Possible move to Dubai, possibly quite soon. Anyone out there with good advice on areas for families, schools, life in general?

[Desertrunner]

DP (about to be DH) is in final stages of interview for a senior role in Dubai. Assuming he gets it, I believe I will be a quick turnaround so potentially we would be over there in July. Therefore I have been researching schools, areas etc and so far potentially can get the kids into Repton, with a view to living at Arabian Ranches or Villa Project. Anyone done this, and can give some advice? I know schooling can be a huge issue (with 3 kids this is my primary concern). Have been on expat woman etc and opinions seem to vary wildly so am looking for UK based ladies views if anyone can comment? Thanks

Well, one of my kids is still at nursery but very sociable. The other 2 are doing really well at school and love extra axtivities - v sociable kids so am not worried about settling in just about putting them somewhere not great! If you see what I mean. Especially my eldest who is used to a beautiful state of the art brand new school with lots of friends, swimming pool etc

Hi desert runner I lived in Dubai for 4 years and loved it . Agree with all the other posters, check your package as we ate money out there with the exception of petrol . My children were at JPS and JC which was great . I would recommend speaking to registrars personally by phone definately makes a difference . I have been away over 2 years now so might have changed but in JPS/JC we needed to give no notice really and they held no deposits so a lot of children just didnt turn back up to school in September so if you dont have a place or have a particular school in mind It is definately worth contacting them late august early september and you might get lucky .Also I would not rush over there in July if you don't need to. It will be baking hot , all the expats will have gone home. it will be ramadam so all eateries in malls will be closed during day and no eating/ drinking on street and you might find you and the kids are bored. If you can send hubby ahead and join him in August that's what I would do.

Hi, we moved here just over a year ago and love it!! My DSs are 4 and nearly 6 and at JPS, very happy and doing well.

Re the schools we found all the registrars played up the massive waiting lists talk but we actually ended up with offers from 5 out of 6 applications. Just keep ringing and emailing them and you'll get somewhere eventually! I would also look at a couple of new schools - GEMS Firstpoint which is in the Villa and GEMS Metropole in Motorcity (right next to Arabian Ranches).

In terms of living the Villa is lovely and great houses but it's fairly isolated I think, there's no local shops/cafes so you need to get out on the freeway to get anything. But you get a lot more for your money than in Arabian Ranches. Also it can be difficult to get taxis to come out to you there.

Dubai is fantastic though, we don't regret anything. Its such a friendly place and everyone is really approachable and supportive, we have made great friends here.

Don't underestimate cost of living here though! It is very expensive, partly due to going out all the time!

It will be really hot in July so be prepared for that! And it will be Ramadan so no public eating/drinking, most cafes and restaurants shut. But the roads are quiet and its a nice time to find your way around as that can take some getting used to, sensible road signs aren't their forte here......

Good luck! PM if you have anything else you want to know or to meet up when you get here x

And another school - new Victory Heights primary, lots of great reports about it so far and again close to Arabian Ranches

Hi Expatedout and Joandmax. Thanks for the info, it's so nice to hear positive experiences of life out there. The downside is that I now really want to move to Dubai! Poor Mr Desert is currently working on his presentation for the final interview.....no pressure lol
Thanks for the advice re Ramadam, I had read that it's quiet in July and also HOT HOT. I think expat woman has reviews also saying Victory Heights is excellent but it's only primary I think and I have one at secondary and ideally want all 3 together so it's probably out for now unless I can't get a good school for all 3 then I will have to separate them.
Will check out the other new schools also and when (hopefully) the job is confirmed I will start badgering the admissions people by telephone!
Joandmax my DS is nearly 5, so similar age to your 2 so if we do come out I will message you and could meet up with the kids maybe? That would be fab. Are you in Arabian Ranches area?
Also quick question re furniture, do most people rent furniture initially as I noticed most villas are unfurnished? Is it better to ship furniture over from UK or cheaper to buy new in Dubai? The villas are pretty big so must need a lot of furniture....? Is it normal for the employer to give a relocation amount for shipping or to buy furniture when you move? Also do most employers provide an all in package and you pay your own costs or do they usually allocate amounts for house, school etc? Conflicting views on this on other sites but some of the info is quite old, from 2008 and I guess things have changed package wise since then as things are picking up again? Mr Desert has been given a salary indication which is great but not sure yet about additional stuff, guess its up for negotiation?
Any more advice v welcome and enjoy the sunshine in Dubai. I am v jealous, freezing and wet today here!

What is mr desert's rough salary indication per month in AED and will rent and school allowances be on top of the salary? The way packages are structured , or even how rent is paid I.e. By company direct or by employee, depends from company to company.

Clueless - I don't really want to be too specific about Mr Deserts job as its not actually been offered yet (although v positive recent conversation with prospective employer telling him about which schooling to consider, and which areas to look into living in etc) hence my starting to research at this stage. However what I can say is he is senior in his field and salary is a good 6 figure amount in GBP. We have assumed we will be paying school and house costs out of the salary but would hope for relocation allowances on top for shipping or resettlement. Just not sure what is reasonable to ask for or to expect really as havent done this before! As everyone says living in Dubai is expensive so want to make sure we are asking for the right things and have our sums right!

And as I mentioned earlier, once we had been in Dubai for a couple of months and got settled, kids settled etc at school I would be looking for a job - probably in the region of roughly 20,000 aed monthly salary from me (I hope!)

We have friends out there (2 seperate couples) they love it & although they don't have kids, they have a great quality of life and are in no hurry to move elsewhere.

