My Sharjah Rent: University lecturer and wife have been renting Dh95,000 townhouse for 12 years

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American Darcy Harris and her British husband Paul Hudson, who teaches at the American University of Sharjah, are in their 60s and have lived in the UAE for 26 years.

Having previously called three other emirates home, they currently rent a townhouse in Hay Barashi, a Sharjah area they have seen evolve from an isolated spot to popular residential area.

Ms Harris, who is known as The Camel Lady for her popular papier-mache creations, showed The National around their house.

Please tell us about your home

Having lived in Al Ain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah, we now live in Hay Barashi, a suburb of Sharjah located off the Sharjah Airport road and the 611 freeway.

The couple's home has a unique artistic flair. Antonie Robertson / The National

We have lived in our four-bedroom, four-bathroom, semi-detached townhouse for over 12 years.

It also includes an en suite maid’s room. But, since we do not have live-in help, the maid’s room has been taken over by our four cats, PG, Tips, Jingie, and Lord Marmaduke of Floofington.

Our rent has fluctuated greatly. Today we pay Dh95,000 ($25,900) a year, which is good value.

What made you choose this community?

Paul teaches at AUS in the Academic Bridge Programme, helping students who have been accepted at AUS, but do not quite have the level of English/study skills needed to enter their majors.

Normally, faculty and staff live in campus housing, but when Paul started working there, there was a housing shortage.

Given the option, we chose to live off campus. We chose to live in Hay Barashi because it was quiet and, at the time, in the middle of nowhere.

What are the advantages?

It was a safe place to live and easy for Paul to travel to AUS because he goes against the traffic. In the morning, everyone is heading to Dubai while he goes into Sharjah.

In the afternoon, when everyone is heading back into Sharjah, he heads out towards the E611.

How much has the community around you changed?

When we moved to Hay Barashi, there was nothing here.

The house was on a street with five houses. Behind was another row of five, and across from those five houses were five houses, and that was it; no shops, no petrol stations, no other houses. There was one mosque in the far distance, and desert as far as the eye could see.

Across the street from the house was a farm. The bedroom window still overlooks sheep, goats and an occasional cow.

Further up the street were horses and a huge herd of camels. I would park my car in the desert up the street from the house a few mornings a week and wait for the camels to come visit me.

Occasionally, I would be working on my camels when I would hear this clomping sound outside the upstairs windo