights, took The National around her home and explained why convenience plays an important part in her real estate decision.
Why this area in particular?
Distance is the main reason. My son is in primary school at the Dubai International Academy and it’s a 20-minute drive. It’s also close to Ibn Battuta and Mall of the Emirates.
The other reason is there is a big playground in JLT that we can walk to and my son plays football there.
What do you get for your money?
A hotel apartment is convenient for me. House cleaning is part of the deal and I don’t have to pay for the internet or for water and electricity. That just makes life easier. The kitchen comes with pots, pans and cutlery. I have added some cooking equipment like a cooker that I bought in China.
What have you added to make it a home?
Since it’s furnished we didn’t have to add much. I bought a simple bookshelf that is stacked with books, which my son enjoys reading. I have added traditional red Chinese decorations and lamps to give the place warmth and I also added a wall clock. As it’s the Year of the Dragon, I also bought some dragon soft toys.
How well do you know your neighbours?
I did have a friend living here but she has left the UAE. My son’s schedule keeps us busy so I don’t have too much time to make friends.
Would you move out to another place soon?
I don’t think I will live here forever. It just depends on where my son studies and where my husband works. My son is now in the fifth grade, so it depends on whether he changes school in the sixth grade.
If he gets into another good school we will move to a community nearby. If he stays at DIA, we will remain in JLT.
I know how bad the traffic is during the school run. It takes some of my friends, who live in other areas, half-an-hour to drive a distance that should take minutes. I don’t want my son to be stuck in traffic jams. As he grows older, I don’t want him to waste time on the road to school. I would rather he catches more sleep and rest time.
If we moved, I would look for a home in a community that is new, the apartment should be in a good condition and it would be great if it's close to school so my son could walk over.
After the big storm, I will always look into renting from good builders and check the car park area because that was flooded in many communities. Our apartment in JLT was fine and did not flood in the storm.
Is there anything you would change?
The lake is cleaned but I wish it was cleaned more often, particularly in winter when everyone walks around the lake more regularly.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