There is a vibrant ex-pat community, and they said that as longas you work hard to support yourselves, and follow the 'rules' then it's really no different to living in many other countries. They all live quite a 'champagne lifestyle' and there are no shortages of bars, restaurants etc, who turn a blind eye to selling alcohol etc regardless of the time of year (ramadan etc).

It does get very very hot, but our friends cope as everywhere is air conditioned & you're literally running from AC in the car to AC in shops, malls etc - everywhere is geared up to be cool.

Good luck to you all, it's a great opportunity & I would take it in a heartbeat.

As an aside, if you chose where to live based purely on human rights records... the globe would be a pretty empty place. Europe has it's fair share of shame.

Thank you Stampy

apart from the inevitable lady who decided to have a go at me for moving somewhere I want to go, for a new life, when we have had a dreadful 5 yrs in the UK and want to start afresh - thanks for your input but I really don't need it - and made it very clear I didn't want those kinds of comments! We have our own reasons for choosing Dubai for our new life and feel its a great opportunity for us and our children

What a mean 'lady'. People do get so unnecessarily worked up about slavery don't they? Odd of her to imagine that human rights abuses are more significant than your dreadful 5 years. Pay no attention, she's probably a Guardian reader.

Fideline - what Stampy said

As an aside, if you chose where to live based purely on human rights records... the globe would be a pretty empty place. Europe has it's fair share of shame.

This^ ?

Yes I'm sure Stampy's view is in line with Amnesty International's analysis.

This thread is asking specifically for practical advice from informed people regarding a family relocation.
If you would like to start your own thread for a bun fight then feel free fideline.

Oh you do like informed people then?

So sorry. I got hold of the wrong end of the stick. I thought you were determined not to be informed. It's funny how these little misunderstandings can happen isn't it?

Have a game of Mahjong and another pink gin and put the silly torture stuff right out of your mind. You have quite enough to worry about!

Have a good friend in Arabian Ranches, loves it . our move to dxb had to be cancelled 4 years ago for medical reasons, but I would move in an instant... am usually out there 5 - 6 times each year :)

(Slugs huge mouthful of pink gin)

If you have no practical advice to offer I'm not sure why you are on this thread?
I look forward to reading your very informative new thread though.....and watching the ensuing bun fight that you are clearly after!

We shipped all our stuff out there and DH's company paid for it as a full container can be pretty expensive. It depends what you are going to do with your UK property. Ours was rented out and then sold so we had to take our furniture out anyway.

If you don't ship yours, there are loads of furniture stores/curtain makers around. Ikea of course plus places like Home Centre/The One/Marina and lots of others. You would just need to budget for that expense. Have a look online at Dubizzle where you can get lots of good second hand stuff.

Re you working - you would probably need a maid if you do plan to work full time. There are very few part time jobs available and after school care doesn't really exist. Also, the little ones tend to finish school at lunch time or early afternoon. You would need some means of getting them home from school and there are few school buses. Bear in mind too that you will probably want to travel back to the UK more and holiday allowances can be slim, while school hols are long! I think you may also want more than a couple of months to settle in, all the housing/visa/school thing takes a while.

You do know that you will most likely have to pay a year's rent in advance - or a min of 6 months. A year's rent for a 4 bed decent villa at the Ranches could be around £50K or more. This will need to be cash up front.

Don't forget about private healthcare which you will need for all of you.

OP you sound blinkered. Be very very careful. I can think of better ways and places to have a fresh start. I can understand wanting a change if you have had a crap run of luck. But not at the expense of someone else.
You and your children's lifestyle and freedom will be utterly reliant on your husband. However nice he may be, that is not a good situation to be in. If you have had a crap 5 years in the UK think how much worse it would have been in the ME.

I look forward to reading your very informative new thread though

I don't think one's needed really. Thankfully most people look beyond the end of their noses and their own self-interest.

Please be aware that landlords can demand annual rent being paid upfront in one go (that's potentially 200k AED equivalent up front) or in 4 post dated cheques sometimes. Depending on whether your company pays direct or will be willing to give an advance or whether you have your own cash funds (risky) it makes the world of difference as to how stressful it can be. Different people experience their Dubai very differently even based on this single point alone.

Please also familiarise yourself on the concept of post dated cheques and the risks involved which is probably alien to you. Loans are not a good idea, and banking does not work the same way as in the uk. If you do go to Dubai, I recommend to keep the banking simple.

There will be agent fees to pay (5% of annual rant?), rent deposit to pay (2 months rent) upfront. Plus DEWA deposits, and other utility deposits I can't remember. So would suggest you either run your figures and assumptions past the ladies on EW (the are pussy cats really) or ask them more up to date info on set up costs. Utilities costs are very high, and varies depending on whether you live in a condo or villa. There's also multiple school registration fees to pay.

You will also need bags of patience and not expect the same level of efficiency you are used to.

Just be careful that what looks like a good package really isn't by the time you take into account of rent, school and cost of living, although this depends on your goals and whether you expect to save.

If you have a house in the uk, rent it out, don't sell it to fund your adventures.

All the best. And good luck.

Sorry yes, forgot, shipping costs upfront.

Just be very careful with the cash flow in the first year, it's the unknowns.....

But in all seriousness the practical advice would be to forget schools and golf clubs and put all your energies into chivvying your divorce along, if the timeframe is so short.

Otherwise you risk being an adulteress with illegitimate children in the Middle East, which might make it considerably harder to dismiss the dark corners of Dubai society so easily.

Oh yes, forgot about appliances and furniture costs upfront too.