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
Since moving to Dubai 10 months ago, Paul McCoy lived in two hotels, one apartment and crashed at a friend’s house before deciding on somewhere more permanent to live.
Paul, a marketing and business development manager, finally set down roots in Dubai Marina with his partner Niamh, a nursery teacher, in November.
The couple, from Ireland, share their 25th floor apartment in Horizon Tower with five friends and love the social aspect of being in a busy house share.
Having never lived out of the family home and fed up with the hum drum of life in Ireland during the midst of the pandemic, Paul, 23, said the move to Dubai was a last-minute decision, but one he doesn’t regret.
Here, he invites The National into his home from home.
How much do you and Niamh pay to live here?
We rent a double room for Dh4,000 a month, so we only pay Dh2,000 each. It’s about 25 per cent of my basic salary because I rely a lot on commission, but for the area it’s a great deal.
So what exactly do you get for what you pay?
There’s seven of us in the apartment and three of the rooms are en suite. Ours isn’t, but we share our bathroom with one other person, so it’s no bother at all. All of our bills are included, so that’s Wi-Fi, air con, water and electricity. The room was partly furnished too, with a double bed, chest of drawers and plenty of wardrobe space. We also have a cleaner who comes in every day, but the only thing she doesn’t do is clean the dishes, sadly!
Do you think it’s a good deal?
Absolutely. It definitely helps that the costs are split between two of us.
Why did you choose to flat-share?
Look, we’re Irish and we love to socialise. It was always in our minds to share because we were new to the city and wanted to enjoy the social aspect of living with other people. It’s great because if one person wants a quiet night in, there’s always someone else willing to go out for the night.
I love it after 5pm when we’ve all finished work for the day, there’s a real buzz around the apartment, it really comes to life.
Do you have plans to save money and rent a place for just the two of you?
Nope. We love sharing. I know it is some people's idea of a nightmare, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. I think who you live with makes a big impact on the experience you have and how long you stay. If our current roommates moved out and the dynamic of the apartment changed, that’s the only thing that would make us think twice about staying here.
What are the downsides to sharing an apartment with so many people?
Honestly, not that many. I guess dishes being left in the kitchen and old food sitting in the fridge, that can get a bit smelly, but I think you sign up for that kind of thing when you decide to flat-share. Queuing for the washing machine can be a pain sometimes, but again, that’s part and parcel of living with a lot of people.
How have you made your space your own?
Well that’s mostly down to Niamh. She’s put up fairy lights in the bedroom and we have pictures of us, friends and family all over the bedroom. I’ve also added my own desk to the room as I work from home a lot, so it’s a separate space to work from.
The apartment itself is quite bare. We have cleaners and maintenance people coming in and out of the apartment regularly, so it’s just easier to keep our things in our bedrooms. We each have a lock on our bedroom door.
What do you think of the area?
We loved the feel of the Marina as soon as we moved here. It’s the only place I’ve ever lived where I can walk out my front door and be on the beach within four minutes. We’ve got a Metro station right on our doorstep too.
We actually rented a car when we first came out here but we don’t bother now as we can jump on the metro and get to most places easily, so that saves us a lot of money on car rental. I just love the buzz in the Marina. It’s full of life, there’s plenty of places to eat and drink and we have the Marina Mall literally hundreds of metres from the building.
How did you find the flat?
I looked at a few places on Dubizzle and I’m a member of a few different Facebook groups for expats and saw the landlord’s contact details online.
He showed us a few apartments in the building we’re living in now and I told him I had a few friends moving over and if he had an apartment big enough I could fill it for him. After about a month this place became vacant and we all moved in.
We pay the rent individually via bank transfer or cash at the beginning of each month.
Are there any problems with the apartment you have to deal with?
There hasn’t been anything major that’s happened. There was a leak once in the maid’s room, which one of our friends rents, so the maintenance guys had to switch the water off for a few hours. That was slightly inconvenient but not that big of an issue.
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
RESULT
Valencia 3
Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'
Ferran Torres 67'
Atlanta 4
Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
The biog
Name: Sarah Al Senaani
Age: 35
Martial status: Married with three children - aged 8, 6 and 2
Education: Masters of arts in cultural communication and tourism
Favourite movie: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
Favourite hobbies: Art and horseback ridding
Occupation: Communication specialist at a government agency and the owner of Atelier
Favourite cuisine: Definitely Emirati - harees is my favourite dish
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Moving%20Out%202
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