My Dubai Rent: Family escapes hustle and bustle of city life in Dh220,000 villa

Spacious property in Nad Al Sheba is 'half of what we would pay elsewhere in the emirate'

Rishav Raj with his wife Harshita Agrawal, son Arjun and daughter Rishita at their home in Nad Al Sheba. All photos: Antonie Robertson/The National

The family pays Dh220,000 a year to live in the villa

Mr Raj says his home has plenty of space and is in a good location

He says the area is quiet but is within easy reach of most of Dubai

The kitchen in the family's villa

The villa was fully furnished when they moved in

Mr Raj describes his home as 'a proper villa ... not a townhouse'

There is a strong Indian community in the area, Mr Raj says

The villa has four bedrooms

The house is well-maintained

My Dubai Rent takes you inside a reader’s home to have a look at what they get for their money, how much they pay in rent and asks them what they like and don’t like

When Rishav Raj first moved to Dubai with his family two years ago, he was expecting it to be a short stay, but after securing a four-bedroom villa in Nad Al Sheba for Dh220,000 in rent a year, the 37-year-old Indian admits his priorities have changed.

Mr Raj, who works in the property sector, invited The National into his home to show us why it's so special to him and his family.

Why did you choose to live here?

I was looking for somewhere with a big space in a good location. If I was going to rent somewhere similar in the likes of Dubai Hills or Emirates Hills, it would probably cost me twice the price.

They are more vibrant communities but you get a sense of privacy and exclusivity here. If that's what someone is looking for then it's a perfect place to live, especially as I don't like the hustle and bustle of the city. It's quiet here but it's still not far from most places in Dubai.

I can get to most locations [in the city] quickly. I can be in Mall of the Emirates or the Palm within 20 minutes, it's the same with my office in Downtown. It only takes two minutes to get to my children's schools, as well. That solves a lot of problems for us.

There is a new mall opening here in March and we're close to Festival City Mall and Silicon Oasis, which have everything we need.

What touches have you made to the property to make it feel like home?

It was fully furnished when we moved in, which was really convenient. We've added some of our own furniture and utilities. The house is very well maintained. We never had any issues with the flooding [in April], even when water was accumulating on the streets. There have never been any problems with the likes of AC or electricity. There have only been a few small issues with general wear and tear, but the house still looks brand new.

Do you feel like you get value for money?

Yes, we were originally paying Dh200,000 but that went up to Dh220,000 last year. For someone looking to move in to a similar property here they would be expecting to be paying around Dh260,000. Even at that price you're still getting a big unit. This is a proper villa, it's not a town house.

When I moved here, places like Dubai Hills were not in my budget but this is a quiet environment and I would not change anything about it.

Is there a sense of community where you live?

Yes. There is a strong Indian community here as a lot of our children all go to the same schools. We interact with a lot of the parents.

Do you have plans to buy your own property?

I actually bought a property off-plan [in a nearby community]. We plan to sell it when it is completed as it is already worth twice what I paid for it. When we first moved to Dubai the plan was to live here for a year and then shift to somewhere else but my priorities have changed.