uplock,
Sorry man, but I don't completely agree with you.
You are right that accomodation is a bit of a wildcard when coming to EK. While some guys get a nice shiny new villa, others with more seniority are stuck in an old compound like Flamingo to name one... But that was not the point of my post.
I just wanted to point out that the allowance we have is fair. The company has absolutely no obligation in giving you more money so you can stay in a nice (private) villa in Jumeira. They will give you the money (more or less) that it would cost them to house you.
The point you made about 5 years ago: 5 years ago, Jumeira was about the only decent residential area for expats, population in Dubai has increased exponentially since. If you rented your villa in Jumeira back then, you probably can't afford the same villa today, but is that the company's fault? There are enough villas you can rent for that money, although most of them are now located in newer areas more inland, Mirdiff to name one. Whether or not you want to live there is up to you. Flying at BA won't allow you to live in a nice penthouse in Kensington, it's just a fact that we as pilots are not paid like 10 or 20 years ago, but that's industry wide...
I really do think the allowance we get as a group is fair (although maybe not sufficient to buy/rent accomodation you want). Individual cases may have worked out completely wrong, but that was not my point.
You are completely right about the 'distribution' of the villas or apartments. Some people are very lucky, others are not. The good news is that the new guy in accomodation (H.A-B) is very flexible and accomodating if you have a problem.
In my opinion, the biggest problem with accomodation is guys who live in a nice villa or apartment who have to move on a very short notice because the lease ran out, and are confronted with huge costs to make their new EK house their home again. Luckely I didn't hear to many of those lately, maybe that's one of the reasons the person in charge of accomodation has changed...
Anyhow, as an answer to the original question: I would advise for now to stay in EK accomodation and see how property in Dubai might change. If you rent and prices go up, expect a serious increase in rent the next year, if prices would go down... you can bet your landlord keeps you to the 'old' expensive contract unless you want to move... ANd buying right now is completely insane!!
MR8