About Dubai Unpacked

Plain answers for people who live in Dubai or want to: visas and paperwork, money, getting around, schools, the neighbourhoods, and buying a home.

• Guides that explain one thing well, with the sources and the date we last checked them.
• Neighbourhood guides: what daily life is like, what's nearby, and what homes cost to rent and to buy.
• Every off-plan project in Dubai, with its developer, payment plan and handover date, and what similar new homes nearby really sold for.

Sales, rents, service charges and the project register come from the Dubai Land Department. Prices, payment plans and handover dates come from the developers. Places come from OpenStreetMap.

We work out every figure the same way for every project, and show it even when it doesn't flatter one. How we work them out.

The Dubai Unpacked editorial team. We check each guide against its sources before we publish it, and again when the rules or the figures change.

• This site doesn't sell property, arrange viewings or take enquiries.
• We don't score or rank developers or projects.
• Nothing here is financial, legal or tax advice.

Found a mistake, or want us to explain something? Write to the editors.