# A Million and One Questions!!



## meriam.gordon (Aug 4, 2014)

Hi Everyone 

Firstly I wanted to apologise for this really long post. I’m sure you can understand and appreciate that moving abroad is a big decision and so I have lots of questions. There’s probably answers to all my queries amongst other threads and posts but not really all in one place and would probably take me quite a while to find them and read through them all… so, I thought I’d ask all my questions in one go in the hope that I’ll be able to find out about it all a bit easier. 

So a bit of background about me and my family (as this may influence your opinion on how it would be effect us), my family and I are Muslim, my husband and I have a daughter (coming up 3½) and a son (10 weeks old). We have talked about living in England vs. a Muslim country and have come to the conclusion that for our family, our future and our beliefs, as much as we would miss our family and friends, we would like to live in a Muslim country.

Although my father is Tunisian (and so some people think Tunisia would be the obvious choice), we don’t really feel the country would suit us and our needs. We spoke about the possible Muslim countries to live in and decided on either Morocco, Dubai/Abu Dhabi or possibly Kuwait. Thinking about the lifestyle, technology, jobs, if they speak English, education etc, we felt Dubai/Abu Dhabi could possibly be the best option for us.

We really would like to replicate (if it is possible and that’s what we are trying to find out) our lifestyle here. My husband works full time in IT (specifically in software testing) and I work part time in Human Resources (although currently on maternity leave). We have our own home (through a mortgage) and we have enough money each month to pay our bills, put some money in savings and be comfortable. We’re by no means rich or extravagant but at the same time we are very fortunate and don’t struggle either. We’re comfortably somewhere in the middle where we can go on a nice holiday once a year if we save well and can treat ourselves to things now and again but if we do spend we have to consider our savings etc.

What we’re trying to establish is whether this lifestyle is achievable for us in Dubai/Abu Dhabi. The other really important factor is our children’s’ future in education and in general.

A few things we’re trying to work out, which is where this forum may be able to help answer a few of our questions, is as follows (apologies for the long list but we want to be really thorough as this is not a light decision!):

*Living*
• Is it easy to get by if you only speak English? (neither of us speak Arabic, although we have said we will learn as much as we can before we go – if we go!).
• Is it expensive to buy a house or to rent?
• How about the cost of owning a car? Can you ‘hire’ a car (we’re thinking if we move to give it a one year trial, so we’d only want a car for possibly a year – although I’d hope it works out and we did stay).
• Are the locals quite friendly/accepting of expat or is there quite a divide? I wonder how we would fit in as we’d be expat but Muslim!?!
• Is there much community spirit or does everyone keep themselves to themselves?
• Have you ever noticed that expat adults or kids (especially at school) get treated differently or excluded?

*Schooling *
• What are the schools like?
• Are there state schools and private schools? Are either of them good/bad?
• Do all expat children go to a specific school or do children just go to whichever school is local to them (a bit like the catchment area style in England)?
• Would I be able to send our children to a local school or would it have to be an English/American school?
• What is the age for schooling?
• Do they help children who don’t speak the language?
• What are the school hours? Does it depend on each school/time of year or are they all pretty similar like here 8.50am-3.15pm?

*Work*
• What’s the cost of living vs. salary like i.e. food, bills, mortgage/rent, travel etc? Do you think we’d be able to have our own home and be comfortable/secure each month with bills, money and savings etc?
• What would you say an average, good salary is? I know each job has it’s own pay scale/rate but I want to know what the basic/average salary would be that would mean we could be comfortable. 
• Do you pay tax, national insurance type things from salaries?
• Do you think realistically I’d have to work as well or could we get away with just my husband working? 
• What would you say the typical working hours are? Here it’s very easy to say it’s typically Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm but I wonder if it’s like other Arab countries where you have a 4 hour break mid-day during summer because of the heat etc!?
• Is it quite hard to get a Visa to live in Dubai/Abu Dhabi?
• Are there any recruitment agencies here that you would recommend to use to find a job there?

