[ appliance shopping ]

ONE OF the cons about moving to a villa in Dubai is that you need to buy appliances {most apartments come with appliances included ~ at least kitchen ones}. I wasn't too thrilled to learn this, as it's just another expense for a temporary home.

I've been keeping my eye on Dubizzle, hoping that I can score a great deal from someone who may be moving away. But so far, I haven't really come across any worth the hassle of seeking out a guy with a truck to pick up and deliver for a fair price {plus, I don't know any guys with trucks and pick-up truck rentals here are non-existent}. So, plan B ~ buy new.

Actually, one of the pros about buying appliances in Dubai, is that they are strangely economical, at least compared to any we have bought in Canada. However, once we started looking, we realized a couple of things:

A: a standard electric stove like in Canada aren't common here and if you do find an electric one, they are very expensive
B: the space for the stove in most villas is wider than a standard stove and
C: everyone uses gas stoves since they are so inexpensive {even though gas comes in cylinders like this which are typically stored in a cupboard outside and piped in ~ which does freak me out a little bit}...

I'm not opposed to gas stoves ~ we've had them before and I do love cooking on them. Baking, on the other hand, is not my favourite with gas so I decided to opt for an electric oven if possible.

This is the one we ended up choosing...

...a stainless La Germania made in Italy with gas burners and electric oven. This looks like the high-end industrial type of stove you would buy in Canada but this is what typical stoves look like here. And while this would sell for about $4000 back home, here it's a quarter of that price! Like I said, strangely economical.

Choosing a fridge, we had to find one a little narrower than standard and so we chose this beauty:

...a stainless Liebherr made in Germany, counter depth with a bottom-mount freezer and reversible handles {which we need in order for it to open the correct way}. And again, for a mere fraction of what you would spend in Canada! I'm seriously loving this whole appliance shopping thing here!

Throw in a dishwasher and those babies are on their way to the villa next week. And, we get the keys tomorrow ~ can't wait!!

So, that's what I'm up to over here. Now if I only knew what length of curtain rods I need...

lisa