Salary and cost of living in Dubai & Abu Dhabi

[YingMei]

Firstly, not looking for a pros and cons of the Middle East discussion - I know it's not popular on MN but we've lived in a few expat locations and are looking towards Abu Dhabi or Dubai. It would be a long stint probably, As DD is coming up for 10 and we don't want to move her during secondary.
Grateful for any 1st hand experience on what kind of salary to target. School fees will be covered, and there will be a contribution towards accommodation, but what sort of salary would we be looking it to have a comfortable life? How expensive are utility bills and running a car? We have 2 DC and will both be working although it might take DH a few months to find work.

Everything has increased in price here recently, including rent. I’d not have children at school so can’t comment on school fees. We bought our car outright, and petrol is about half the price In the U.K. my partner and I earn a lot of money between us, and I wouldn’t come out here unless your monthly package is around 50,000 / month (not taking school fees into account). Bear in mind that flights home have shot up too. I used to be able to go to LHR for 350 return pre covid. Now it’s closer to 1,000

@AgentProvocateur thanks, that's all really helpful. What are accommodation costs like? I know it's a bit variable but do you have any idea of the range?

I’m in a one bed apartment in the marina and it’s 150,000/year. You can obviously get cheaper, but I’m testing that there’s a real shortage of family villas near decent school.

Thanks are you Dubai or AD?

*hearing

Try joining British Mums Dubai/Abu Dhabi or other Facebook groups. They’re very helpful.

I’m in Dubai (I’m actually in Saudi, but based in dubai)

I haven’t lived there for a few years but back in 2017 in Abu Dhabi I was renting a big villa in a nice expat community for 350k per year (needed to be paid in one cheque so fact my employer paid was critical) and school fees for a good British school were 70k.

Plenty of cheaper options and people cut their cloth but check what the employer will cover. Nothing worse then having to scrimp because employers are being tight.

Petrol and cars were cheaper than U.K., eating and drinking out more expensive.

Thanks @LivesAndWorksDubai that's helpful. I would be looking at a package that includes school fees and a contribution towards accommodation. Can I ask where your DC went to school, if you had any school age DC then?

Don't forget that if you're children are planning to go to University in the UK, they only qualify for UK resident fees if they have been a resident of the UK for a period of 3 years, not solely for the purpose of study (so sending her to a UK boarding school would not qualify).

So you need to include in your budget international fees for university for your DC into your finances.

Thanks this is definitely an important point

For schools look at Cranleigh, Repton and I
BISAK. I have friends with happy children in all these schools.

Check if schooling is completely or only partly covered in your package (and therefore if you could afford the shortfall).

Sorry, I should have specified this is Abu Dhabi

Thanks @dibberly - schools fees will definitely be included, it's accommodation allowance that I might need to negotiate on!

What is the allowance at the moment?

Rent costs in AD have gone up considerably this year, but there are options available for every budget still.

@dibberly currently AED 180,000. This is Dubai. School places for 2 DC (which is all I have!) are free.

I live in a 3 bed plus study/bedroom 4 in a lovely community and pay 140k a year - and there are plenty of similar places and many others much cheaper. Most people do not spend 350k on rent! Bayut or Property Finder websites/apps will help here.

Petrol has gone up a lot recently, but is starting to recover, thankfully. Supermarket shopping needn't be expensive if you choose local brands and swap Carrefour or Lulu for Waitrose and M&S. You can spend £6 on a 125g box of raspberries, but you don't have to.

School fees will be included but there will be a cap - you can find out more about fees at which school advisor website. The schools mentioned above are absolute top of the pile and there are plenty of excellent schools that have considerably lower fees (ex-teacher here).

Thanks @losingit31 that's all really helpful. This is Dubai right?

We lived in Singapore for a long time so I recognise the £6 for a box of raspberries (I once accidentally paid £8 for grapes 😂)
For that money do you live a bit further out? I don't mind living further out but I've heard traffic can be a bit of a nightmare.

We are in UK now but haven't been able to settle despite trying so looking to go abroad again.

Losingit has excellent advice!

You don't HAVE to shop exclusively at Waitrose or live in the most expensive developments ...

Cost of living has gone up but we love family life here. Feel free to PM if you have any questions, but I'm better placed to answer Abu Dhabi questions than Dubai.

I've lived in Dubai for 4 years, moving to AD next year since I work there now.

@SilverMirrors thanks I am going to send you a Pm

Can anybody advise on the cost of living in general? Are the UAE also feeling the rising energy and fuel costs?

Yes, in terms of fuel costs, as we reached an all time high last month. August prices dropped quite substantially (equivalent to about £6 per tank for me) but are still far higher than they were at the beginning of the year. We are used to higher energy bills at this time of year as the AC is on for hours every day - we don't run it when the house is empty but many do.

I haven't noticed significant increases in food costs. The price of fresh produce can very from one week to the next, such as the price per kg fluctuates by £1 or more. Household items and store cupboard items have seen small increases.

It is worth noting that petrol prices are fixed on the last day of the month for the whole of the following month and apply to the whole of the UAE. We do not shop around for petrol here and there are no signs outside garages with the price on!

UK Universities will give residence fees to children who are living abroad due to the "Best of British Interests" - you need a letter from your employer and the Embassy / Consulate confirming this. It's not a blanket policy that you will have to pay international fees, but is job dependent.

As above - I have home fees status rather than international for my doctorate, which surprised me because all of the questions were about my connections to the UK and apart from family members I don't have any - no property or business interests there and at the time of applying, travel into the UK had been minimal due to covid and the red list (I went over two years without going there).