*General*
• What’s it like there for kids? Do they have lots of activities for them?
• Are there family friendly places to go i.e. Zoo, parks etc?
• What’s the food like? Is it quite continental or specific Arabic food (I grew up with Arabic, Polish and English food so I’m not fussy I’d just like to know!)?
• Are there good areas to live and bad areas to stay away from?
• What’s the Government like?
• Is there much crime? (I’d like to think in a Muslim country there wouldn’t be any but I guess not everyone there is a Muslim!)
• A lot of people say there’s quite a big divide between genders and that females aren’t allowed to go out on their own or even drive – is that true? (I’m pretty sure they have that mixed with Saudi Arabia but I might be wrong – hence the question!)

*Health*
• What’s the hospital situation i.e. is it private, you have to pay medical insurance to get any type of treatment or is it you pay a type of tax and it works a bit like the NHS here?
• What are the hospitals like i.e. really good/bad, clean, not very nice etc?
• Is there A&E that you use like here or is it mainly all pre-appointment type hospitalisation?
• Are they OK with expat using A&E or can they be a bit ‘off’ if you’re not national?
• What’s dentistry like there? Do you just register and pay for check-ups & treatment etc? Is it quite expensive?

I’m so sorry for the huge long list of questions and I certainly don’t expect anyone to answer all of them but as many as you can answer would be greatly appreciated and if there’s anything else you think is worth mentioning that I haven’t asked, please do (whether negative or positive).

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to your reply :laugh:

Meriam x


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Seriously, read the sticky posts its what they are there for. I'll say it before a dozen people tell you the same thing.

We are all volunteers and some don't appreciate people who cannot be bothered to read the stickies and expect others to do it for them.

Seriously, you have to read your post and realise how pretty demanding your whole post comes across, starting with 'I know the information is here somewhere but I cannot be bothered to do the research myself......'

PS the answer is no chance if he is in IT. But you'd realise that if you read the Stickies ............


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## chestnut (Apr 1, 2013)

Hi Meriam,
I'm curious as to how you came up with your list of locations as a number of your questions would suggest you've done little research on Dubai and Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general.
You are right - many answers are already available in the forum and a good place to start is by reading the "stickies" and while it takes some time to read them, members of this forum have given up their time to share their valuable experience posting information and replies in the stickies and other threads.
Whatever your decision: all the very best of luck to you four and I hope you'll be happy wherever you end up.
D.


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## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

Hi Meriam

As the others have already responded there is a wealth of information in the sticky threads at the top of the forum which you can check then update with more specific queries. 

I thought it was worth mentioning something though as it appears you haven't considered it. If you're moving to Dubai mainly because it's a Muslim area I wouldn't... Dubai is possibly the least Muslim of all Muslim cities. I personally know of two people that left Dubai as the culture wasn't for them. One moved to Bahrain and the other Saudi. If I were you and it was a major factor from your list of choices Kuwait would be top of the list.


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## meriam.gordon (Aug 4, 2014)

Hi guys - my sincere apologies if I've offended anyone - I've never used any type of forum before and didn't know what the 'stickies' posts were/are. With a new baby in the house & trying to look in to all this I just thought it would be better to ask all the questions in one post. Again, sorry if that has upset anyone. I'll make sure I read what I can when I can. Thanks.


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## meriam.gordon (Aug 4, 2014)

Wow - you're a bit harsh with words! I didn't think my post was that 'demanding' I just have a lot of questions! I was trying to be apologetic for the list of questions and appreciative of any answers. Sorry if I've pee'd you off :-(


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Maybe is was the implication that the crimes in a country which has non-Muslims are as a result of their being non-Muslims present ? I am sure that wasn't the way it was meant to be read. Virtually all your answers are in the Stickies and a simple search would have shown that IT jobs are not well paid at all. Religion doesn't figure in the equation in the slightest.

