Dubai is the best city to move to with your family

All parents want to give their children all the best: comfortable living conditions, safety, education, a happy childhood and a bright future. Dubai is ideal destination for that.

Dubai is one of the most family-friendly cities in the world with first-class social infrastructure including top-notch entertainment facilities for children of all ages. This is a city of expats (about 90% of the population are foreign residents), which attracts many young and ambitious professionals. More and more foreigners move here with their families and combine the upbringing of their children with developing their career.

What conditions does Dubai offer for living with children and why is this city considered one of the best for relocation? You will find the answer in this article.

Content:

• Safety and living standards
• Support for families
• Educational facilities
• Best family communities

Safety and living standards

Over the past five years, Dubai has repeatedly entered the top world rankings in terms of quality of life. For example, in 2021, according to the results of the HSBC study of the Expat Explorer, the UAE was ranked the fourth best country to live in for foreigners. According to the English financial magazine Global Finance, the United Arab Emirates ranked 2nd out of 134 in the top list of the safest countries in the world.

Considered the most popular of the emirates among foreigners, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are among the ten safest cities in the world according to the Numbeo crowdsourced global database. In addition, according to Resonance Consultancy, Dubai was ranked the 5th best city in the world in 2021.

Support for families

In addition to an attractive business environment, a comfortable tax regime and high standards of living, Dubai attracts foreigners with rich infrastructure, plenty of entertainment options as well as legislation that is aimed at supporting families. One of such measures is Law No. 7 of 2006 of the Dubai Government Human Resources Management. According to this law, all pregnant women are entitled to maternity leave. Public sector employees are entitled to 90 days of paid maternity leave and a 2-hour reduction in working hours during the year.

Female employees in private companies can request 45 days of leave with full pay provided that they have worked in the company for at least a year. After the birth of a baby, they can also go on maternity leave twice within a year and a half.

Another advantage that foreigners are offered is a flexible visa policy. Expats with a resident visa can sponsor immediate family members, including unmarried children under 18 (up to 21 if the son or daughter is studying at a foreign university or one of the universities in the UAE).

Educational facilities

If you are moving to Dubai with preschool and school age children, you can enjoy the top-notch UAE educational system. Most educational institutions use European educational programs, which allows children to quickly adapt and master the educational material.

For younger children

Pre-school educational facilities in the UAE are divided into two types: Nursery - for children from 6 months (in some cases from one and a half months) and Kindergarten - kindergartens for children under 6 years old. Despite the fact that attending nurseries and kindergartens is not mandatory in the country, the benefits of such institutions are significant. Children learn to count, write and develop creative thinking and social interaction skills there. Moreover, you can find schools with staff speaking many popular languages such as English, German, Italian, French, etc.

For school children and students

Schooling starts at the age of 6. Dubai has public and private schools. There are over 200 private schools. They teach under the British and American programs, as well as under the International Baccalaureate program. Education in private schools is always paid, which is fully justified by the level of training. According to the UAE Ministry of Education, 80% of graduates and 95% of graduates of local schools successfully get higher education around the world.

According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), there are 173 private schools in Dubai with over 270,000 students in total.

There are about 100 universities in the UAE, three of which are public:

• UAE University;
• Zayed University;
• Higher Colleges of Technology.

In Dubai, more than 30 higher educational institutions are represented only on the territory of free zones.

Best family communities

Dubai has a lot of great neighbourhoods and communities with well-thought-out infrastructure, but not all of them can be fully called child-friendly. Anyone planning to move with their family needs to consider a combination of factors, including:

• Comfortable environment;
• Playgrounds;
• Kindergartens and schools nearby;
• Clinics and shops in close proximity.

It is also worth choosing a gated community with limited car traffic, plenty of green areas where you can hang around with a stroller and play with your kids.

We have collected for you the most popular communities in Dubai for living with family and children.

Dubai Hills

Dubai Hills is a prestigious community designed as Beverly Hills in the USA. It is one of the freehold zones, so foreigners can buy real estate here in full ownership. In 2021, this project has become the most sought after among villa buyers.

Features:

• Many playgrounds;
• Children's pools;
• Many parks and various public spaces;
• Barbecue areas
• A huge 18-hole golf course
• Pet friendly.

Property in Dubai Hills can be bought or rented. The range of available properties includes villas with two to seven bedrooms. The minimum purchase price for a villa is AED 18 million (USD 4,900 million; CNY 32.2 million).

Umm Suqeim

Umm Suqeim is a comfortable area consisting of five communities: Umm Suqeim 1, 2 and 3, as well as Umm Suqeim Road and Madinat Jumeirah Living.

The area is great for family living. The amenities here are:

• playgrounds;
• Excellent beaches
• Bakeries and cafes;
• Public transport stops within walking distance;
• Clinics and pharmacies.

Here you can also rent or buy villas with four to seven bedrooms. The minimum cost of such housing options is AED 5.9 million (USD 1.6 million; CNY 10.1 million).

If you are planning to move to Dubai with your family and children, Emirates.Estate specialists will help you organize all the main processes, from finding housing and obtaining visas to after-sales service.