To ask if anyone has worked in the UAE?

[StudentMumArghh]

DP is considering going to the UAE preferably Dubai to teach for a year.

Have you or a partner ever done this? Would you recommend? Not sure whether or not we will go with him.

Does it affect your career negively when you want to come back to teach in the U.K.?

When I went there we had to pay a years rent in advance so look at every little thing.

I have friends who live in Dubai - they enjoy it and so far, my bestfriend is happy. They have two young children and leave a fairly comfortable life. What about Singapore (i am from there) - its got low tax (but not no tax which is more appealing in Dubai i suppose). More to do there for sure. Not sure about HK - i used to work there and so did my husband - i didnt like it.

Lots of good advice here.

Yes, don't go together until you are married.

Yes, I wouldn't go until you are qualified and able to get a teaching job as well.

Check the coverage of your healthcare policy with a fine-toothed comb. Ensure that you are covered for pregnancy and birth if there is even the slightest chance that you might want children. This might seem an odd thing to say if you aren't planning a family but if you were to have a baby out there then you'd find it difficult to find a doctor who would support you to have a vaginal birth, if that mattered to you.

I have a lot of friends who have taught in HK, Jordan, UAE and Malaysia. They travel extensively in the long summer holidays and generally had a good time. Without exception they have come back to the UK once their children were of primary school age. No problems getting jobs in UK schools.

I have travelled extensively in my career, throughout my 20's, (and early 30's,) across Western and Eastern Europe, the Americas, and also across the Middle East and far East. I never felt as uncomfortable anywhere as I felt in the UAE. (And middle east in general.) You always have to remember you are second best to men, always . Women are not regarded very highly there, you are beneath your man, and your children belong to the man and his family in most cases.

So as a woman, I definitely would not go to that part of the world again, even on holiday. Stories like the one about the woman who took tramadol into Egypt are enough to put me off ever going again. I have travelled happily on hols to Australia, and Brazil, and Northern Russia, this past couple of years, but I will never go tot the middle east again. Been there, done that (a number of times,) and never again. I am always worrying I may do something 'wrong,' and end up in jail for life.

I travel a fair amount still (for work and for pleasure,) but avoid the middle east now. There are also parts of Africa I will not travel to.

If I was a man though? Yeah I may consider the job, but the rules are VERY different there. He needs to be briefed first. Eg, if he has any medicines for any conditions, he will need to speak to the Foreign Office who will tell him what he needs to do. There are many laws that are different to our own. Even stuff like kissing in public, and the way you dress. And you cannot co-habit unless you are married. If you screw these kind of things up, you could end up in jail for a long time.

Ha ha

"but if you were to have a baby out there then you'd find it difficult to find a doctor who would support you to have a vaginal birth"

Not sure where you got that from, but it's not true.

OP, I lived and worked in Dubai some years back. Make sure that housing/medical/education is included in your package. It IS better to be married but I had plenty of friends who were living together, although officially not allowed. It's great fun especially before children. It's v v expensive though and make sure that your housing allowance is good enough because it's a significant cost

Assigned Based on the direct experience of six friends who had babies whilst teaching in the UAE and Asia. Happy to be corrected but they found the system heavily biased towards ELCS which could be scheduled during office hours.

HaHa
Well my sons magically came out of my birth canal in the American hospital. Also lots of friends had vaginal births, in fact only one had an elective CS. I had a woman Ob/Gyn, she was fab

I always wonder about these Dubai threads. I lived and worked there for years and the negativity and oppression is not something that I, or anyone I knew, experienced

Meh. Money is great, good for a short time, make sure you have a clear exit plan and leave when that time is up. I grew up in the Middle East, and won’t move back for any amount of money.

It’s great as long as you’re on the straight and narrow and follow all the rules. Some laws and rules are quite different to what you’d expect in the west so be aware of that. Do not get drunk anywhere remotely public. No kissing handholding or anything in public. Do not think about doing drugs, even on trips back home. An acquaintance flew back from Amsterdam with a tiny amount of weed in her jeans and is in prison. Do not report any sexual assault and if you get involved in any situations involving domestic abuse or sexual assault your best bet is to leave the country as quickly and quietly as possible.

Do not assume there is any leeway for bending the rules in any way! Every year you hear stories of stupid brits making out on a beach or something when drunk and getting arrested. I don’t know why they just cannot comprehend of a place where this is just not allowed.

Not getting into debates on whether it is moral/ethical. I wouldn’t personally go, but it made a tremendous difference to my family financially to go for a decade.

