I lived in Al Ain, or to be precise, Buraimi Oasis next door in the Oman. I worked at the UAE Air College at Al Ain Intnl. and sent my kids to school at the English Speaking school. Al Ain is a nice sleepy town with a Hilton, Intercon and another new hotel. Night life etc is at DXB. Great place for young families with mountains and Wadis close by and the best desert driving anywhere.
Cost of villa much less than AUH/DXB prob DHS 70-80k pa gets nice newish villa. In Buraimi, if you have cash in hand, a palace can be had for under DHS 3000 per month. Omanis much nicer and more well adjusted (they actually do their own dirty jobs like taxi driving) tahn UAE nats. They like the Brits much more as we saved Buraimi from the Saudis many years ago.
Reasonable expat comm. centred on hotels and airport.
What job is it ?