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.?

Also, I was never under any pressure to have a CS and in fact I begged for one part way through labour at one stage and was talked out of it.

Tipzz why are you so angry at me?

First off, I said acquaintance, not friend. I don’t know why this person is so stupid. I wasn’t remotely defending them. CLEARLY my post was giving the OP advice about getting your expectations right before going to the Middle East. I’ve lived there. I’ve lived in the UK. I know we sometimes do stupid things when we are young or ignorant. There is no leeway to do that in the Middle East. I specifically also talked about stupid
Brits each year who do idiotic things and get caught and punished in a way that would appear unreasonable to us in the West. But thems the rules. So if you plan to go to the Middle East just be aware of that and follow their fucking rules.

I once got drunk beyond all reasonableness and climbed the lions at Trafalgar Square. I’m not proud of it, I was part of a large group of people celebrating, and if I was caught I’d have expected to get fined for being a nuisance etc. But I also know that silly things like that don’t get you thrown in jail for years or sentenced to public flogging etc. Also why I like living here rather than the ME or Singapore or some such place.

how hard can it be not to break the law

Not drinking or doing drugs is a start. But be aware that carrying chewing gum is a fineable offence in some parts of the world. And something that seems natural - like reporting a guy who harasses you in a restaurant, or going to a hospital if you get assaulted or raped, could ALSO land you in trouble. Just saying you need to adjust your mindset to being v aware of a completely different set of values operating there!

My friend recently got offered 1,200 AED per month plus housing and flights. She's 10 years teaching experience.

TBH, the UAE and the area in general is getting more expensive by the day. I live in the gulf region and already have an exit plan in place as we won't be able to afford to save and send our kid to school here. VAT is coming in the new year as well so the gulf is no longer the tax free haven it was seen to be.

We've been here 4 years and plan to leave in 2 years time. Had we came now I'm not sure we would have the same amount of savings as we do.

Shutup I assume you mean 12k not 1.2k! That's fairly common and probably around what most teachers are on in my experience.

I think anyone with less than 3 years experience would be unlikely to make more than 12k. The schools that pay better tend to also demand experience because they can.

The government schools pay more because they have to. Nearly everyone I know in those schools is homeschooling to avoid having to pay school fees though and a lot are looking to move to private despite the pay cut (which is hard as the ADEC experience isn't necessarily that respected because it's a very different type of teaching).

My sisters just returned from UAE teaching 6 years . She has been unable to get back into state work full time and is currently supply .
Good advice above and remember the taxes and huge cost of living .
She also had vehicle fines when her car wasn't even in the area - the answer ? Just pay !

My husband and I live in Dubai. We've been here for two years and are expecting a baby in June next year. We're both lawyers so a bit different to the teaching route. I've got friends who are teachers and most get their housing costs covered which is good. All employers must cover your private medical insurance costs now.

I've never experienced any issues as a woman here. There's a lot of scare mongering. It's a safe place to live. We save about 60% of our salaries each month and when we come home after having done 5 years out here we should be in a position to buy a house outright with no mortgage. So for me that's worth it.

There are issues with workers rights but this happens across any number of countries worldwide. Day to day it's not an issue. It's nonsense that you have zero rights as a woman or are second class in any way. Utter nonsense. Good luck.

I've been teaching in Abu Dhabi for 7 years and really like it. I'm in a very good school which pays an above average salary. I'm quite lucky in that my accommodation and bills are still paid by school, but they no longer offer that package to new employees. Also, be aware that many British schools require 2 years uk experience. Things have definitely become more expensive since I've been here, though we are still financially better off than the UK. Both me and my husband teach.

My step son is in Kuwait teaching and they are on yearly contracts. He is married to a Kuwaiti and she earns much more than him although not qualified. They come Back to the U.K. once or twice a year. He absolutely loves it there and earns well.

In UK terms I'm on an incredible salary here in the UAE.

