Moving to Dubai with baby and dogs - should we?

[beachwine]

Hi everyone,

My husband has been offered an exciting opportunity to work in Dubai - and the ultimate question is do we go?

We have a 1 year old and 2 small dogs, and would want to go as a family. We’re really not into the “showy” stuff or brunch vibes, but more going for the young family feel which Dubai seems to be good for. We have a friend who moved out there 5 years ago and loves it and she is trying to convince us but I really want to be realistic as this would be a huge move for us all that will take an awful lot of planning! Like most people in the UK - financially we are struggling. Bills and mortgage rates have gone through the roof, and we feel it could be a great opportunity to get a nice chunk of money behind us with the plan to return back to the UK by the time our little one starts school. Is it unrealistic to think we can come away with lots of savings?

I have a million questions going through my mind but ultimately the main ones are is it worth and should we go? I feel like I have read lots about the realities of Dubai being hugely expensive, and I think in itself it will be a massive expense to just get us all out there! To begin with, we would probably just try and live off my husbands salary (roughly 450,000AED) is this doable? Trying to research is quite tough and lots of places say different things about the cost of everything!

Any help and constructive guidance would be really appreciated!

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This thread is a few months old now. If you've found this page in search of information about moving to Dubai, you might find our guide on moving to Dubai with kids useful. Hope this helps! MNHQ

My sibling lived there for years along with ds. It's not all flashy and showy and plenty of normal families around. Great life foe the kids with loads of beach and desert activities and outdoor lifestyle (apart from peak summer).
I didn't love it when I visited but was a good place to live for them as a family.
Do full research on school fees and rentals as you'll want to be in expat areas etc. Can be pricy. Normally the company pay for a lot and will provide relocation support ?

What has that money got to cover?
When we went out to the ME (much less attractive part than UAE), we got salary, plus rent, plus school fees, plus medical, plus flights. And they paid to get us, plus stuff, out there (and home after DH resigned 5 years later).

You really need to look at the whole package. That will be one of the reasons some poeples numbers are very different - the shear amount they need to buy with their income!

And I'd look carefully about leaving the dogs in the UK. It's brutally hot for vast amounts of the year.

Hello, never lived in Dubai but other places in the ME and it very much depends if the company are paying his rent. If they are then it’s doable, if not then I wouldn’t. Rent and school fees eat up so much of the salary. Your baby is small so you don’t have that to worry about.

As for the dogs, we got our little dog here and he manages the heat really well. But we never take him out in the middle of the day and he isn’t one for long walks.

I think realistically, his salary would have to cover everything - rent, bills, car, food shop etc. As our baby is only 1, we wouldn’t need to pay for schools, and for as long as I wouldn’t be working he would just be off with me. I think we’re prepared to potentially pay a lot upfront so get everything shipped over, pay rent upfront etc, I guess it’s more the month to month living!

So far, this is the rough breakdown (just googling!!!) of what I predict our monthly costs would be…
Rent (2 bed house) 12,500
Utility Bills (Water, gas, electricity) 2500
WiFi 400
Car 1730
Food Bill 3000
Mobiles 250
Leisure/Spending 2700
Dogs - Vets 450

Realistically, you’d be looking at 200,000 for rent for a two bed. That leaves you with appx 21,000 per month for everything else. Probably doable as you don’t have school fees, but I don’t think you’d save much. You’d be better working too and getting a nanny. You’ll need quite a lot of money to start off - £2k for accomm until you get your visas and can rent, and then you pay your year’s rent upfront - either in 1,2 or 4 cheques. It’s a much better quality of life, but it’s not cheap.

Do you currently work, op? Will you be giving up your career to move there?
What happens when you return to uk ?

I’d go only if the company is paying relocation expenses and rent plus utilities. The air con bill must be huge.
Too hot for the dogs too, perhaps.

Yes

Ah OP! I have no advice but if it was my family I know we’d jump at the chance!

@beachwine,you mention you have a one year old, most children start school here, in Dubai, the September after they are 3 years old, they go into foundation 1. School fees, even for foundation years are expensive. It wont take long until your baby is three, just something to think about.

