Shop 'Til You Drop -- White Goods

White goods are so pretty,

Satin-finished steel,

If you go to Carrefour

You can get a deal!

Those lines will make a LOT more sense if you are familiar with the soundtrack to Hair.

This is the first in a what will probably be a series of shop-til-you-drop postings.  Because not only is shopping one of the official UAE national pastimes, it's also necessary -- at least until you get that 3,500 square foot villa furnished and outfitted with appliances.

Yep, that's right, I said *appliances*.  As in white goods.  The refrigerator, range, dishwasher, and laundry facilities are all conspicuously missing from villas in Abu Dhabi.  Actually, there is a refrigerator standing in the yard outside the villa we are trying to rent, but I don't think that counts.

I don't really know why the culture of take-your-appliances-with-you exists over there. Particularly when you think that a significant number of expats leaving a villa might not be moving into another one, but moving OUT of Abu Dhabi.  And it's not just the appliances that go, but the curtains, light fixtures, and even the light bulbs.

What this means is that it's a priority to buy those appliances within a day or two of arriving, and if you're anything like me, that means you'll want to have done some research beforehand. The most efficient way to get that research done is to send your husband over there armed with a shopping list and a notepad and have HIM run around the appliance stores.  But not everyone can do that, so here's a short guide to appliance-hunting in the capital:

Go to Carrefour.

Ok, maybe that's too short.  But my scout -- er, husband -- seemed to have excellent luck there and reported the following:

LG refrigerator

Indesit cooker

LG convection microwave

LG washer/dryer

Sony flatpanel television

Sharp canister vacuum cleaner

and a flash Maytag dishwasher.

Now doesn't he deserve a round of applause?  Particularly since we're talking about a man who doesn't cook, doesn't do laundry (well, at least not very often), doesn't believe in dishwashers, and doesn't watch television.

There are other places I could send him -- Costless, Jashanmal, Better Life  -- to name a few. But why?  After all, a dishwasher is a dishwasher, at least once you get up into the astronomical price ranges of brands like Miele and Bosch.  And unlike here at home where we plan on using an appliance for ten to fifteen years, the farthest ahead we need to think about our Abu Dhabi kitchen is about two years.

Assuming, that is, that we actually HAVE a kitchen to move into in a few weeks.