Dubai residents are happiest living here...

Emirates Living topped the list of the highest rated areas in Dubai because it has an abundance of green spaces and amenities and gives residents a sense of community.

Emirates Living is where Dubai residents are happiest, going by the survey findings of ServiceMarket, a marketplace for home services. This includes the communities of The Springs, The Meadows, The Lakes, The Greens, The Views and Emirates Hills.

With an overall average rating of 4.16 out of a maximum of 5, Emirates Living topped the list of the highest rated areas in Dubai because it has an abundance of green spaces and amenities and gives residents a sense of community. It was closely followed by Jumeirah Lakes Towers/Jumeirah Park/Jumeirah Heights with a rating of 4, which scored highly for the quality of the apartments and access to restaurants.

Silicon Oasis, the third highest rated area, has newer and spacious residential buildings with low rents, which means that they offer good value for money. It's also a big business hub, so another reason could be that a lot of residents enjoy living near their workplace. These highly rated areas are also very central and their residents have easy access to public transportation, restaurants and supermarkets.

Lowest rated areas
Rated poorly in terms of the amount of traffic, proximity to schools and facilities, International City was the lowest rated area in Dubai this year. Satwa also scored poorly due to lack of greenery, low quality of facilities and traffic congestion. Deira/Al Mamzar was the third lowest rated area in terms of the proximity to schools, facilities and greenery. These areas are densely populated and generally have older, lower quality apartments.

2016 findings
Motor City had the highest overall average rating last year. For the purpose of this year's study, Motor City was grouped with Sports City and Jumeirah Golf Estates, but on its own it still has a very high rating of 4.27. The Greens, as part of a group or on its own, has managed to remain on the list of top 5 highest rated areas for 3 consecutive years. Emirates Living has climbed from the third to the top position.  

Best areas for families with children
While picking a suitable area, most parents are likely to consider factors like the proximity to schools, sense of community, child-friendliness and security. Based on these factors the top 3 areas for families with children are Emirates Living, Silicon Oasis, and Jumeirah/Al Wasl/Um Suqeim. On the other hand, International City was rated as the least suitable area for children.

Best for a healthy lifestyle
A lot of people now pick residential areas that would allow them to have a healthy lifestyle. If you consider factors like health facilities such as swimming pools and gyms as well as greenery, walking possibilities and noise levels, then the areas with the highest ratings are Emirates Living, JLT/Jumeirah Park/Jumeirah Heights, and Silicon Oasis, whereas Tecom and Satwa have the poorest scores.

Areas with the best homes
In terms of the layout, size and finishing of homes, the highest rated areas in Dubai are Downtown/DIFC/Business Bay, Sheikh Zayed Road and Trade Centre, and Dubai Marina and Sufouh. On the other hand, homes in International City, Deira/Al Mamzar and Satwa had the lowest ratings.  

Other findings
Silicon Oasis is emerging as one of the most popular areas in the emirate. In general, all areas were rated high on safety, except a few like Satwa, Deira/Al Mamzar and International City. In terms of availability of public transportation, Satwa was rated the highest and Dubailand had the poorest score. Dubai Marina and Al Sufouh got the highest average rating for its quality of facilities such as swimming pools, gyms, etc.

- business@khaleejtimes.com