Well Yellow Snow I beg to differ. I didn't come here to live in a flat with my family views or no views. A tiny villa in the springs is going at 200k. If you are paying 190K for your flat remember that 20k of your allowance is for utilities. For me any payment for rent accom is significant. In the contract I was promised accom and utilities paid and this is simply not happening. I know for a fact that people have turned down the contract for this reason. If you are happy to live in a high rise flat thats fine. But most people (me included) didn't come here to live worse than at home so paying for a "decent" accom for this purpose means forking out. It may sound snobbish but if we let Serco think that it can keep our accom allowances low so that it can put us up in apartments then that is not going to happen. You are new here so maybe you would like to ask around how the old guys here lived b4 the current situation set in. Its a matter of quality of living. Dubai is still a hole in the desert and simply an artificial mock up city with no soul so for me personally a good home means a lot. Its a matter of perspective I guess.