Residents in this area are the happiest in Abu Dhabi...

dubai - People rate communities on availability of public transportation, facilities, child-friendliness and greenery

Residents in Al Raha Beach are the happiest in Abu Dhabi, according to a survey of more than 1,700 residents conducted by ServiceMarket, a UAE marketplace for home services. Residents were asked to rate each area on 19 different attributes, including the availability of public transportation, sense of community, facilities, child-friendliness and greenery.
Al Raha Beach topped the list of the highest rated areas in Abu Dhabi with an overall average rating of 4.12 out of a maximum of 5. The neighbourhood has plenty of green spaces, shops and restaurants. In addition, it scored highly for the quality of the facilities available to its residents.

Saadiyat Island closely followed it with a rating of 4.05. It offers many recreational and educational facilities to residents. Residents rated it highly in terms of the quality and layout of its homes as well as the availability of parking spaces. However, residents were not happy with the number of shops and restaurants in the area.

Rated highly for being child-friendly, Al Reef was the third highest rated area. Since it lies on the outskirts of the emirate, it's an ideal residential area for people who need to commute to Dubai each day.

With an overall average rating of 3.40, Al Zahiyah was the lowest rated area in Abu Dhabi. It's a densely populated area where residents have been facing shortage of parking spaces. It was followed by Khalifa City and Mohamed Bin Zayed City on the list of areas with the lowest ratings. All 3 of these areas lack greenery and scored poorly in terms of facilities.

Tourist Club Area, Madinat Zayed and Al Mushrif also figured among the lowest rated areas.

Al Raha Beach has jumped to the top position this year even though it was not on the top 5 highest rated areas in 2017. Al Bateen has dropped from the top to the 5th position, and Al Khalidiya which held the second spot last year has now dropped to the 7th position. A major shift in happiness was experienced by Al Zahiyah and Khalifa City, both of which have dropped from the top 5 to the bottom 5 positions.

The highest rated areas for a healthy lifestyle are Saadiyat Island, Al Raha Beach and Al Reef. On the other hand, Mohamed Bin Zayed City, Khalifa City and Al Zahiyah had the lowest ratings.

Most parents are likely to give a high priority to factors such as the proximity to schools, sense of community, child-friendliness and security while choosing an area. In terms of these factors, the highest rated areas were Al Raha Beach, Saadiyat Island and Al Karamah, whereas Tourist Club Area, Al Danah and Al Zahiyah had the poorest scores.

Al Wahda had the highest rating in terms of the availability of public transportation and Khalifa City had the lowest. Residents experienced the lowest levels of noise in Saadiyat Island and found Al Zahiyah to be the noisiest area in Abu Dhabi.

- business@khaleejtimes.com