Walking for Freebies – The Styck App

If you are into any form of fitness here in Dubai, then you probably know that the actual cost of staying healthy in this town is quite high. Fruits and vegetables in the supermarkets are all imported so the prices are inflated compared to where you come from and don’t get me started in the prices of joining a gym. Ok maybe it’s just me I was used to paying £20 (around 100AED) a month for my gym membership with Pure gym back in the UK so the thought of paying £400 – £450 dirhams a month for gym membership makes me squirm. So what is one to do if you are still trying to stay fit but you are on a budget?? Well I found this app which isn’t the answer to all your fitness problems but would get you up and about. The Styck app is a pedometer app that counts the number of daily steps you take and if you meet your certain milestone rewards you with vouchers. Vouchers can be for such items as food, gym access or my favourite one of all a month free of the Guava pass (which is another monthly service which allows you to try out all manner of fitness classes in Dubai, pole fit, boot-camp, yoga… you name it).

If you are like me, you live in Dubai and are trying to find a thrifty way to stay on top of your health and fitness goals I would definitely recommend this app, and it’s absolutely FREE!

You can download the app on the app store.

Dubai Nights: Hip Hop Karaoke!

If you are looking for something fun to do on a Friday night in Dubai (other than typical club night), why not try Hip Hop Karaoke? This is an opportunity to act out some of your rap (& R&B) fantasies. And what could be easier than trying to rap in front of a room full of strangers? I stumbled into this by chance one Friday night and had the time of my life!

Hip Hop Karaoke is held every Friday night from 8 till late, in Tribeca Restaurant in the Ocean View Hotel located in Jumeirah Beach Residence.

Check them out on Facebook…

 

How to find accommodation in Dubai!

First of all lets breathe a huge sigh of relief and give a round of applause because your girl has just found a house, ok an apartment.. ok a studio in Dubai Marina! (pheww). Can I be honest here and just say finding a decent place in Dubai is not easy, neither is it cheap there are deposits, fees and other hidden costs to pay. I have been in Dubai for around 9 months now and have looked for accommodation twice now, first for a room in a shared place and this time around for my own apartment and both times have been a learning curve for me, but I think I have learnt enough to give you guys a few tips if you are looking to find a place in Dubai or if you are moving to a new place within Dubai.

When I first moved to Dubai I had a month in company accommodation, which was great time to get to know Dubai before finding a place. What I would say is it would be extremely difficult to find a decent place unless you are out here to view and see the places for yourself as you cannot rely on pictures of properties on the internet, they are sometimes shot at better angle, or in some cases a picture of a completely different place (yes! This happens). Disclaimer: if you have to move to Dubai in a hurry I recommend staying in a hotel or Airbnb first before settling for a place, take time to view the place and ask questions. So I will be giving you a few tips on finding accommodation in Dubai to hope avoid you wasting your time and energy (and money) whilst looking, so here goes:

• Where do I start to look?

Best place to start is online, the following websites are the best places to look:

• Dubbizle – Whether you are looking for rooms, villa’s, apartments, house shares, furniture, cars anything you can find on dubbizle
• Just Property – Good for finding apartments and villas by location but pretty much has the same thing dubbizle has (if not less)
• Property Finder – similar to just property
• Expat.com – You could place adds on this site if you are looking for a flatmate or just simply search for property.
• My Room Mate – Once again a place you can either place an add to find a room-mate or just browse to find a person to start looking for accommodation with
• ExpatWoman.com – this website is great if you are looking for information, there are forums surrounding various topics including accommodation.

Another way you can look is by contacting agents directly, such as Better Homes and Hamptons are two really good ones that I came across but you can also get some recommendations on agents friends or colleagues have used. You kind of have to be pro-active with this one. Or one tip that is useful is visiting buildings you are interested in and asking the front desk if they know what is available, trust me it can work!

• How much should I expect to pay?

Look for places that are 30% -40% of your current salary. Do not! I repeat do not convert Dubai rental prices to your home currency, you will depress yourself, Dubai is expensive but then again you get paid more here why else would you be here right? So the best you can do is set your budget in relation to how much you are getting paid, allow around 30% – 40% for accommodation and bills. From that point you can look at various areas, accommodation type whether it be an apartment, a villa or just a room (or shared room in some cases, yes this happens out here *sigh*).

Typical prices for the following accommodation depends on the area and specifications so here are lower and upper limits:

Studios can range from 55,000 AED – 80,000 AED a year

1 Bedroom apartments can range from 70,000 AED – 130,000 AED

2 Bedroom apartments can range from 90,000 AED – 170,000 AED

If you are looking for rooms you can pay between 3,500 AED – 8,000 AED per month

• What should I watch out for?

