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Original poster

Living in Dubai

12 replies

dfghj · 18/09/2017 19:04

My DH has been offered a job in Dubai. We have 2 kids at primary school and would need to rent a house, car etc. He's been offered £90k which I know is heaps here but does anyone who knows Dubai (maybe another expat for example) think this is a reasonable salary? We want to be able to enjoy the location and als be able to save some cash while there.

With thanks

OP posts:

diodati · 18/09/2017 19:09

Yes, I have two close friends who moved there in the past few years. Both of them love it. The friend who went for her DH's work put both children in an excellent school, English curriculum and has opened her own shop. The other friend is an American architect. He really didn't want to go but now adores it.

diodati · 18/09/2017 19:10

As for the money, check the rate of exchange.

NameChanger22 · 18/09/2017 19:10

I think you must be new to Mumsnet. Am i right?

minimalist99 · 18/09/2017 19:10

Will his accommodation be provided by the company?
Will they pay towards you and your children's medical insurance?
Will they pay for your children's education?

Dubai is extremely expensive but if your company pays for your rent,medical insurance and children's education it could be a lucrative deal but do keep in mind things like furnishing costs and things like that.

My Sister moved to Dubai with her partner even though her salary high when she got pregnant her partner and her came back because they felt that the cost of living would be too expensive to sustain a certain level of living.

Original poster

dfghj · 18/09/2017 19:17

Why does that matter?

OP posts:

SandBlue · 19/09/2017 11:56

Reading your message as thats 90k, with no allowances for accomadation, flights, medical, education:
Google some rents in the areas you might be interested in
Google some school fees - and availability of places
Think how much it would cost for you and kids to come home for the summer (accomadation if not staying with family, flights, hirecar).
Look up medical insurance

That comes to 70k for us - middle east, not UAE. You need to do the maths for your situation.

Fantasticmissfoxy · 19/09/2017 12:14

We have friends who recently moved there - rents, school fees, food shopping and water bills are all astronomical. They estimate their living expenses (for the same standard of living as they had in the U.K.) have more than doubled. The only cheap things are taxis, cigarettes and petrol.

Karak · 20/09/2017 05:17

I'm in the UAE. Worth asking for this to be moved to the living overseas board.

From what you say he's presumable been offered something around AED 37k a month. As others have said, is that all in or is schooling on top? I'd expect to pay at least AED 50k each a year for schooling (assuming primary aged kids) and quite possibly significantly more. Housing, depends what you're looking for, but I'd allow at least 130k a year (and again, possibly a lot more depending on where/ what).

Will the employer provide family health insurance?

It all depends on your current situation. Plenty of people live in Dubai on far less. However, I earn more than that and we wouldn't live in Dubai on my salary alone. You could do it but you wouldn't save much and you'd have to be very frugal not to come out in debt at the end of year 1 (particularly taking moving costs into account).

Karak · 20/09/2017 05:25

diodati - an American architect (assuming fairly experienced) is earning a shed load more than GBP 90k a year - I assume closer to 200k (if you monetarise the benefit package). When you take package into account (including school fees for two kids) the teachers at my kids school are on GBP 80k a year (and that's a cheaper place than Dubai!).

diodati · 20/09/2017 07:44

Very true, Karak. The architect pleads poverty (long & acrimonious American divorce) but has collaborated with the likes of I.M. Pei while the DH of my other friend owns and runs an extremely successful marketing software company. So yeah, they're clearly not short of money.

illustratednews · 21/09/2017 17:09

Have you ever been to Dubai? I wouldn't move there without visiting. I personally couldn't live in Dubai due to the culture- but everyone is different and some people accept it. I have lived in a similar country before but couldn't now as I have become less tolerant about misogyny.

Orangebird69 · 25/09/2017 18:40

Hi op. My dh lives and works in the ME, in KSA. Slightly hugely different lifestyle... but some questions need to be asked;

Is there a housing allowance?
What level of medical insurance is offered?
Are school fees included?
Are any family flights included? How many a year?
Any allowance for transport/a car?
How many days holiday?
Is the holiday paid?

Tbh, apart from the transport issue, if 'no' is the answer to any of the above questions, your dh either needs to renegotiate or turn the offer down.

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