Moving to Dubai with young family

[Bigdreams1]

Hi
Currently living in the UK, with my son 9, and baby girl who is 4months & my husband. Weve just got back from Dubai this is our 4th time, we absoutley love it & have considered moving out there for years, but worry, and nerves get the better of you. Now really considering it for a better life, family time etc. Just worried how my son would find settling in at a new school on that dreaded 1st day I feel nervous even thinking of it. Both myself & husband have good jobs that hopefully would be easy to find in Dubai. My son is just my main worry. Anyone else had the same problem.
Thanks x

Good international schools are very used to having new pupils, and are great at getting them to settle.
Just moved my 8 and 10 year olds back from the middle east, and they seem to be settling well into their English primary.

Living somewhere, and holidaying somewhere are 2 different realities! If you can transfer out there with a job with a good package, go for it.

Steal yourself for the posts telling you that only the devil would go to Dubai tho.

Thanks, I wish we would of done it sooner while he was still in nursery I think it would be so hard now. I just dont want to get years down the line & live with regrets. X

I don't live in Dubai, but moved my son when he was 8 to an international school in China. As pp mentioned, international schools are used to having new pupils and children generally settle really quickly. It will be much harder to move him later, especially once you hit the GCSE years and encounter curriculum differences.
My ds settled well at his school/s in China and returned to UK for university when he was 18.

We’ve been here for 8 years and our kids are 3 and 1. The expat community here is great and the schools are very used to kids coming and going.

The only thing I will say is that I would find a job before you come over and I would make sure you get a decent package. Living costs here are very high and you also need to factor in things like flights back to the UK, health insurance, school fees etc (as an expat you aren’t entitled to free schooling) They start school at 3 here and the going rate is around 45,000 dirhams a year and upwards - that’s around 10,000 pounds.

Check out British Mums Dubai on Facebook - it will give you a good feel of things.