Thanks guys, I think the apartment choice is really just a matter of preference and a bit of not really understanding the differences between an apartment and a compound.

In the states, flats are anything but, apartments come in groups 3 stories high in a gated community (presuming this is a compound) and tower apartments are condos..

Not sure which is more difficult, sorting out areas from gulf-times ad's, decifering semantics over living descriptions or actual phone calls to agents who seem to be every bit as confused as myself ;)

Try explaining a loft sometime, "you want an unfinished apartment, in a tower, with no ceiling and a concrete floor??? even 6000 miles away I can hear the guy going, "great, another crazy yank"....