<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/my-dubai-rent/"><i><b>My Dubai Rent</b></i></a><i><b> 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</b></i> Clemence Powney and her family moved to <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/dubai/" target="_blank">Dubai</a> from Toulouse, France, in 2022. They picked a three-bed apartment in the Lamcy Residence in the established area of Oud Metha, a stone's throw from <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/heritage/uae-then-and-now-images-show-a-dubai-creek-barely-changed-in-decades-1.1185357" target="_blank">Dubai Creek</a>, particularly because it is close to their daughters' school. The Dh140,000 unit also has epic views of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art-design/2023/01/04/burj-khalifas-unbeatable-design-construction-and-world-records-in-numbers/" target="_blank">Burj Khalifa</a>, is just minutes from Downtown Dubai and has a traditional community feel where everyone knows each other. Ms Powney, who is a French-British resident, has also filled her home with artwork and even did a mural in the kitchen with her daughters. She took <i>The National</i> on a tour of their home. We live in a very large three-bedroom apartment. We love it because it's large and there are bathrooms in each bedroom. Our kitchen is so long it feels like a bowling alley sometimes. It feels like hotel living. We can see the whole Dubai skyline with the Burj Khalifa from our living room and bedroom. We are a couple: Clemence (French/British) and Aurelien (French, founder of Phyleas Event Agency) and with our two daughters Hanae, 10, and Mila, eight, and our cats, Coca and Oreo. We chose it mainly because of its proximity to our daughters' school (Lycee Francais International AFLEC), and also because it was within our budget. We are extremely fortunate to be within walking distance of the school, which is a very rare thing in Dubai. I'm an artist specialising in performances for all kinds of events and the first thing I did was hang my artworks all around the house. I enjoy having lots of plants at home too and my harp as I'm also a musician. Our latest project with my daughters was to paint our large kitchen wall with some leftover paint I had from a mural job I did recently. We had a great time doing it and it transformed the room. We live in a beautiful flat with lovely neighbours, some of whom have become very good friends. We feel like we're part of a community, with the kids going to the pool together, playing together and even going trick or treating on each floor together for Halloween. This is our first apartment in Dubai. We moved here in the summer of 2022 from Toulouse, in the South of France. Oud Metha is an amazing neighbourhood. It has so many restaurants, shops, etc. It is always very lively and full of people. We enjoy taking a walk there in the evening, while drinking smoothies and karak tea. Everyone's very friendly and great with kids. We have a metro station, are very close to Healthcare City and the Wafi Mall, and we have Dubai Creek Park at the end of our road, which is a great place to go with kids. I like everything about the place. The only thing I would change is being a little further from the motorway, because although it is very practical to move around, it's a bit noisy when we're on our balcony For the moment we are happy here. It is very good value for money, especially now that prices have gone up everywhere in Dubai. We're only 10 minutes away from Downtown Dubai and so close to our daughters' school. We are not planning on moving out anytime soon. Yes, the standard of the flat is amazing. We've got a pool and a gym with stunning Burj Khalifa views. We would pay much more if we were in Downtown Dubai for example but we prefer Oud Metha. No downsides.