Set an upper limit and stick to it! Yes I realise this is just like the previous point but I mean it, there are soo many temptations to make you want to spend more, do not fall for it. Beware agents are out for your money, they are in a dog eat dog profession out here ya’ll, if they do not let or sell houses they don’t eat (ok not literally). In a nut shell a lot of agents work on commission, at some points the money they get from the agents fees is the money they get for their pockets and in some cases the higher the price of the property they let out to you the more money they get. The point I am trying to get at is that you need to respect your own budget, make your calculations and really think about what you can afford and definitely try and negotiate to pay less you will not lose out if you do. If you can’t find the standard of accommodation within your budget at a price you can pay in an area like Marina, consider areas like Discovery Gardens or Al Barsha which aren’t far away.

Also, pictures Lie, make sure you view places never settle for a place based on pictures.

• What areas are good to live in?

This is all based on individual requirements and opinions, even though Dubai is quite diverse and a transient place where you will meet people from different places and backgrounds, people tend to live in areas with people more like them or you will live in an area based on your own individual requirement i.e. near work or near your kids school. So I will try my best but I would recommend seeking further advice on areas to live, so here goes:

1. If you are looking for somewhere close to the Metro areas I would recommend are:

• Dubai Marina
• Jumeirah Lakes Towers
• Al Barsha
• The Greens
• Tecom or Barsha height
• Business Bay
• DIFC
• Bur Dubai

1. Other areas if you can catch a bus or have a car

• Discovery Gardens
• Motor City
• International City
• Jumeirah Village Circle
• Sports City

• Need to knows

When you get a room in a shared house, things are easy usually all bills are included and you pay a deposit and pay the “landlord” monthly and usually give 30 days notice to move out, but there is no contract as this is usually an informal agreement as it’s not technically legal. Now when looking for an apartment here are things you need to consider:

• You have to pay either the whole year in advance by Cheque or pay in staggered cheques (i.e. 2 cheques every 6 months, 3 cheques every 4 months or 4 cheques every 3 months)
• You have to pay agent fees – usually 5% of the property price or up to 5,000 AED and it is NOT refundable
• You pay 5% deposit – which is refundable Whoop!
• You have to pay a deposit to set-up your Electric and water (called DEWA), which is around 2,100 AED + 200 AED set-up costs
• Make sure you find a place that includes A/C – because those A/C bills will shoot right up in the summer (just imagine a sauna at all times of the day without it)
• There are also extras such as furniture, internet set-up, phone, TV etc. to consider

 

Overall finding accommodation isn’t easy but once you find that place and you get settled it is well worth it, best thing to note is don’t settle! You are essentially stuck in a contract for an apartment for a year so if you aren’t feeling the place don’t go for it.

My first Jet-ski experience in Dubai

So I recently had my sister and two friends visit from the UK for the first time here in Dubai, and I don’t know about you but having a group of friends around usually encourages you to do things completely out of your comfort zone and do things you wouldn’t usually do on your own. So we took a trip down to Kite Beach in Dubai which btw is an awesome place I would recommend all my readers to visit, and we decided to try out jet ski rides. We thought why not, YOLO right, for them it was a case of you wouldn’t really get this opportunity in England and for me it was a case of ticking something that has been on my bucked list for a while off.

So we found this place just by the Dubai offshore sailing club called ‘Ride in Dubai Jet Ski Rental’, which offered 30 minute and one hour slots in which you ride on the jet ski’s accompanied by an instructor/guide towards the Burj Al Arab and the Palm. We went for the 30-minute slot which only takes you to the Burj Al Arab and back as it was the cheapest option (obviously), but if you went for the hour long slot you would get the chance to go to the palm. The cost of rental was 330AED per jet-ski, and we shared one jet ski between two girls each (there was four of us after-all) so it was 165AED per person.

I must say this was one of the best experiences I have had in my life, the views as you are riding the jet-ski’s are amazing, and the instructor offers to give you a free photoshoot by the Burj Al Arab so you have the memories of this experience. They do give you a quick tutorial of how to use the jet-ski’s and then you are off on your own under the watchful eye of the instructor. Overall an amazing experience and I would definitely recommend giving Ride in Dubai a try, check them out on Instagram @ride.in.dubai

 

New Jamaican Restaurant in Dubai!!

So Dubai finally has a place where you can get a taste of the Caribbean, Finally! After months of advertising and speculation, ‘Ting Irie’ is finally open! I used to live in a town called Birmingham in the UK and there was pretty much a Caribbean food shop at every corner where you could get some Jerk chicken, Curried goat, rice & peas and a side of fried plantain all for under £10/ approx. 60 dirhams and it was my favourite food if the option to get a take-away came about. So when I heard about this place I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give it a try.

