Moving to Dubai with kids

[MamaAbbott]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are seriously considering moving to Dubai for his work. Our children will be 2 and 6 months. Has anyone got any advice or experience on living over there, e.g. best areas, things to do with children etc.

Thanks in advance 😀

Just one note, you say partner ... unless you are married you are breaking their law!

Check the package very carefully. It can be an expensive place to live.

If you are likely to be there when your kids start school make sure school fees will be affordable.

Then start looking at a map. Find the office, and rule out housing on the other side of the city. Traffic is awful. Have a quick look at schools location, and see if that affects where you might start looking.
Then get on British Mums in Dubai on facebook, and ask for suggestions in the rough idea you have identified.

There will be loads going on for kids if you get the right area.

It is blisteringly hot in the summer and many families who have a none working parent will leave for the summer holidays (which are long). Consider what you want to do - stay with you husband (and get married now if he is your partner, and not your husband), when you are basically confined to indoors, and most people away, or come back to the uk on your own for a month (or 2!), and how affordable that is.

Get married - you can't get a spousal visa without it. Otherwise, you are on a visit visa and will have to do visa runs every 90 days. Also, your DP's employment contract will not have to provide medical cover or sponsorship for you or the DC if you are not married, or provide annual flights and possibly even school fees. Not all packages provide all of these, but decent expat packages provide a salary plus accommodation allowance, school fees for 2 or 3 DC (up to a certain allowance), annual flights and medical insurance for all of you.

Look at propertyfinder.ae for areas and prices, although it's hard to know what you can afford without knowing the funds available. There is no income tax in the UAE so managing your money carefully can contribute towards your savings/retirement funds.

You also need to consider what you would do if you own property in the UK and research the tax implications of that.

Driving 30km counts as 'local' since most roads are like motorways, so factor that in when thinking about commuting and nearby schools.