We Are Moved In!

View out our windows

After three months it finally has come for us to move in to our flat that will be our home for the next three years. As the UAE is growing quickly, Ruwais is working hard to keep up. This is a bit of a challenge as this small oil refining city (a compound, which means it is like a gated community) is two hours drive away from Abu Dhabi and is in the middle a desert (although we are situated very close to the Persian Gulf). Thus the housing conundrum, of needing more people to settle in Ruwais to build the infrastructure , but first they need more housing (infrastructure).  As wonderful as the hotel and service was, it is nice to finally have our own place and living schedule.

Living Room and Dinning

 

It is rather incredible to think about all that is necessary and the people involved in the process for us to move into a permanent residence. First, a work visa must be issued by our company "Glenelg" submitting a form to the government. Then, we must apply for a residency visa, by getting fingerprinted, our blood tested, verifying all of our credentials, and passing national security by different government agencies. After this, has happened, another government agency "ADEC" needs their own copies of our credentials, work visa, residency visa, and we must pass their security clearance.  While  the government, ADEC, ADNOC, and Glenelg are working  on some part of this process for every international person ADNOC has hired, many people (100's)are moving in and out of Ruwais with different companies all working for ADNOC. Some are scheduled to arrive and do not and some are not scheduled to arrive and do with schedules, paperwork, and arrangements working out or not working out. With 85% of the

Dining Room

country being foreign workers and ADNOC being the largest corporation in thecountry this makes for a large scale set of challenges.
 

As the country just celebrated, this December 2nd their National Day, they are forty-two years old. What this means is that while they are one of the fastest growing countries in the world there is not a well oil (no pun intended) and smoothly running machine with all the kinks worked out yet. Companies and agencies have their own set of growing pains here not to mention staying well connected to the other companies (with their growing pains) in the chain of production.  The more I think about it, the more it is a miracle we have a place to live here!

Kitchen w/ tomoato, mint, and basil

Once we received our keys, we also received the company funds to purchase our own furniture.  Although, we were told our flat would be furnished, we did not mind selecting the things we would like. This took more effort then we first considered as  we needed to continue our teaching schedule, rent a car (first get a UAE drivers license),  and find the stores that had the things we wanted. Any store would be at least two hours drive away and would only have a few items we wanted in it. After finding the item we wanted, then came the bartering process as every price is negotiable. If  you are white and speak English the price is always double what you could pay for it. Now enters convenience,  with our only time on the weekends, with limited shopping around-time and knowledge of the area there was an IKEA. :)   Although, they did not barter, they were priced within reason, we knew the quality, it was familiar, it had almost everything we needed, and it was Scandinavian!
 

Hallway for Front Door

Kithcen Appliances and Pantry Door

So within three weeks from moving in on November 17th, we have the furniture we want, pictures on the wall, kitchen full and working, washing machine working, plants growing, clothes out of the suitcase, and a welcome mat at the front door. It is nice to wake up around 6:30am and get to school in 10 minutes, rather then waking up around 5:15am and taking a bus for 40 minutes to get to work. We have a local fruit and vegetable shop we go to every few days who recognize us when we come by and know what we like. There are three main grocery markets in town with a limit selection of the basics.  Abu Dhabi is the place where we go once onemonth for more specialty items.
 

If you are thinking of moving to the UAE, here are some notes to think about. Everything is concrete, so you will need to hang things with a hammer drill.  The water is hard, so you will need to put a filter in the shower so you can keep your hair and a filter on the washing machine so the soap can work properly. The air has a very fine dust-film in it, so you do not open the windows much and should look to put filters in the vents. If you have an AC/fan unit in your room, have maintenance check it immediately as every 3 months enough dust sticks to the filter to make your our throw rug.  The dust inevitably collects on the floor and you can usually hire a maid for about $20 a week to vacuum, dust, and mop. The air is not so fresh, so 17 indoor plants with a large surface area of soil in the pot per person (as researched by NASA) will provide agood amount of oxygen for you. A water service is recommended to get your drinking water or a very good filtration system.  If you are bringing anything electrical that plugs into the wall, read the manufacturing specifications to see that it can take INPUT 120-240V. The UAE uses 220V so if the unit does not go above 220V it may not work or it may fry in a puff of smoke. It is best to rent a car the first 6 months of living in the UAE to make sure you will be staying and to give you time to look around for deals. Belhasa Car Rental has reasonable rates for renting a car and good customer service.

Bedroom

Bathroom

If you have time to shop around and barter: Sharjah is a good place for automobilesand carpets; DragonMart has everything you can imagine from China; Al Ain has some great home furnishing stores; the Iranian Souk is a great place to buy indoor or outdoor plants (barter for half of the asking price). The stores do their biggest sales of the year from December to January (40-70% off). DoBizzle.aue is like Craigslist.com and is a great site to find used items.

Thanks for reading. We are excited and looking forward to visitors as our guestroom is nice and big :) Masa il-khair (good night)!