Travels around the world on the sofa

We've spent the last 10 years abroad with our sofa, we left the UK with it in January 2010, we also took 2 of our 5 children with us. When we left South Africa in December 2014 we no longer had children living at home, we now had a cat and a dog and along with our sofa we moved to Dubai.

The sofa is now back in the UK along with the cat and the dog.

UK - Morning after New Years Eve

South Africa 1st House

South Africa 2nd House

Dubai 1st House

Dubai 2nd House

UK Back where it started

That's 5 moves in 10 years and 3 countries and one well travelled sofa.

Week 35 - One Daily Positive. UK vs Dubai during Covid

Although I've spent large chunks of time in the UK over the past 4 years and am from the UK, I still consider Dubai my home at the moment. I've not really been settled here though as I find making friends here difficult and the heat means I spend large amounts of time in the home or when I do go out I'm in malls. I was grateful to have been in the UK for the first part of lockdown as I was able to go out and walk Bob for an hour a day and just sit in the garden. However I wish I was able to stay in Dubai now and am making plans for the winter to come back out here. I'm just struggling to find someone to look after the dog for more than a few weeks and I'd really like to reduce the amount of flying I do.

Covid is being managed much better here, I'm happy to attend medical appointments and even had my hair cut and nails done. Indoors here is much bigger, more space, temperature checks, social distancing and EVERYONE is wearing a mask, people respect requests from security guards to put a mask on, knowing it is punishable by law for failing to follow the rules. The only time I struggle with wearing a mask is when I'm outdoors in busy areas, such as the mall car parks and walking to the train as it's just so hot here.

Dubai's 'to do' list is for me to sell my car, close my bank account, tidy and sell the garden and sort through and organise packers to get some stuff shipped back to the UK. 

236 Sunday Off to Dragon Mart to purchase some outdoor lights, we had coffee out and spent the rest of the day in front of the TV.

Usually lifts are a free for all, as is any doorway in Dubai, typically as you try to get out, 20+ people are piling in. So much more civilised during covid, although facing the wall seems a bit weird.

237 Monday Up early and off to the dentist for a check up on my implants and a deep clean, scale and polish. I called in at Mall fo the Emirates for lunch, then had a manicure and pedicure and then took my car for a valuation after having it cleaned. We watched TV in the evening.

This is the view from the dentist, although my 90 min view was of the ceiling.

238 Tuesday Peter went into the office and I had a virtual phone consultation with a moving company. I did have a tidy up first. I sold my car for £800, it was purchased for £5,000 4 years ago. Cars are cheaper here than the UAE and the deprecation is the same as I would've had in the UK. I then walked and caught the train to Ibn Battuta for an opticians appointment. Peter met me for a coffee and a lift home. 

239 Wednesday Up at 6am to continue cutting back the plants and tidying the garden. Off to the bank to close my account. Stopped at The Souk Madinat but it was closed till midday, so visited Mall of the Emirates for a coffee and some shopping. Evening spent mowing the lawn and power washing the patio.

One of my favourite views of Dubai.

240 Thursday Up early to finish the garden, shame I won't get too much time to enjoy just sitting out there. Packers booked and arranged for Sunday, container will be shipped on Sept 10th. I spent the day applying for my tax relief in the UK, organising the shipping insurance and cancelling car insurance. We went out in the evening to visit a friend for dinner.

I have to itemise our belongings and list a replacement price for destination. There's no where to add things like throws or cushions so you have to be creative with where you write things down.

241 Friday Collected my new glasses from the Mall, bought a couple of cards, had a coffee and then off to visit colleagues of Peter's for the afternoon, didn't get home till after 10pm, straight to bed.

3 years ago when we moved here, this view was just sand. The building I took this photo from didn't exist either.

242 Saturday Met up with our friends for breakfast at Mall of the Emirates, did some shopping, went to the cinema to see Tenet and home to get ready for the packers tomorrow and to watch the football.

My to do list in the UK is to repaint the doors that Peter had to shorten and rehang after having new carpets fitted, finish painting the shed and restore my old dolls house.

After our belongings are packed tomorrow, I just have to clean, rearrange the remaining furniture, then I have a full week of doing nothing before I return to the UK, so I'll be doing some serious shopping now I don't have to take things I need back in my suitcase for winter as the container will arrive mid October.

