Dubai - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
Families are in villas, in nice neighbourhoods with good access to the beach and the E11 highway (Jumeira, Al Manara, Umm Suqeim). Couples without kids and singles are housed in very nice condos near the Consulate, mostly in DIFC. - Mar 2021
Most of the housing is nice and spacious. En-suite bathrooms in almost every bedroom are great for guests and many of the houses have access to a pool. Some of the apartments are within walking distance to the Consulate. Most of the villas are 20-30 minutes away from the Consulate. Unfortunately, there are a lot of residential options near the major schools leading to 30-40 minute bus commutes (or 20 minute car commutes) for most of the kids. - Jan 2021
Housing in Dubai is generally good. As with other posts, families are housed in villas in a more suburban neighborhood while singles and couples without school age kids are in high-rises. Many officers are housed in a high rise near the consulate which has the advantage of being walking distance to the consulate and is also connected to a mall making it convenient for shopping. Some other officers are housed in a high-rise downtown which is farther from the consulate but is in the center of the downtown right near the Burj Khalifa and Dubai mall. The villas are generally located walking distance to the beach. - Dec 2016
There is a diverse housing pool for U.S. government employes assigned to the Consulate. It is a mix of apartments and villas with yards. Most people are very happy with their housing assignments. Commutes vary from 10 minutes to one hour. - Jul 2013
There are loads of options, especially over the last year or so with a bubble in housing that was constructed. Easy to find an apartment, with a very high vacancy rate especially in JBR, Marina and JLT. From this area it takes 15-20 minutes to drive downtown or 40 minutes by metrp - Aug 2011
Housing is mostly apartments, but villas are available. The range and quality of apartments varies wildly. Commuting within Dubai is pretty easy and usually not to long, traffic can be pretty bad in peak hour, there are often accidents. - Jan 2011
Houses (AKA villas), duplexs, and apartments are available at significant prices and spread throughout the city and suburbs. Some are in commmunities clustered around schools/shopping/play areas. These may even have extensive sidewalks. Others are in smaller clusters that may share, along with architechural similarity and an encompasing wall, a common play area/pool/gym. Commute times vary wildly due to traffic, which varies wildly due to location. - Sep 2009
