Rosie Hunter lives with her family in Dubai's JBR. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National

My Dubai Rent: Meet the family who swapped villa life in suburbs for bustle of JBR



My Dubai Rent takes you inside a reader’s home to have a look at what they get for their money, how much they pay in rent and asks them what they like and don’t like

One trend that has been prominent recently is people opting to buy properties in Dubai rather than renting.

However, one exception to that is Rosie Hunter, 32, and her family who swapped their villa in JVT for a two-bedroom apartment in JBR, right beside the bustling Dubai Marina.

Ms Hunter, who founded a running club for mothers called The Mum Run Club DXB, pays Dh120,000 in rent, and says that her family has come back full circle to where they love.

She invited The National into her home to show us what makes it so special to her and her family.

Why did you choose to live here?

We were in a villa with a nice big garden but we decided villa life wasn't for us. We wanted to move back to the Marina, the JBR area [in particular], because we've got everything on our doorstep here.

It gives us the full lifestyle package. We have the beach, we have the parks, the Marina promenade.

We are in a two-bedroom apartment and it's just the right amount of space for us. Before when we were living in the villa, we would step out the front door and we would be on the road.

There are so many parks here, there's dog parks, everything is literally on your doorstep. My daughter's nursery is close by, we roll out of bed in the morning and we take her straight down to her nursery.

The metro is right beside us as well and we can just walk out the door [to get there]. We barely need to use our car.

The view from Rosie Hunter's building in JBR. Antonie Robertson/The National

Do you feel you're getting value for money?

The rents are a little bit higher than the likes of Town Square, for example, but we have everything on our doorstep here.

Yes, there's a lot of traffic in the Marina, but I'm working from home mainly and I can just step out of my doorstep and everything's on foot. If I need to go to a supermarket, it's right there.

The pharmacy is close, there is entertainment all around, we've got the cinema close to us in walking distance and the beach.

You used to own property but now you rent, why did you make that switch?

We owned a property in the Marina and we lived there for three to four years and then we sold that, moved to JVT and sold that and then we came back to the Marina.

We're renting because we were thinking about buying a property back in the UK. We've lived in Dubai for around 10 years.

We were debating whether or not to go back to the UK, seeing as now we've got two little girls and we miss family.

We have no plans to move back anytime soon because of the state of the UK and the security of life in Dubai, which trumps going back. Even though we miss family, we think this is a better lifestyle for our children.

Do you miss living in a villa?

It is different because we don't have a garden any more and we have a dog, but we have a dog park at the bottom of the building.

It's a little bit less spacious than being in a villa, but we're actually so much happier being back.

Updated: January 26, 2025, 10:29 AM