Some of the questions are really really basic - I struggle to wonder about them. If you have done so little research that you don't know the practical differences between KSA cultural norms and those of our hosts.......... And confuse them, I wonder how much thought has gone into the pre-question thinking .....


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

I'm afraid I have to agree with the other guys too. The time it must have taken to type up your long post could have been used for some proper research. Do you know anything about UAE at all, part from that it is a muslim country? 

Please do have a read though the stickies. A lot of forum members have taken their time to write valuable information so you got to understand that it can be a bit disheartening to hear that "it probably will take a lot of time to find them and read them all". We are all ex-pats and many of us have lived in multiple countries. I would also recommend to check out the women's forum, various blogs, local newpapers and google. 

You're not the only one with a baby, thinking of moving here so I find that a bit of a poor excuse to not do your own research. 

This is certainly not a crime free country and would you believe it, muslims commit crimes too! Check out local newspapers The National, Gulfnews, Khaleej Times, 7Days, Emirates 24/7 and bear in mind that it is only a "selection" of news. A lot happens here that never make it to the papers. 

I thought I had done a lot of research before we moved here but oh, how wrong was I... You can never do too much research. Aren't we lucky to have internet and forums nowadays. Imagine what it was like before that?


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

meriam.gordon said:


> Wow - you're a bit harsh with words! I didn't think my post was that 'demanding' I just have a lot of questions! I was trying to be apologetic for the list of questions and appreciative of any answers. Sorry if I've pee'd you off :-(


Hi Meriam,

It's fine, it's just nobody is paid to be on the forum, this is all just people pooling knowledge in between lunch hours etc. Also, there is a post everyday along the lines of "please sort my life out", it gets tiring after a while.

My first suggestion would be to concentrate on work, as payscales and value of positions are very different here and some don't transfer. You say your husband is in IT, this is an industry that is dominated by Indian graduates who will work for a lower salary. 

However, IT is vast and many of the main companies pay well. If he's sat programming php for websites, chances are he will not earn enough. If he's working on bespoke software for the oil and gas industry, chances are you'll do well. HR is going to be a supplementary income. 

Schools are expensive, I'm not a parent but the general feeling is that you're paying UK public/grammar school rates for a middle of the road to decent comprehensive education. If your kids education is you're main driver and you're currently in a good catchment area, you may find you're taking a step down coming here.

Look into the work first and see if it's going to be possible, then come back with questions about cars, parks and dentists. 

Hope this helps


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## FourAgreements (Mar 19, 2014)

*A million and one answers*

Hi Meriam,

You sound very excited at the prospect of moving to a new country, and that's always a good start .

The answers to many of your questions will depend on the salary your spouse/you will make, as someone mentioned above.

As the others have also mentioned, the answers to your other questions can also be found in many of the 'sticky' threads (sticky just means they can always be found at the top, in case you haven't figured that out already). There is a LOT of information available here.

What I would suggest is that you print out your list of questions, create a table with it, and then as you peruse, write down the answers as you find them. Make lots of notes.

I actually started lurking on this forum last fall, when I found out a friend of mine had moved to Abu Dhabi. Just general reading, in between work, workouts and naps. Then I did lots more lurking/reading in Feb-Mar after my husband received a phone call from a company here - I'm talking about hours and hours and hours of reading......

Members here are generally VERY helpful... if they can see that you've done your homework/due diligence, or at least started it.

Although I don't have children I can appreciate how busy you must be. You will likely only have a few minutes here and there, that's why writing it down will help in the long run.

Good luck in your search, and happy reading!


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## despaired (Dec 22, 2013)

meriam.gordon said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> Firstly I wanted to apologise for this really long post. I’m sure you can understand and appreciate that moving abroad is a big decision and so I have lots of questions. There’s probably answers to all my queries amongst other threads and posts but not really all in one place and would probably take me quite a while to find them and read through them all… so, I thought I’d ask all my questions in one go in the hope that I’ll be able to find out about it all a bit easier.