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Keeping the romance alive during covid - Sponsored Post

The Road to nowhere - My Sunday Photo

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Moving House in Dubai Part 1 - Giving notice and finding a new home

Handing in your notice:

You need to give written notice of 90 days to your landlord as per your tenancy agreement. I'm seriously hoping that a WhatsApp message to the Land Ladies daughter will suffice or we'll be staying put. The last two years we've rearranged the new teensy agreement this way and last year, it was how the 5% increase in rent was relayed to us via WhatsApp also. So far the only response I’ve had is that we’ll get the deposit back once we’ve settled the DEWA (electricity and water) account.

Our contract states we mustn’t remove anything attached to walls, so must I sssume we leave the curtain poles in place? It’s the only thing we’ve put up and that the house must be clean.

I’ve heard other contracts stipulate the house must be repainted and all plants removed from the garden. As our garden was bare other than a patch of half dead grass and 2 office chairs, I’ll be digging up our shrubs and small trees regardless.

Contacting an agent: 

Google ‘houses to rent in Dubai’ there are quite literally 100’s if agents. Set a budget, location, size of house (number of bedrooms) and be prepared to have agents a) ring you within several minutes with a list of available properties or b) not reply to your calls at all. 

Ask agents to ‘drop a pin’ on WhatsApp but be prepared that a) you’ll never find that location or b) the agent fails to turn up.

We’re moving to downsize, save money and be closer to Peters work. Downsizing and small are not words that Dubai are familiar with. Most of the properties viewed so far are bigger than where we are now, it have gardens of epic proportions. 

Some things to take into consideration when renting a new property:

Does the landlord accept pets? Does the land owners ie construction company allow pets on their land they manage? I know of a couple of areas in Dubai where pets are allowed in the buildings (mainly apartment blocks) but the land owners have declared the outside area a ‘dog free’ zone.

Will the landlord be doing any work to the property? What? Timescale? Decorating before you move in? Landscaping the outdoor area? What are the t&cs in regards to repairs? It is common that the tenant is responsible for repairs up to AED500. Make sure all this is in writing. 

Find out how many cheques the landlord will accept. It’s commercial n to pay rent a year up front. Some places will accept 2-4 cheques in advance for the year, but the price will go up if you accept this method and remember it’s illegal in Dubai if a cheque bounces and you will face prosecution if you don’t have the funds. You’ll also require a deposit. 

Agents fees? You’ll need to budget for them also, but don’t expect them to manage your rental agreement, that’s between you and your landlord. 

Getting a quote for packers and moving:

You’ll find details of removal companies in adverts on the rental agents pages. Find out if they’ll pack and unpack and if insurance is included and over how many days they’ll move you.

Here are some of the properties we’ve been looking at.

We’ve decided we want to rent a townhouse. They are 3 beds but much smaller and with less outdoor space than the 2 bed villas. Both properties are however the same price to rent.

There are only so many different styles to townhouses and villas, so preference comes down to location and quality of property.

We want to be within walking distance of the mall/shops and access to public transport and not on the front row on the entrance road.

2 bed villa

3 bed townhouse

My Sunday Photo - Week 147 - N is for Normal

I'm back home in Dubai until November 6th, the purpose of my trip home is to find a new house to move to, we're trying to downsize. Apparently people in Dubai don't know what downsizing is and all the houses we've looked at so far are bigger than the 4 bed villa we live in now, however, we live near the beach in a prime location, so by moving a bit further inland we can save almost a third in rent and move to a much better quality home.

I'll be in the UK again for 3 weeks to finish helping my mum move, then retuning to Dubai for our actual move and won't be back in the UK until February.

I'm struggling to adapt to the time difference, driving on the wrong side of the road again (I keep getting in the wrong side of the car) and the heat, despite the summer being well and truly over, it's still 35c in the day.

It's been emotionally draining returning to Dubai. Since we've lived abroad I've always worried that every trip home could be the last time I see my parents. Sadly this year, my father died while I was in the UK, hence my extended stay and returning home has meant having to go through things all over again. Telling people when they ask if I've had a good summer in the UK and having some of his things around me that I'm rediscovering, but this time without family around to support me. I'm not looking forward to returning to the UK next month as it all seems so final, but I get one last visit to the home he shared with my mum, before she moves with some of his belongings in a box to her new home.

It's strange being back in Dubai after 3 months in the UK, but it's nice to have a break. I'm not doing anything different than normal, going out and drinking coffee and blogging, I just happen to have different scenery to look at.