Husband wants to move to dubai

[Dilemma87]

My husband is a businessman in property and with the recent proposed tax changes and new rules putting limits on how long he can keep doing things from the UK, he’s now saying he needs to move to Dubai and operate from there.

We actually have some friends there, and his business partner is already based out there, so on paper it all sounds easy enough. His plan is to buy a second property in Dubai and move there by himself, while I stay here with the kids.

The problem is, the children are really settled one’s in high school and the other is due to start soon, so moving them just isn’t an option. He’s suggested that we (me and the kids) fly out to Dubai every school holiday to spend time with him.

The catch is, under his visa he can only be out of Dubai for 90 days a year, so he’d basically have to live there full-time.

AIBU to think this is just not going to work long-term? I can’t help but feel like this is the start of living completely separate lives.

Stop poking the beast! ;)

I'm surprised by the PPs who would divorce a husband for having the mere thought to move to a place so his business can benefit

Swearing and effing and jeffing is certainly weird.

If you have friends in Dubai you could have an amazing lifestyle for a couple of years. Hey yourself a nanny, cleaner, chef and live the high life for a bit. It'll be a fab experience for your kids too

Actually cost of living in Dubai has gone up hugely in recent years. Rents and property prices are huge. Going out costs as much as London. Some ex pats used to get rent and school fees paid by their employer, they don’t any more as it’s seen as a desirable post rather than “if I have to”.

Leaving aside the other issues, your DH might find he can’t afford what he thinks he can in Dubai. Worth doing some research.

He cares more about money than his wife and children.

Think about that.

He's a shitbag.

I’m not your dear. How condescending.
Not sure how I’m being a martyr.
Overall taxes are the highest they’ve been for a long time, it’s true, thanks to the previous government’s failed austerity plan. Income tax used to be much higher in the top band though and nobody ran away crying about it.
I think billionaires should pay much more tax.
I think loopholes for tax avoidance should be dealt with.
I don’t think the average Joe has betters or is ‘serving’ anyone when he works and pays tax.

Do you know what your taxes go towards? You sound like you think you’re just giving them away for no good reason. How do you think schools and parks and hospitals get built?

OP already says that she loves going there for holidays so apparantly she doesn't have any ethics.

It's because if he does this for the longer term, it says something about his commitment to me, his value of me and being with me, and relationships are more important to me than money. Total clash of values and expectations of what a marriage is for me. And he's abandoning his kids most of the year as well. What a winner.

I'd ignore the noise here mixing up Dubai with KSA of 1980s, attacking you for tax evasion ,etc.
The most important question to answer is "do you trust him not to find a new shiny girl", Dubai is filled with those escort-types and IMHO, not a good place to test marriages.

Other than that, families do survive temporary separation. It is not easy but not impossible.

That is very true. Detailed costs of living, plus cost of flights you’ll all take. Worth carefully adding to calculations of whether it’s a good idea to try it or not, compared to here.

People earning the sort of money that makes them want to leave to avoid tax live in a different moral world to the one I inhabit which is about community and sharing.
The UK can live without people like this.

So your husband is expecting to avoid tax by living in Dubai while his wife and children stay in the UK, benefiting from a system he refuses to pay taxes to sustain? This is before the fact that he would prefer to be away from his family in order to have more money than he currently has, which I presume is enough to finance a pretty decent quality of life if he can afford to move to Dubai? Gross all round tbh.

Erm I think you might be over estimating yourself lol. I only recognised your name because I asked you a question on another thread at a similar time to this thread where you are giving off the same abrasive vibe.

They’ve got oil

Oil

You might have done. I don’t remember you though.

So I take it you'd be happy having no public services? No state schools, no health care, no safety net, no social services, no support for old people, no infrastructure maintenance without a profit notice , crap public transport, you get the idea... Sounds like hell to me.

Noone owes anyone anything,
And your average Joe isn't the one that needs to save the country.
It's the government
And in case you didn't know, there's a little something called autonomy, people.can choose for themselves what they want to do to better their lives.
Taxes are very high compared to wages and inflation
My weekly asda shop in 2022 was £57, the exact same shop this year costs over £90
Has my income doubled?
Nope
Being a martyr is to stay stagnant when you can do something about it.
If I get the opportunity to go, I will certainly go.
You can stay and pay taxes 😉
Oh, u don't anymore, so you want to dictate to others now is it
I suffered so you suffer with me?

Wrong. Actually less than 1% of Dubai income comes from oil. And if it was all oil, so what.

Didn’t sounds like envy to me. Sounds like values

He avoids the rise in taxes. His family still benefit from having free access to the NHS (and possibly schools). Win/win.

Because you were not paying a lot of taxes.
i bet this husband already paid thirty times over the tax you paid during your lifetime.
and HIS taxes allow you to have a job as a public servant
so before posting comments like that you need to stop and think - where is the money for school teachers is coming from?
you paying taxes is nice but it’s essentially paying it back to the coffers

You said "It’s easy to repeat soundbites, but it helps to have facts." So there are some facts. The BBC wasn't the only source quoted.

I sadly dont think you have much choice.
I think you all need to go.