A lot of people we know moved over to Dubai Hill Estate in the last year. 5 bedrooms, space, and that giant park that every mum in Dubai seems to have been to. Every mum, except me…. hahaha. Look, it was always on my to-go list!
One of the many families that has chosen Dubai Hills Estate as a home is Sofia – together with her husband and 4-year old boy. She writes about this new neighbourhood, and why they’ve chosen to move over there. Have a read on – maybe you will consider the transition as well?
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Dubai Hills Estate comprises of both villas and apartments. I chose to move into an apartment as it gave me the opportunity to live at the foot of the biggest park in Dubai called Dubai Hills Park. Needless to say at the moment the park is the number one attraction of the area, which influenced my decision to move to Dubai Hills Estate.
1. Dubai Hills Parks
There are 3 main parks that run through the middle of the green area.
What I love most is that each park is designed to be age appropriate without placing any boundaries on play. All ages of children are welcome in any park but having the apparatus in each park differ in age ability creates a safer environment for each age category.
a. Sandy Parks : Purple Play Area & Yellow Play Area
The 2 parks that cater to the younger kids are sanded, which is a thumbs up as you can grab your beach toys for play as well as having everything inside the park to play on.
b. Dragon Play Area
The older kiddies get to play in the park most known as the “Dragon Park” it has a rubber floor with bright and bold colours. It is a popular one and as you can imagine, it can get quite busy during the weekends and school holidays.
c. Giant Bubble
There’s a huge bubble that you can just whip your shoes off and jump around on for as long as you like, this is nothing like a bouncy castle, its more controlled and foamy rather than scatty bouncing which means again my little one is safe from all the crazy crashing a bouncy castle brings.
We love to go on walks, bike rides and scooter rides, there are plenty of long strips to enjoy as well as a running track that runs around the park.
The park is open to both residents and non-residents which means it can get quite busy on the weekends.
d. Splash Park & Wave Pool
All the facilities mentioned so far go without any extra cost but now that the weather is getting much warmer we will be taking advantage of the splash park and wave pool to cool down. These, come at an extra cost.
- Adults : 25 AED (resident) | 40 AED (non-resident)
- Kids under 13 : 20 AED (resident) | 30 AED (non-resident)
e. Skate Park & Ice Rink
There is also a skate park and ice skating (not real ice) park that is still work in progress.
The area has many green areas to sit and enjoy the scenery, one of our preferred spots is one that bears resemblance of an amphitheatre and can be quite therapeutic in the evenings. This is called ‘Green Square’ on googlemaps – not that it is square at all.
2. Malls & Restaurants
A mall was due to open in October last year but was delayed due to the pandemic. It is due to open by the end of this year which will be welcomed as the area is still under construction with only one shop, within walking distance, for essentials.
April 2022 Update - Dubai Hills Mall is now open !
The Mall of Emirates is down the road as well as Al Barsha for weekly shopping and restaurants. Tribes in the MOE is our favourite these days. We have recently discovered an Afghani restaurant called Wakha that deserves a mention as it serves the most delicious food – it’s just opposite Lulu in Al Barsha.
3. Close to Play and Sport Centres in Al Quoz
Dubai hills is also very close to Al Quoz which means we have easy access to the play and sports centres based in the area. After our sessions we love to stop off at Rajus omelette for breakfast or lunch.
All in all I'd say Dubai hills is a very family friendly area to live, if you ever came to visit you would find that most people that live here have families with young children.
A little about me, I’m Sofia and British.
I have lived all my life around the UK. After completing my bachelors in Computer Science I went on to study an MBA, I then qualified as a teacher and also worked for Vodafone just before moving to Dubai around 2 years ago.
In Dubai, I am a full time mum to a 4 year old boy. I am passionate about child psychology and parenting methods, particularly how best to communicate with children and understanding their methods of communication according to their brain development.
I use my evenings to further develop what I learnt as a teacher, on weekends we use our days to explore the UAE since we are still relatively new and look forward to more exciting adventures.
You can find me on instagram – Sofi_soob
This is one of a series of posts which forms “Is Dubai suitable for families?“
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