Mark Wallington's Blog: All Categories

For new Dubai residents, there is no shortage of great places to eat, as every type of cuisine is available here. The best restaurants are harder to find, and since people can be choosy, there are many places in the city that have a number of restaurants to choose from. Here are the best mixes restaurant venues in Dubai, for new and old residents. Dubai Marina While the freehold apartments here are excellent, the choice of dining options is also impressive. The Dubai Marina Walk sits along the shoreline below the apartment blocks and features a great selection of restaurants and cafes, with indoor and outdoor seating. You won’t find better to go to when the weather is great, as you can sit by the marina and look out over the Arabian Sea, the surrounding… Read Full Post

More and more people are moving to Dubai every day, and many more want to move to the
Emirate or to the United Arab Emirates. There are some things that new residents or potential residents should know about living in Dubai, as there are positive and negative aspects just like every other city. Tax-free salaries This is the primary motivation for expatriates to move to the United Arab Emirates, as salaries are not taxed and you keep everything you earn. The salaries in the UAE for many residents are considerably higher than what they would earn back home, so this prompts residents to try to save as much as possible in order to buy property. They used to resort to buying property in their home countries, but with the freehold property boom in Dubai,… Read Full Post

Dubai is definitely a shopper’s paradise apart from it`s great Dubai real estate market, with the best international chain stores, unique finds, not to mention the golf shops! For anyone that is visiting the Emirate, or moving here, there are a few shopping destinations that you really need to check out for their great selections and entertainment features, so here is just a few. Mall of the Emirates This is one of the newest of Dubai’s shopping malls, and the largest too! The Mall of the Emirates is home to some of the world’s leading department stores, a hypermarket, cinema, and an artificial ski park. For those that want to shop, dine out then go for a bit of skiing, the Mall of the Emirates is the perfect place to go and not far from The Lakes… Read Full Post

Even though Dubai is quite a small city, the recent developments of infrastructure and freehold property have really stretched the city out along the coastline and further inland. The most convenient way to get around is by car, even though the traffic can be a nightmare at peak hours. With the metro system under construction, and hopefully operating in a couple of years, cars may become less popular in the future, but for now, owning a car if you live here is essential if you live in Arabian Ranches Dubai for example.
Low petrol prices People moving to Dubai will immediately notice that petrol prices here are substantially low compared to everywhere else. As the United Arab Emirates is an oil- exporting country, this means that residents take… Read Full Post

If there’s one thing that Dubai has a lot of, its hotels. The city is chock full of the world’s finest hotels and resorts, that are both in the city and on the beachfront, meaning the choice is yours. Even if you cannot afford to stay in the most luxurious hotels that Dubai has to offer, for the are very expensive, then you can at least pay a visit to them as they are worth the trip. Here are some of Dubai’s most popular hotels to visit. Burj Al Arab Recognised all over the world as an icon of the Emirate, Burj Al Arab is currently the world’s only seven star hotel, and lives up to its reputation as ultra-luxurious and over the top. The hotel is decked out in the finest interiors, and plenty of gold, and offers luxury suites that each come with their… Read Full Post

As many Dubai residents expect or hope that the price of renting and buying property will drop going into 2008, there are new fears that this will not actually happen. The Dubai property boom has already continued for a lot longer than property experts speculated, showing that there is no real way to truly predict changes in such a new market. As the end of 2007 draws near and all residents hope that things will improve, the expected influx of high income investment bankers, coupled with the low costs of getting a mortgage, will more likely lead to further increases in the costs of living in Dubai. New business in Dubai The continued growth of Dubai’s business sector means that more and more high profile firms will be moving to the Emirate. With… Read Full Post

Over the past several months, the Dubai government has been in a phase of reform concerning the freehold property sector, in an effort to make property a more viable investment for local and foreign buyers.  The establishment of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) and the laws that have also come into creation are all for the purpose of making the Emirate a viable source of investment, and the business hub of the Middle East.

Stable Dubai property market

A big issue with buying freehold property in Dubai has been the associated maintenance costs per year.  These have tended to be high, meaning that the costs of buying and maintaining freehold properties have not saved buyers any money over renting property.  As a solution, Strata law was…

Even though the amenities and facilities that come with freehold properties on the Dubai real estate market are excellent, some property investors want more.  Fortunately, there are select amount of executive apartments available on the market that offer a whole lot more than the usual.  These executive apartments are super luxurious, offer room services that you would expect in a hotel, and are available in the same great locations.  Of course, since the specifications are much higher for these freehold properties, they do come at a price.

Burj Dubai Downtown

Right in the middle of the city, with shops, restaurants, cafes and hotels all in the vicinity, the executive apartments here are the finest possible.  Designed exclusively by Armani, also…