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
When American couple Brandon and Kimberly Rowberry moved to the UAE in 2016, they had six school-age children. Their eldest had already joined a university in the US.
Living in a house where the children could walk to school was always the top priority, says Mr Brandon, chief executive of Aster Digital at Aster DM Healthcare.
With four boys and three girls, now aged between 14 and 24, going for after-school activities such as football, theatre or basketball, Mr Rowberry says it was “impossible” to drive them back and forth, even with a driver.
"So, we always looked for a house that was within a 200-metre vicinity from their school," he said.
The family now live in a five-bedroom villa in Al Barsha with two of their children, Alis,16, and Sawyer, 14, within walking distance of the American Community School.
How much do you pay for rent?
When we moved in last year, the annual rent was Dh155,000. But recently, the landlord hiked the rent to Dh170,000.
What is the best part of living in the community?
The best part about the area is that my children can walk to school.
Now, only the youngest two live with us as others have finished school and are studying abroad.
When I moved to Dubai last year, we were keen to live somewhere very close to the school so that they can walk back and forth.
This area is also in the city centre and we have easy access to the metro, shopping mall, gym, and other amenities.
We are a scooter-riding family. All of us have electric scooters and we avoid travelling by car wherever possible. Barsha is a great area to ride around.
Where did you live before and why did you move?
We relocated to Abu Dhabi in 2016 after I got a job with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Our first house was in Al Bateen and was just behind the American Community School where all the children studied. So we did not have to worry about their commute. We moved to Dubai after I got the job at Aster.
How did you find the new house?
When you want to live close to the school, there is actually not a tonne of choice.
Once we decided which school the kids were going, I started combing the area myself. I went to a bunch of compounds, spoke to security guards and found this five-bedroom villa.
What touches have you made to make the place feel your own?
Everything that you see on the wall is souvenirs from our family holidays. We travel a lot and have collected masks from Madagascar and Nepal, frames from Philippines and Thailand, to mention a few.
We also never shipped anything when we came to the UAE. We have a rather easy way of furnishing our house.
We found an expat family that was leaving the UAE and bought all of their stuff without cherry-picking what we want. It is hassle-free for them and us too.
What would you change about your home if you could?
I wish we had a bigger backyard. I would love to have one that is big enough to have a barbecue party. That is one thing I would have loved to change.
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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UNpaid bills:
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019
USA – $1.055 billion
Brazil – $143 million
Argentina – $52 million
Mexico – $36 million
Iran – $27 million
Israel – $18 million
Venezuela – $17 million
Korea – $10 million
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019
USA – $2.38 billion
Brazil – $287 million
Spain – $110 million
France – $103 million
Ukraine – $100 million
The%20specs
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Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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