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
Katie Plant loves life in the three-bedroom villa she shares with her family in The Springs, Dubai.
The reason she is so happy there is that it reminds her of growing up at home in Preston, UK, with children playing in the streets and families mingling with each other.
Ms Plant, who works in PR, invited The National into her home to find out what makes it so very special to her and her family.
How much do you pay in rent?
We pay Dh130,000 across four cheques. We’ve lived here for a year and absolutely love it.
We have lived in Dubai for seven years and before here, we rented in Silicon Oasis, Remraam and JVT.
What is so special about living there?
There is a really tight sense of community here. All the kids know each other and so do the parents.
We often convene together at the park. It’s lovely because the kids all visit each other’s homes and then when it’s a bit cooler, they all play together in the park as well.
It’s important, as a mother, to know that your children are able to make friends and have that experience as they grow up.
That’s why we chose The Springs instead of other areas that we looked at around the same time.
There are a lot of swimming pools and parks, too, and of course, we have the lakes, which the entire community is based around.
The big lake is perfect for walking the dog around and we are close to The Meadows, which has plenty of shops like Spinneys and Starbucks.
Then we’ve got a gym here as well that we can use — so it’s pretty handy all round, really.
Was it difficult to find the perfect home?
We decided that as soon as we found a place to live that we really liked, we would go for it straight away and that’s what happened here.
We knew the properties in The Springs don’t stay on the market for long, so we acted quickly.
What touches have you made to the place to make it feel like home?
Just cosmetic ones, really. We repainted all the walls and put in our own furniture to make sure it had that homey feel.
There was AstroTurf already laid out in the garden, which made life much easier.
We have a decent size garden and it is great in the winter to hang out there and have barbecues with friends.
Is there anything you would change about your home if you could?
There’s not that much I would change about it, to be totally honest.
I guess if there was one thing that we could change it, would be having a corner shop we could walk to near us.
There’s not really a shop within 20 minutes' walking distance, which is a real no-go during the hot summer months.
That’s only a little thing, though. We are really happy here and don’t have any plans to move again. It’s more than enough for us right now.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)