Suburban communities on the rise in Dubai

Escape to a quieter, cheaper life in these four up-and-coming districts

Inacitywithaconstantstreamofexpatriates arriving, finding a place to live is a pressing issue. Many factors go into making a person pick a place to stay — rent, location, amenities, environment, to name a few. As Dubai continues to grow expanding its footprint, many communities are pushing deeper and deeper into the desert. While some find the distance isolating and inconvenient and prefer to live in the heart of town, others value the peace, relative isolation — and far lower prices — to be found on the city’s outskirts.

For example, a newly-built two-bedroom apartment at Dubai Investments Park, for example, can be had for around Dh70,000. That same amount of money at the Dubai Marina would only get a small one-bed unit in a much older tower. The considerable heavy savings however sometimes mean that one has to live with fewer conveniences. Some of the communities on this list, including Al Ghadeer, have very little access to public transport or amenities such as schools or shopping malls.

In 2016, almost 15,000 homes were completed across Dubai — including some in Dubailand, Al Qudra Road and Muhaisnah. “Many of the residents of these new locations have moved from more central locations within the city,” said Craig Plumb, a UAE property analyst with Jones Lang LaSalle. The trend only looks set to continue, he added, noting that areas once considered as on the outskirts — Arabian Ranches and Dubai Marina — are now considered quite central. With new developments, including the under-construction Dubai South, planning trends have shifted away from mostly single-use areas, such as office parks like Media City. Instead, in the next few years, residents can expect new districts which offer the chance to live, work, shop and play — all without a long, time-consuming commute.

“Within Dubai, we are seeing the growth of more self-contained communities around the city,” the analyst added.