Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hello,
I am considering relocating to Dubai from Hong Kong. However, I have baby twin daughters (15 months old) and I am concerned that due to geography of Dubai and the heat, that it will be unsuitable for the family. My wife does not drive, so I am concerned that she will not be able to get about and will be stuck at home. We have a helper, but from what I hear, it is not practical / posible to just take the babies out for a walk to the park / shops and so on.

Would appreciate any advice regarding this. Am I way off the mark, spot on, or would just have to choose an appropriate area to live?

thanks.

should'nt b that different , ur goin 2 dubai " located in assian"

not that bad in summer,

Lived in tropical countries-this is better because the heat plus humidity isn't all year round-at the moment it is pleasant. Having said that the summer is horrendous with high humidity and temps in the 40 to 50 range . But the upside is Dubai has catered for this with air conditioned malls and shopping centres all with their fun areas for kids-so there is stuff to do. We made it through the summer without a pool (just a paddle pool which got too cold to use) and the kids weren't bored. Taxis are aircon when you get in and you can shop and get into a taxi straight away-the guys that pack the bags at the supermarkets will hail a cab for you while you wait inside and then they'll pack the groceries into the taxi for you-this is why I tip!! The only thing with catching taxis is finding the seatbelts!!

thanks for the replies. I guess if taxis are easy to come by, then should not be a problem.

Are taxis plentiful? We are spoilt in HK as they are everywhere, and there's rarely a need to wait more than a minute or 2 to get one.

I've also heard that drivers can be hired cheaply. Would that be on a full time basis (do they come with car or have to buy/rent car separately), or similar to a taxi arrangement? What is the typical situation with this? A full time driver would be unecessary i think as he would be spending most of the time hanging around doing nothing.

Taxis are plentiful and cheap. Private drivers/cars are equally so. Gabs advise above is spot on.