My Sharjah Love Affair

Sharjah is a beautiful emirate although far from Dubai’s grandeur. Sharjah was my province and Dubai is my Metro like Bulacan is to Manila. I have lived half of my life in Sharjah after I came to UAE in 2002 before moving to Dubai in 2007. The main reason we moved to Dubai was the annoying traffic within Sharjah-Dubai highway four years ago.

Going Back to the Province

Dubai and the UAE as a whole went into recession during Q1 of 2008 along with the world economy downturn. Although the rent keeps on falling as number of projects entered the market which is an advantage for many, still the price of a 1BR and 2BR apartments are still high and cannot be shouldered alone by a medium earner family of five. The constant rising of food prices, water, electricity, gas, fuel and other main commodities are completely impossible to imagine and come knocking without prior notice. We can simply say that the cost of living in Dubai is perhaps higher compared to other emirates.

If you are paying fifty thousand for a two bedroom apartment in Dubai, you can get the same flat OR bigger in Sharjah for half the price, isn’t that good news? For me it is a wonderful idea for many things, for decorating, organizing, and designing the house which I love doing, giving my almost seven year old daughter her own princess bedroom she always wished for, a bigger area for my almost one year old son to crawl and practice his new found walking skills. We get to socialize with old friends we seldom meet when we were staying in Dubai and hangout in some places me and my loved ones used to go before. I also have a bigger shopping area; by just walking along Jamal Abdul Nasser St. and Al Wahda St. one can experience the best bargain shopping experience. If opting for a higher class of shopping, Sharjah City Center is just right around the corner where all well known brands are available. Just opposite the mall is the Al Majaz Park, a family park and next to it is the corniche with a beautiful view. You can relax and enjoy snacking with some beef or chicken shawarma and a can of soda…simple life but pleasurable. I am only talking about the nearby places from my apartment, there are other must see places in Sharjah as well which I can also share with you over the coming months.

Some who have not experience living in Sharjah have a different connotation of the emirate, the usual replies would be it is very far from Dubai or so much morning rush going to work to Dubai or it is a boring place to live. Well it is not really far from Dubai, without the traffic from my place it is a just a 10-15 minutes drive using the Sharjah Dubai road, the morning rush and traffic is lighter compared to a jammed packed road two years ago. It is not a boring place at all; there are lot of shops and places to see. Cheaper services for all your needs at every corner – laundry, internet cafes, tailoring, massage, etc.

I am not convincing anyone at all to move to Sharjah, I am convinced of what Sharjah has to offer me and my family and the big impact of moving back will make in our life. The decision is right to go back to my province, to relive the love that once died.