Talk to me about Abu Dhabi.

[RantyMcRantpants]

DH has a Skype interview later for a job in AD. Turns out he knows and has worked with the bloke before, so fingers crossed.

I have looked at the ExpatWoman site which is brilliant and will most likely join the forum if DH gets this job. But I have a couple of questions I would like to ask if I can.

We are not sure at the moment whether the accomodation will be furnished or not. I was going to replace our 3 piece suite, our double bed, the kids bunks and possibly my eldest's cabin bed this year. If it is furnished then no problem, I can get rid of the furniture. If it isn't I don't really want to ship them across just to replace them. What sort of furniture shops are out there? Are they reasonably priced? Will they deliver in a timely manner? Would it be easier to get the furniture here and ship it out?

I have to have various medications day to day, how easy is it to see a Dr. out there and what sort of price do we have to pay for medication?

I have 3 children and at the moment we are not sure if they will cover the fee's for the third child for Primary School. How much are we likely to be looking at for fee's? Actually just had a look at the school that they would be going to and the fee's would cost what DH earns in a month here for 4 months schooling [bushock] DH is going to get a promotion by moving so we will have more money but... Will we still be able to have some sort of quality of living with these sort of fee's?

Has a Skype interview without a time set up...

I don't know if I should call them and ask when would be good or just sit and wait...

Looks like the interview is going to be Friday or Saturday now.

Any information will be greatlfully recieved.

Hi. DH works in AD so I can answer some of your questions

The biggest expense you'll have to face is housing so make sure the housing allowance is generous. Furnished houses/flats are v rare unless it's a serviced apartment type of arrangement and when I say unfurnished I mean completely unfurnished with no cooker, fridge etc Virtually every house I've seen out there has been kitted out in wall-to-wall Ikea

V easy to see a dr, you'll have to pay but your husband's employer should be providing decent health insurance - not sure how much you pay for medication as DH has been v healthy out there and we've never needed to see a dr when we're staying

If they're not going to pay for your third child's school fees you need to do your sums carefully. School fees aren't as expensive as the UK but you'd still be looking at around £10,000 per child per year. Good schools are v over-subscribed and you've missed the application date for September so you'll be lucky if you manage to get all three into the same school especially if they're at the younger end of primary as that's where the biggest squeeze is.

Re cost of living, petrol is dirt cheap but everything else is no cheaper than the UK

One thing to think about - in DH's sector (not oil, engineering or finance) there is a wave of anti-expat feeling with several recent redundancies of non-emiratis and the new packages being offered are nowhere near as generous as a few years back

Huge thanks for that!

Thanks for the information that is fantastic. Thankfully DH is not in oil,engineering or finance.

What is the internet connection like over there?

internet fine - you're not supposed to be able to use skype (have to download it onto a laptop before going out there) but you can get round that by using a VPN which also means you can watch iplayer etc

basilbond you are a star. Thank you. Something like that is useful to know.

Sorry thought of another.

As a family we tend to eat just about anything, My gannets can clear a plate before you can blink TBH I am not expecting you to be able to answer this as unless you have a child who is gluten intollerant it is not really on your radar. But on the off chance do you know if you can buy Free From type products ie: GF bread and pasta being the main two.

Sorry but I will probably keep asking ridiculous questions.

Spinneys will almost certainly have stuff like that (they stock Waitrose products) but you'll need to take out a second mortgage to do your weekly shop there!

The quality of fruit and veg leaves quite a lot to be desired by the way - I've never had a 'good' avocado for instance ...

Wahey! That is good news. Looks like I will be shopping at several places then. That surprises me about the quality of the fruit and veg. My lot love theirs.

Stupid question 304, what is transport like. I don't drive and if I am going to have to get around lots of places, is it going to be a problem?

Hmmm transport ... Taxis are relatively cheap but costs would soon mount up if you were using them every day. Apart from the shiny new metro in Dubai, public transport isn't that advanced. There are buses in Abu Dhabi but the vast majority of western expats drive everywhere (petrol being dirt cheap and all ...)

I've had a driving licence for 20 years and I still find driving in the UAE a bit scary - drivers have a habit of coming up very fast behind you with lights flashing demanding you get out of their way and cars will pass you on the left and right so you have to have your wits about you. Traffic in Abu Dhabi itself can be pretty awful in rush hours.

Where you end up living and where your kids go to school will have a big impact on whether or not not driving will be a problem. If you end up living in one of the further-flung developments and then have a long drive into school, shops etc taking taxis every day probably wouldn't be practical

Cheers basildonbond DH will be working on Yas Island and I think the accomodation is on Yas Island too.

MIGHT be. MIGHT be!

No pressure then!

Sorry! my bad.

what is transport like. I don't drive and if I am going to have to get around lots of places, is it going to be a problem?

