My Own Home takes you inside a reader-owned property to ask how much they paid, why they decided to buy and what they have done with it since moving in
It took about a year for Rimpy Gupta to settle into life in the Meadows, but once she did, she never looked back. The Indian content creator lives with her entrepreneur husband, Manish, and two children, Manvik, 17, and Mansvi, 11. They moved into the house nine years ago after renting apartments in Bur Dubai for the previous decade.
They had not been looking for somewhere to buy, but when this Dh5 million, four-bedroom property in the Meadows came on the market, and Ms Gupta saw the garden, she fell in love. They started payments three days later and had moved within less than three weeks.
Now, she says she cannot imagine living anywhere else.
The National takes a look around.
Please tell me about your home.
It’s a beautiful house. It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms upstairs. We have a study which my husband uses as his office space. There’s a big kitchen and hall-cum-dining space. We also have a very beautiful, big garden. The only thing that’s lacking is we don’t have a bedroom downstairs.
Why did you decide to buy a property?
We were in a two-bedroom apartment in Bur Dubai and we had two kids. By then, we were really thinking of moving to a bigger place. At that time, my father-in-law was also there, so he used to come home and we found the two-bedroom apartment really small.
Then, Manish’s brother, who lives here too, told us there was a house for sale in the Meadows. We were not planning to invest or buy, we were happy in Bur Dubai and the kids had friends there. But we just came to see the house. I sat in the garden and I said, “Manish, let's buy, it's a beautiful house.”
We moved in 20 days. It was that quick for us.
How much is the property worth now?
We bought it for Dh5 million. Now, it’s Dh10 million-plus. Somebody even quoted me Dh13 million – I don’t know if that’s just a fluke, but it’s definitely worth more than Dh10 million. But we’re not trying to sell the house as of now. We love it.
What renovations have you done?
We got a sauna installed. We don’t use it much, to be honest, but we had it installed about nine years ago. We also got an extra room built in the backyard, which is basically a workshop.
We changed all the flooring so it’s wooden and we put a nice roof in the outdoor area so there’s a shaded sitting area. We also added a powder room upstairs as there was an empty space, so now my dressing table is there.
How was it moving from Bur Dubai?
The first year was a little difficult. At that time, my daughter was two, and in Bur Dubai, she had very good company. There were always children playing, but here we really felt alone. We felt a little disconnected from the Indian community.
But then, slowly, she started nursery that same year. I began driving more, made friends and got to know more of the Indian society in the Meadows – there are a lot of Indians here.
Now we're very happy. We can't even imagine moving away.
Why do you love this neighbourhood?
It’s really lush and green, with lakes around the area. When you walk by the lake, you feel like you're still in India. There are also play areas – my daughter goes out to play around 5pm and comes back by 7pm. I don't need to go and check on her, because I know it's a safe community. She'll not go anywhere. It's a gated community. That gives you peace of mind.
Like I said, there are lots of Indians here, so we don't feel disconnected. When you go out, you meet someone, stop for a chat, and have a conversation.
Another thing I like is there are no parking issues. We also have a big garden, we can host parties at home, entertain properly and feel a sense of belonging. Dubai is really home now.
What facilities do you have?
We have a swimming pool. We have a tennis court. There’s a barbecue area if we want to meet friends and do a barbecue. There's also a basketball court.
How would you describe your interior design?
It's very laid-back. It's more of a home. It’s not overly formal and things don’t have to be in specific places. It’s a space where the kids can move around freely, and we have plenty of open space.
I'm a very religious person, so I do lots of puja at home and when we do puja, we need a big space for people to sit down. So all my furniture is very light, very movable, easy to handle, it's not very bulky and not very stylish.
How long will you be in this house?
I'm getting offered very good amounts for the house, but I'm very happy here. My son is planning to go to the US for university, but Manish’s business is here. Everything is here. So as long as everything is good, we'll be here.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
India cancels school-leaving examinations
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Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Rio Angie, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
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8.15pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Waady, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 2,000m. Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm:Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
Results
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360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
RESULTS
Men – semi-finals
57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.
67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.
60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28
63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.
71kg – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28
81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27
86kg – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round