In UAE terms, I have a 9 year old car and still suffer from 'week to pay day' diet. I've just been to get 3 bags of shopping from the supermarket - I got 12 cans of tonic, 6 baps, a loaf, some cheese and ham, pack of mars ice creams and a few other bits which don't even form a full meal. It was £90. Yesterday was £120 for 3 weeks worth of dog food for the two mutts. We went out for breakfast last week and it cost us £60 for two (did that as t was cheaper than going for lunch). Just trying to demonstrate that whilst £50k tax free sounds loads, it really isn't in terms of cost of living here. Other people may disagree or tell me where to find things, but there's no decent quality low cost clothes here - the asda-priced stuff falls apart or is misshapen after 1 wash. The George shop is 1.5-2 times the U.K. price. Debenhams and next are significantly dearer. Any U.K. Brands you're loyal to are likely to cost a lot more (I often have to buy uk food due to allergies not always being properly stated on packaging). Us and our mates were thrilled at paying only a fiver a pint during happy hour (I know you said you don't drink, but just as an example). A flight AUH-MAN next month is £1300 return economy. MAN-AUH return is £365.

I have many friends who have taught out here. Most struggle to save any money. Many with accommodation provided dislike where they live and have no choice about it, other than pay their own way. The only teaching couple I know get by on tutoring outside school.

It’s also intriguing how there are so many non intersecting worlds in the same city. I could, and have, lived very very cheaply in Dubai, but in ways that would be unrecognisable to the average Brit.
DH regularly travels to DXB for work, but has always just stayed at the Ritz / gone out to the Nobu etc. Last time he went I tagged along and wanted a more “authentic” experience reminiscent of my ME childhood. So took him to my old haunts in Karama etc. It was like being in a different continent!

Basically, if you want to save money, make friends with brown people.. the kind who are actually from India and Pakistan (not brown-skinned brits and americans) and they’ll show you where and how to get things done cheap!

Karak, the salaries i know of are private schools. 18 being the norm. I think ADEC pay around 16K.
The cost of living is expensive. We are a family of 7 and we pay about 350 pounds a week for food. Id like to see Gregg Wallace do something about that! There is little in the way of competition, that is what food costs here.

Interesting because I was told 15k by teachers and we're taking about the same school(s). You're probably in a better position to know than me though!

Anyway, either way that doesn't go that far even in AA. It's nothing in Dubai or AD. DH and I take home the best part of GBP 150k tax free (with nothing to pay above that for housing or schooling) and I'm still watching the pennies to ensure we are saving for a decent pension. I'm by no means pleading poverty and we're very lucky but it goes nowhere near what the same amount would to in the UK and AA is the equivalent of eg Manchester or Leeds rather than living in London if you compare prices to the rest of the UAE.

Karak, sorry it is 12kAED, I usually work in a different currency.

I'm surprised as my friend in question gets more after tax teaching in Ireland, there just was no incentive.

I've known British teachers paid 10k (not in the UAE but another GCC country).

The idea that you can't drink in Dubai is nonsense. I have been pissed very many times in Dubai as I'm rather fond of a good drink. In the olden days if you were pulled over, the police would drive you home, according to friends who has lived there before us... In fact most of the expats would regularly drink and drive in a way that they wouldn't dream of in the UK (I didn't). The only incident I know of (except from the infamous drunken shagging on a public beach thing) with regards drink was a colleague who was so pissed he crashed into a shop, and I mean his 4x4 was entirely inside a shop. He was arrested. It cost him quite a bit in bribes, a week in jail and very nearly his marriage but he got off.

I worked as an engineer so v male dominated and I saw more sexism in the UK. I do hold a particular type of contempt for Saudis but the Emiratees were generally pleasant, educated and professional, including the women. The place is built on race pecking order and people are paid according to their nationality, so Arabs / GCC at the top, then US, Europeans, South Africans and then a sliding scale of brown people according to a pecking order I could never fathom. This tends not to be the case in US or American firms, who pay according to the job, but not always. I found that it didn't take long for many British people to become pretty racist, which was quite ugly. You do find yourself being quite selective with your friends.

There are clearly downsides, like everywhere. I think as long as you try to do your best by people it's a fun place to live for a while. You gain great experience of different cultures and I have never regretted going. I rarely post on Dubai threads because there is a great deal of snobbery about it. And thinly veiled racist attitudes towards Arabs, IMO

12K AED seems very low to me tbh, even with housing. I think that needs some investigation.

Yep. I don't know why someone would accept 12k in (presumably) KSA. I think the Irish teaching job market is pretty dire though.

On that I'm off to name change as UAEMum is perfectly able to identify me from my other posts I think!