Thats were you lost me, even though I read through the rest of your post.

Being an expat unfortunately means to conquer all sorts of challenges, and learning to help oneself. 

If you'd asked one of those questions people might would have responded, but unfortunately all of us have spend so much time on this forum, and did our own research.

Personally I did read for about 6 months every day, at times for 3-4 hours in a row, through thousands of posts. 

What surprised me is that a lot of your questions were pretty basic (e.g. how easy is it to get along without speaking Arabic), which I think are those kind of things you should have looked up online in any travel guide already way before.


We ain't trying to be harsh, but i think people just welcome you to reality. 

Having that said, I assume if you and you husband will earn equally to what you have back home, then life can be pretty comfortable for you guys.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

I am now on leave , so;

Yes
Yes to both
Yes you can
Generally yes, apart from the rude ones.
Yes sometimes although one persons community is another clique. Its utterly dependent upon where you live
No, because I don;t have to deal with kids (other than the staff of course)

Big buildings just like the Uk, except with aircon. No large football fields obviously
No - you’ll have to investigate good/bad yourself as there is no OFSTED here to do it for you
They go where you can can get them in.
Whichever you can get in - you won’t get much choice though as places fill up quickly
Whenever you want them to start
Sort of - depends upon the curriculum
Differs slightly by school, but not by much. they do start early though. You will be getting up in the dark every day though.

Its not cheap at all. I have no idea what your lifestyle or spending patterns are (how could I ?)
Silly question - how long is a piece of string type ? Average is meaningless. IT is not well paid.
No.
No idea.
8-6 either 5 or 6 days a week - depends upon your contract.
Its easy to get a visa if you have a job as your employer provides it - you don’t get one without a job.
None.

Good. Lots. You have to pay for it all.
Good. Lots. The Zoo is rubbish here.
Every type of food you can imagine - and many you cannot.
Its a big building with lots of people in it and its utterly bureaucratic. Being an ex-pat, you get no say and you have few rights. You are second class to a UAE citizen.
Crime …… hmm. no its perfection and nobody ever does anything wrong. Apart from the criminals.
If you have done so little research to tell the difference between KSA and UAE then you’re in trouble. 

Private medical only. Your employer should provide. It won’t be comprehensive and you will have to pay some things (usually eyewatering payments) there is no NHS for you.
Hospitals are generally very good. If you don’t like one, try another as you’re the one paying.
You won’t get in the UAE national ones, and the rest will greet you warmly if you have insurance.
Dentists are part of the medical system, covered by insurance. Some Emirates don’t mandate dental cover and you have to pay through the teeth for it (pun intended). Personally i wouldn’t let them near me, not because they are not good, but i refuse to pay that much when I can pay private in the Uk at a fraction of the price.


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## nagib_91 (Mar 14, 2014)

• Is there much crime? (I’d like to think in a Muslim country there wouldn’t be any but I guess not everyone there is a Muslim!)

this is very offensive please edit your post and remove this sentence.


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## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

nagib_91 said:


> • Is there much crime? (I’d like to think in a Muslim country there wouldn’t be any but I guess not everyone there is a Muslim!)
> 
> this is very offensive please edit your post and remove this sentence.


I doubt the OP will come back to the forum. If it offends you that much why not report the post so moderators can take action if they agree with you?


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

meriam.gordon said:


> • Is there much crime? (I’d like to think in a Muslim country there wouldn’t be any but I guess not everyone there is a Muslim!)


wow.
just wow.

no, i am not a Muslim.
it is hard to sleep with all the possible crimes i might commit tomorrow running through my brain every night......

i think you'll find that religion of one description or another is responsible for the vast majority of tyranny, injustice, war and oppression over the past several hundred years.....


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

FML, my eyes glazed over and I couldn't be bothered to read past the first sentence.

Search function - use it!


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