First impressions were the staff was the ambience was reminiscent of a Kingston underground bar, the staff were very friendly and accommodating and were mainly Jamaican descent, upon speaking to our lovely waitress we learnt that the half Japanese half Jamaican chef was co-owner to the restaurant and a lot of the waiters & waitresses were actually flown in from Jamaica, cool right!

The menu I found didn’t have the full list of Caribbean cuisine, but I was told it was a working progress as the restaurant was still new but did have the classics such as Jerk Chicken, Curried goat, rice & peas, patties and of course plantain (grilled though not fried). I found the prices quite high, but this is Dubai so they were standard prices for a meal in this part of the world with the curried goat at a whopping 175 AED and the half jerk at 105 AED without the sides, all in all I think you will be looking at spending at least 150 – 200 AED for a meal with drinks at this place, again typical for Dubai.

Half ‘Spit Fiyah Jerk Chicken’ – with a side of coleslaw and a delicious Mango salsa

The infamous ‘curried goat’ with coconut rice

I did like the whole concept they had with the drinks, they had mocktails (the real cocktails are apparently waiting on the liquor license – fingers crossed there will be a ladies night soon :P) in fruit bases such as watermelon, pineapple and coconut, and they were very refreshing.

The ‘Mellow Melon’, ‘Pineapple Cup’ and ‘Jelly Coconut’

 Waiter preparing my lush coconut

Overall I enjoyed my experience at Ting Irie, the waiters were super nice and the food tasted amazing, I would definitely visit again maybe someday they will be on the entertainer 2for1 app or have some happy hour/ lunch deals for those who are watching their wallets.

Check them out on Instagram @tingiriedxb

Ladies be careful when out on your own!

Dubai is generally a safe place, it has a very low crime rate mainly due to the harsh punishment that is a part of UAE legislation. And you can walk around on your own as a woman and generally feel safe in public areas. This is a very nocturnal City so you will find a lot of people stay out very late, so you are unlikely to be walking around in secluded areas if you are around places like Marina, Downtown areas & Sheikh Zayed Road (I haven’t had experience with other areas) at most times of the day up till midnight. However there is something that I have experienced in my short time here that has been concerning, I have been followed around on three separate occasions by Indian men, followed to the point of stalking in these very public places. These have been at various times but usually after sundown, though these men haven’t approached me personally I did have to confront one of them after I was followed to an outdoor restaurant and saw that the same man had waited outside, circled the perimeter of the restaurant for an hour until I came out and then followed me after and waited as I went to the toilets!

So if you are out on your own in Dubai just be alert, there is no need to be concerned as there is plenty of security out in the main tourist areas and if you feel you are being followed it is always best to alert the security and let them deal with it for you. Stay Safe x

I Found a Church!

I am a Christian so the first thing on my agenda when I was moving to Dubai was to find a good church and I found one on Instagram! What happened is after trolling the internet for information on different churches in Dubai and not finding one that stood out I searched #churchdubai on Instagram and there it was. The church is called Gatekeepers and has a really nice fresh vibe, everything is visual from the lighting to the stage design, the live worship music has a fresh Hillsong/Bethel type vibe and the Preaching by Pastor Ben Richard is very inspiring and bible centred. Here are a few facts:

When

Churches in Dubai are on usually on Fridays as Friday and Saturday is the weekend here in the Middle East (usually work Sunday to Thursdays). There are two services 11am and 2pm

Where

JSS International School Auditorium in Al-Barsha

How to get there

This place is pretty difficult to get to without a car or taxi, there are no bus stops or trains near by. However there is hope! Gatekeepers Church offers a free bus service that comes from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai and from Al Nahda, check out the different stops here

Last Words

I would definitely recommend any new Christians or the curious to check Gatekeepers out (there really is no excuse with the free bus service covering most areas), the people are very friendly and when you are new you are handed a welcome bag filled with goodies and plus there is free food and teas & coffees after the service. There is also a visitors lounge which allows you the opportunity to connect with some of the church members, which is good if you are trying to meet new people.

 

Check out some of the Gatekeepers sermons here

 

Welcome to Dubai!

There are plenty of blogs and articles out there about expats in Dubai coming from all corners of the world, however what was missing was a blog that looked at life in Dubai from the perspective of a single black female expat. The truth is our individual perspectives are usually different but I wanted to show you this lovely city from mine as I begin to explore it. I just made the move to Dubai in the new-year so it is officially 1 month of me being in this city but in this one month alone I have learnt and experienced quite a lot more than I would at home. From learning to manoeuvre around the city, to finding accommodation, trying to keep my finances in check (because you will find in Dubai although you make more, you definitely spend more!), to things like meeting new people and trying out the many different activities that Dubai has to offer. So I hope you the reader can join me on my journey around the city and I can provide you with insight on the ins and outs of this City from my eyes xoxo.