You can't rely on public transport, nor are you likely to want to, so, it's either taxis, learn to drive asap, or hire a driver (package dependent)

Although restricted to multi-millionaires in the UK, it's not unusual in the ME, when school runs can eat into your time in a major way. Many expats who have a driver hire a couple- woman is the helper/amah and husband is driver/gardener- they often live in. Driver will drive your DH to work, kids to school, run errands in the day, take you wherever and wait for you, pick the kids up and then pick your DH up. If you're going to have a car anyway, it's likely to be quite cost effective and far more convenient than getting 8 cabs a day.

Thanks Richman. I am not sure that DH's salary will stretch to that but it is something to consider when we are over there.

He had his interview today and it seems to have gone very well, we should find out before the end of the month if he has got the job.

Another daft question, can we get Sky out there?

No (or at least not 2 years ago). There is a local equivalent which is not great unless you really like Masterchef re-runs (although the sport is good- Premiership football, all the rugby etc). Most people watch box sets, download or use Apple TV I think.

No, you can't get Sky - there are lots of different satellite packages with films, sport, national geographic etc but you get a lot of dross and can end up with 2 or 3 different set-top boxes

You can however, get a VPN which will then allow you to watch iplayer or channel 4 on demand etc

There's not a lot on Yas at the moment other than hotels, Ferrari World (go once for half a day, spend a fortune and never go again I suspect) and Ikea. The nearest schools would be at Raha - Yas is quite a way out of Abu Dhabi proper. I think you would struggle with not driving as there's no way you could rely on public transport to get around and about from Yas.

Once/If your dh gets the offer, you need to do your sums very carefully. You need to make sure you can afford somewhere decent to live, schools, car, cost of living (as I said, petrol much cheaper, everything else will cost around the same or more than in the UK apart from domestic help - cleaner/maid/gardener etc). You'll either need to ship all your furniture over or buy new so you'll need to factor in shipping costs and/or replacement costs. You'll want to be able to come back to the UK for visits so will need to think about the cost of air fares and if you're planning to rent out your house while you're overseas where will you stay when you're here. If you're going to rent out your house, does it need any work done before it goes on the market, and how much will that cost?

The days of expats living on their generous allowances and stashing all their tax-free salary in the bank are long-gone in most sectors. Although it can make financial sense to work in Abu Dhabi imo there's no point in putting yourselves through all that upheaval if you're going to have to scrimp and save the whole time.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks.

Education isn't an issue it is a teaching job and I've been told there are places free for all 3 of them. Accommodation is provided (there is an allowance that covers (from my checking) a 3 bed flat near the school or a bigger 3 bed villa out somewhere like El Reef) and shipping or furnishing is also built in.

I did wonder about Apple TV and setting up a VPN (not sure how to do that but have a friend in UK who is IT expert). Also considering asking said friend to host a Sky+ box for us with a sling box allowing us to access it from over there.

I had a look at costs and yes it does seem pretty bad. Mobile phone contracts with Du Sim only seem to be about twice as much as over here.

How much does domestic help cost?

We've had a quote from the guy who might be my boss for utilities bills based on what he pays and so on.

As hard as it is to try and not get ahead of myself on all this as it is a teaching job I will have to give my decision pretty much there and then so you're quite right we do need to do some sums.

Thankfully a lot of this has added up so far.

VPN is really easy to install- there are various ones available and it's a case of going to the website, pay and click to download- go on expatwoman and find out which one people use. Slingbox is another option for TV but get the VPN anyway.

Min wage- think it's US$400 per month equivalent for Filipina helpers Helpers must live in so you need an apartment that has this facility (most do).

Wow. £250ish. Bloody hell. I take it that includes meals and use of facilities. That is a frightenly low wage given the cost of living there.

Yeah, I know. Remember they live with you though and you provide food so they have no living expenses in the UAE- they'll send all that money home except minimal cash for maybe a McCdonalds on a Friday. What I don't know (as when I lived in UAE I didnt have a ft helper) is what people actually pay vs. the minimum wage- I would ask on expatwoman to get a spread of opinions.

You won't need to download any episodes of The Flinstones. They don't show it in Dubai, but Abu Dhabi do.

LOL@ Splosh

Ranty has been accepted on Expat so she'll ask on there (along with a host of other things that will no doubt come up in the run up to the answer... and, touch wood, after it).

Thank you so much for your help.

As my DH says, thank you so much for all the help you have given us. You have been absolute stars, especially as we don't know if he has the job yet.

Well over 100 looks and no replies on Expat Woman so I'm coming back here where I know you will be lovely and kind to me.

The question was

1. The kids will be going to Al Yasmina school so I would be looking to live some where near the school as I don't drive. Not driving means I would also need access to the shops fairly easily.So which is the best area to look at for property? Which are the best websites for property? Is it best to find somewhere on the web and sort before we come over, sight unseen? Or wait until we arrive and then look for somewhere?