EK - Meydan Heights preview, get ready
 

Came across this video of testing AC and water pumps in our new villas...


Don´t put too much effort into your current villa and start asking your Facilities manager for your moving date...

I especially like the guy demonstrating the A/C in the maid´s room at 12:16. He says it has the highest energy efficiency rating, but it´s clearly marked with 2 out of 5...

Not sure I can see the point of demonstrating how cold the A/C can go on a video.

GBN are you researching your next likely homestead or just really bored?

Heard that the guys in NCC are getting turfed out and sent to purgatory city. As leases expire they'll send everyone out there.

Couldn't imagine living shoulder to shoulder with 500 people you work with. Im putting money on a lot of folks getting clinically depressed, and thats just the pilots. No birds, no plants, no green...just dust and heavy diesel machinery and high voltage lines to look at...yep paradise.

New joiners....Insist on being shown this "utopia" because this is where new hires will be housed.

Think hard....

I'm not disagreeing with your concerns; it could be terrible. However, we all thought Silicon oasis was awful, with no greenery, miles out in the desert etc etc... and that was the original semmer. Is that purgatory? Just sayin....

A stand alone villa with a large garden does not compare to a row house with no garden living under a power line.

I saw the DSO villa's when they where first handed over and rather liked them but we were happy where we were. Don't worry though, even the DSO group will be moving to "the projects" in time since EK don't have a long term deal with them any more. I have heard those villa's rent for 250K in the market....time is ticking...the company is in the process of building and additional 1000 units that will be ready in less than a year.

Sounds like you haven't seen it yet but you will.

How many of these town houses are ready now?

300 are ready now, with power water and sewer. The rest are ready by summer. Total 528.

For New Joiners who are still "enticed" by the Package on offer, a close look at Meydan Heights is essential. I think the Lines of white terraced houses might be a deal breaker, there is no comparison to either development in DSO. The houses are smaller, with a far higher housing density and no gardens or green spaces. Its depressing to think our employer thinks this is the Future..

I guess as an FO, getting put in a 100% comp. accommodation tower block such as millenium, this would be the reality for 7-10 years. A never ending crew layover. The option to opt out is a deal breaker, but is it still a viable option with rent raises in UAE.

The old bread knife thought initially they looked quite nice, but on closer inspection she was mortified, it hastened her departure with the kids back to a cooler and slightly damper climate.

Funny that... Heard an HR bod say (today) that none of the villas are ready 'cos DEWA haven't put in water pipes yet! The testing you see here probably powered by local gennie units...

And two months ago when I took a look out there I'm fairly sure that only about 20 units looked to be anywhere near finished!

This HR bod, were his/her lips moving??


Why not spare yourselves the trouble and buy your own place. No evictions and no pilots wives hanging around watching your moves. :)

WK,

Just relaying what the project foreman told me last week. From what I saw (last week) they are ready. Careful about what HR tells you, they just want you to go away.

They are trying to get a short term lease extensions in some cases but the end result is that they WILL move staff there because its cheaper for them.

Those are not really Villas , they are more like town houses. Very or no Gardens and on top of each other.Zero privacy !

Under the high tension power lines are not that great either to be honest !.

Silicon was one thing years ago , Proper free standing villas with huge gardens so even if it was far out , it was nice,

This reminds me of these goverment housing , leaving your home where ever you come from to cram into this , well think twice

This will make everyone more depressed !

Good luck moving out there !

Fellow aviators.

Please, please, please do some research regarding overhead high voltage power lines. In most European countries it's now forbidden to build within a certain distance of them. It would be worth getting together on this and maybe getting independent advice. I've not been up there so don't know the location. It would be worth checking before accepting.

Please don't put yourself in a situation where god forbid you look back on this and say 'if only'. Your families health cannot be replaced. Once you accept and move in, it will be practically impossible to move out. Do you really think those smiling girls in accommodation will care. Look at the Countries they come from and decide how much life is valued there!

Do you think the VP's and above will move out there?

Harry

FL3

Nice one....1 post....so who are you really?

The power lines are there despite what the all mighty "google earth" tells you, all you need do is trust the people who post here who have seen it with THEIR OWN EYES...the power lines are there...if you still believe the all mighty google earth then do please come here to see for yourself.....

The post from above actually carries some credit....

FYI... http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/healthyliving/cancercontroversies/powerlines/

You have been told

Having just looked on Maps with the co-ords, these are villas? Looks like a bunch of factories to me :(

Finally....somebody has seen the light....