To the PP that said no reputable school would give a one year contract - this was definitely the norm when I worked in Dubai. I didn't know any school offer anything else. It's very rare to not be given a new one at the end though. In fact, I think we had to sign them in January for the next September!!

It's a myth that Dubai is tax free. Whilst we're not taxed at source (ie, no income tax), everything is else is taxed. We pay 10% municipality tax on everything, most things have additional 10% service charge. There's Salik road tax (road tolls on all major roads), housing fee (5% of your annual rent), alcohol has 30% tax, carbonated drinks have just incurred a 100% tax, cigarettes also. On top of all this, we have VAT being introduced from 1st Jan on everything except for rent, school fees, insurance and medical supplies.

Cost of living is very high, rents have to be paid up front (you can sometimes negotiate to pay in 3 or 4 cheques - so tri or quarterly, but still hefty amounts that you have to give all cheques up front for, so when they are ready to be encashed, you better make sure you have the funds in your account). Utilities (electricity, water and internet/tv) are also high, I pay on average 400 pounds a month. Mobile phone is additional to this. On the plus side, petrol is very cheap.

On AED 20k a month, I'd say you would struggle to save anything at all.

That being said, it is a great place to live and if you're young enough to not have to worry about school fees or saving anything, then do it for the experience.

www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/united-arab-emirates/

@ZaphodBeeblerox

An acquaintance flew back from Amsterdam with a tiny amount of weed in her jeans and is in prison

Really?

Colour me shocked. I would have though carrying weed in your pocket through the UAE was no different to carrying a bag of walkers ready-salted crisps. In fact, I believe they are fine with it all over the far east and the Americas too. And I know someone who is regularly let through customs at Dover (when coming back into the UK,) who trots right on in with weed in her pocket, and nothing ever happens to her!

FFS! How and why on EARTH did your friend think carrying weed in her pocket would be OK - especially when she was travelling across Europe and the middle east?!

I have no sympathy for ANYone who gets caught, like that girl who is in Egypt now. She has been with a man there for 4 years, and has travelled regularly there, and it seems she 'didn't know' you were not allowed to carry prescription drugs with you that were not prescribed for you! (Even if they ARE for you, you have to get permission first, before you can take them into the country.)

Yes they do have human rights abuses, mainly the construction workers. The US fry their prisoners, there are dead bodies outside hotels in Delhi, India has a brutal caste system, Pakistan is probably the most misogynist place on earth. The world sucks. But the Arabs always get it, because presumably, they are rich.

But, their population is well educated, including the women. The women do work, and are paid well.

Saudi is a cess pit granted.

And the holding hands thing is bollocks too. And if you tried to shag on the beach where I live in the UK, the police would march you to their cells pretty damn quickly

I don't think following the laws would be a problem, we don't drink, smoke or do drugs. Obviously there's other laws I should know about, but how hard can it be not to break the law?

As hard as it is in the UK. If you don't drink, you will save money as alcohol is v expensive. Do you drive? Don't go if you can't drive and be prepared for whacky races

If you are planning a family be aware maternity leave is SHIT, its like 6 weeks.

I think it would be a fun thing to do as a young qualified teacher couple with no children, and no ties (mortgage) back home.

With two of you you would be bringing in a decent amount, and you can use the location as a spring board for interesting travel in the holidays.

Not sure how much you'd save but you'd have a fun 2/3 years.

I am in the UAE im Al Ain. We have been here 8 years and I dont ever want to come back. Please pm me if you want details.
A lot will depend on packages and where you will work.

Karak i know teachers who are on above 20 even up to 25K dhs. So that is 4 to 5k gbp a month.
Standard teaching packages include housing, a furniture allowance, health and flights.

Don't go. Awful rights for woman.

Hahahmmm, everyone i know here who has had babies had vaginal births including me.

Yeh the maternity leave is pretty awful. I negotiated more time though.

Understood, UAEMum. As I said above I stand corrected. It was the main thing that every one of my friends who had babies in the UAE and Asia happened to mention.

UAEMum but they're ADEC aren't they which is more challenging working conditions than in a major private school (and no schooling allowance).

Looking at Al Ain, I think the highest paid classroom teachers (at the most expensive school) are on something like 15k (plus housing) and none of those are NQs to my knowledge. Obviously more for management staff but also other schools pay quite a bit less. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong and there's been a big pay rise this year but that was the situation last year.

But FAR more importantly, WTF another AA mumsnetter?!