I would only go if all the extras are part of the package, like Greensand writes

It's a while since I lived there so I'm out of touch with current cost of living, but in terms of lifestyle, then yes I would go. I loved Dubai and my friends were all normal people. There is far more to Dubai than champagne brunches and "influencers".
But.... costs are key. We moved with DH's UK employer and got an accommodation allowance, car allowance, pet transport, school fees and trips home. Dubai is an expensive place to live even a normal life. some things are cheaper - cars, petrol, help in the house, but rent and utilities are sky high. So you really need to do your sums and budget before you go. NEVER, EVER get into debt in Dubai. There lies the path into jail. I suggest you go onto the various Dubai mums websites where they will have much more detailed knowledge.

Another thought. Is your DH's potential employer a European or Arab company? They have very different attitudes to employment laws and conditions. You also need to consider what happens to your pension provision whilst you are expats. And yes, look forward and consider future school fees. You will also need medical insurance and almost all healthcare is private. Will the company assist with and cover costs of visas for all the family?
Not trying to put you off but there is a lot more to consider than what seems like a huge headline salary.

Agreed with PP. I've also lived abroad and what seems a large salary is quickly consumed as costs are all a lot more than you think. You shop at international supermarkets, you can't access local pricing for stuff, rentals are more for foreigners and so on.
It's just not quite the same so I'd be pushing for as much to be covered by company as possible.

Hi, we lived in Dubai for 5 years, came back in 2020. There is so much to consider but I don’t want to write it all here as will potentially be outing! You are welcome to PM though. X

Your food bill is on the high side. For comparison we are a family of four with two teenagers and we spend roughly 800 a grocery shop every couple of weeks. However we eat out a lot, roughly 4 times a week, but if you shop at lulu or similar your food bill costs should be reasonable. You do get crazily priced imported goods but we only buy them if it’s something we are missing from home. But things like chicken, eggs, milk are all ok prices.

Also something to keep in mind. Yes school fees are a killer but when you are in the Middle East you can work your way up or move to higher paying jobs. So you don’t need school for another two years. Your husband hopefully will be earning more by then. We did the move 12 years ago on the same kind of money as you, and the first few months were terrifyingly tight. But after initial costs are behind you and some pay rises life gets pretty easy. At first I read your post and thought nah. But having thought about it you could make it work.

Don’t take the dog. It simply would not be fair to it.

No way I'd give up my work and move to a fake and environmentally appalling place like that. Do you really want your child growing up somewhere like that?

I'm in AD now (after 4 years in Dubai) and we have a small dog that we adopted here. In summer he gets walked in the dark and not for long at all, including at lunchtimes getting carried to the nearest patch of grass where he will do what is needed! Right now it's much easier, although my work schedule means his first and last walks are still in the dark. It's is dark by 7pm here all year round. Our biggest expense is the dog sitter when my husband travels as he otherwise WFH. Vet fees so far are just annual vaccinations and worming tablets, so not too much. It could cost you £3k to fly yours out here though.

Yes I’m a primary teacher, but work part time which sadly doesn’t seem to be a thing in Dubai! I also do private tutor work so would probably look to do some tutoring out there!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to share their experiences etc - it is really helpful and helps create a bigger picture for us to have a good think about. Sooo much to consider. The general feelings I’m getting from everyone is that we could do it, but it would be tight if husbands salary has to cover everything, however if his job assists with housing, the move, school allowance etc it all seems a lot more manageable. I’m conscious (like people have said) I don’t want to get caught up in seeing a high salary and a nice lifestyle as there’s much more to it, and the last thing we want is to get and there and think what have we done we can’t afford to live here lol.
Regarding our dogs, we go with them or we all don’t go. Totally understand the financial impact they have on getting out there and we are prepared to pay that. Also would look to move in cooler months and would take all the necessary steps to adjust them as best we can to the climate. Of course we’d do all the sensible things and they would be very well looked after.
It’s a good point about schools/FS1 and definitely something we should think about as people are right the time does creep up quickly!
Thanks again to everyone’s help and please keep the constructive advice coming!

It’s a good thing you don’t have to then 😂

I lived in Dubai for a couple of years a few years ago and echo what everyone else has said about upfront costs and just general living costs. We didn't live the highlife as we couldn't really afford it. Also, what tends to get forgotten in the excitement, is that coming home is as expensive, if not more, than going out there. You will probably get at least some contribution to relocation costs to get out there, but coming back you're on your own! We managed to save about 15k but that took quite a hit once shipping costs back to the UK etc were taken into account. I vaguely remember there was some kind of exit payment that your company would add to your final paycheck which helped a bit, but it was still expensive - plus you may need to support yourselves whilst you find work back in the UK. Long story short make sure you have an exit plan!