BTW concentration camp is more appropriate description.

?????? - I thought I just posted some pictures of the site but they seem to have disappeared

Is EK becoming like the Airline who shall remain nameless? :uhoh:

Around here you'll never know.

Its possible they don't want the truth getting out. They will probably still show interviewees a nice villa in Jumeriah then dump them into the "camp" when they arrive.

TIP: Don't surrender your passport until you are happy with your accommodation and type of aircraft.

You have to wonder about the planning laws putting all these homes under power lines.

From what I see this will also occur with the new "city" in front of Meydan, between it and Business Bay.

And these are going to luxury homes according to the signs.

How do you spell leukaemia?

The villas are not under the power lines - the power lines run along the road at the front of the development and the closest villas are about 75 meters away. I must admit that the look of them is not that great at the moment but hopefully when some landscaping is done..

As I am not allowed to post pictures here I have stuck them on another site - hopefully this post will not be deleted by the mods..:{

Pics

Wow! First pics I've seen of the Meydan villas. :yuk: Very sad to say the least!

Jeez, doesn't look good does it :(

Reminds me a bit of the labour camps outside Al Quoz.

Mr. Good Cat
 

That should give you some idea of how management views its workforce....

No one's asking the important questions!!
i.e., Can I hang my washing out the windows??
How often does the Tata/ Leyland bus roll through to EGHQ??
How much does a gardener cost, because I'm going to save that much a month?
How much does a divorce cost in the UAE??
:}:}:}

Labour Camp 101 for sure

Thanks for posting the pics.

Forces us to take a grain of salt WRT some posters considering it's not exactly 'living under power lines' as claimed here.

Sarge,

I'll assume that little tidbit was aimed at me. Lets take things with a modicum of thought and perspective. First of all, you can't build anything directly under any power line (in case it falls, if you didn't happen to know).

It is the health effects that one can suffer when living in close proximity which are brought in question here so please excuse me if this was not made clear.

If you like the location then please, by all means move out there and convince any friends you have at EK (if any) to do the same. Its a great place to be if you don't like a garden, enjoy 50 cycle hum and strong electromagnetic fields (as a bonus maybe a little cancer), like to live with everyone you work with etc etc....heck maybe the wife will find a new "hobby" while you're away in order to ease her boredom...lots of benefits to be sure!

This is the place for you Sarge....I can't recommend it enough!

There is a difference in saying it's right next to power lines as opposed to saying it's under powerlines.

I am not defending the place in any way, I have no idea not opinion about it as things stand, but I do think little things tell us a lot, and no offence but by describing the powerlines as overhead means your credibility drops in my eyes as this is all I have to go off and the facts are misrepresented.

As for the powerlines, would I move my family into a place next to high voltage powerlines? Hell no.

Would I live in a community full of pilots? Not on your life.

The magnetic field reduces exponentially with distance. At around 200 m from a 400kV line you should be around 0.1 microtesla which is equivalent to what you would be exposed to in a normal city apartment. I´d say I´d want at least 300 meters between my family and those lines to feel completely safe.

I make no comment but just leave this here.


"Saeed Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Meydan said: “This is a landmark development not only because it will be a built-to-specifications project by Meydan Group in collaboration with Emirates Airline, but because it also allows us to showcase our continued commitment to developing projects which set the benchmark for exceptional design and build-quality.

"Emirates Airline is not only a global leader in its industry, but a company that is renowned for having a strong focus on employee welfare. Meydan Heights aims to be the blueprint development for providing the airline with quality housing which will meet the exacting standards by which the airline is known for.""

Yes..it supports what I said.

You just need to view it from that point of view.

"“This is a landmark development"...yes, its made a mark on the land.

"built-to-specifications"...yes, it is...so was a Lada.

"exceptional design and build-quality"...

"exceptional" |ikˈsepSHənəl|
adjective
unusual; not typical: crimes of exceptional callousness and cruelty.

"welfare"... self explanatory

Meydan Heights aims to be the blueprint development for providing the airline with quality housing which will meet the exacting standards by which the airline is known for.""..says it all really.

I would postulate then, that given the statement above that it will be the new home of management as well? Now that will be something!

more pictures

Thanks for the pictures JetII. Is the fence to keep people in or out?

It has just begun...employees are getting their "get out" letters now.

Who's going to be next...