# Looking to move to dubai!



## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

hey is it a good idea moving to Dubai. In terms of work I currently work as a property consultant and would be doing the same job in Dubai ( before all the negative comments come in many ways the property market in HongKong is quite similar, maybe just a little more organised) Just came back from a visit in Dubai and found quality of life to be quite similar and cost of living is cheaper and have been looking for a fresh experience lane::juggle: would there be any hidden costs? Ive been looking at it and seems I have a good idea of all the costs associated with the move.


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## Reddiva (Feb 24, 2016)

Most real estate companies work on commission only and don't provide a visa ( illegal) so expect to do visa runs every 30 days. I don't think the market is that buoyant at present and going by local media ( do your research) sales are down at present. Start up costs in Dubai are huge. You need a visa to get a tenancy contract as hotel apartments are expensive, you have to pay by 1, 2 or 4 cheques, DEWA set up for utilities are 2000AED, 5% agency finders fee for an apartment and 5% deposit for said apartment. Costs for WIFI 16MB are around 350 and it's slow. Furniture you could either get fully furnished or buy cheaply at IKEA etc. Hire Car around 2000AED a month you can't get a bank account until you have a visa so hotel apartments may be an idea until you have a visa. 
Good Luck


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

okay thats a huge issue as I would like to keep things legal and especially as my other half unlike me can't do visa runs as she's limited to 90 days in 180 days (EU passport holder) where as I can keep doing 30 days but would prefer not to. In terms of other thing the cost seem quite similar expect Rent is paid monthly and utility deposits are lower but overall rental costs are lower e.g.. In HK i pay 10,000 AED equivalent for a 450sqft apartment in a average part of town (gas,water and electricity cost an additonal 300AED in winter and 500AED in summer) and car ownership is out of the question but transport is great. Internet is something I have looked into in HK 1000mbps costs about 180AED a month but includes nothing else and the constantly changing football rights from one company too another means I end up paying close to 500AED for internet plus phone and tv (only about 50 channels of which half are cantonese). In terms of the market the research I have done shows it is worse in HK than Dubai sales here have pretty much dried up and conditions probably aren't going to improve for 2-3 years. :juggle:


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
Couple of things.
In HK does the buyer/renter or seller pay the agents commission?
In HK are properties sold/rented exclusively through one agent - or is it a total free for all (like Dubai)
In HK - are the photos in the adverts good quality and actually of the place for rent or sale?
In HK - can you actually rent or buy the place advertised - or has it already "gone"?
In HK - do the agents return your calls and actually show some level of interest in renting or selling you a place?
Does your wife have a confirmed job in Dubai - or are you going to need to support both of you on thin air for the first 6 to 9 months?
Cheers
Steve


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

Hey there,


In HK does the buyer/renter or seller pay the agents commission?
In both cases the commission is divided between the two parties in sales 1% from each side recently many agents have been negotiating that down and in rental 1 months rental is paid to agent divided again between landlord and tenant 

In HK are properties sold/rented exclusively through one agent - or is it a total free for all (like Dubai)
Its a complete free for all 

In HK - are the photos in the adverts good quality and actually of the place for rent or sale?
This can depend widely on the firm in question but overall I would say its 50/50 

In HK - can you actually rent or buy the place advertised - or has it already "gone"?
In most cases the adverts are bait sadly and the place is usually gone and it can be very frustrating 

In HK - do the agents return your calls and actually show some level of interest in renting or selling you a place?
Agents are desperate to close in the current market has been for the past few years so they do try there best and return your call instantly and show a lot of interest


Just some background the property sector in Hk has been terrible the number of agents has swelled (35K+) and the number transaction has dwindled (8k in the first quarter of 2016) government regulations on buying are very high with max mortgage in many cases being limited to 50% to 60% depending on prices and additional taxes for non local (20%+ total taxes) and second time buyers 

Does your wife have a confirmed job in Dubai - or are you going to need to support both of you on thin air for the first 6 to 9 months?
She does not, however she doesn't work full-time here either and I do have loads of savings to support myself


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Sounds like you have made your mind up already.
Best of luck in your move to Dubai.


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## heidiwsn (Feb 26, 2016)

HI, Im from hongkong too, just moved to dubai for a month. i used a month to find an apartment, apply those DEWA, driving licence, internet, visa and now the emirate id card is still under processing. For me, i think the lvining standard is a bit lower than Hong Kong, especailly for daily necessity and food. But eating out is more expensive and less options. internet and water is more expensive, but car, fuel and parking fee is much much much lower than hk. the rest is more or less similar to hk.

Actually i do enjoy living in dubai, hk is too crowded, too many ppl, noisy. so if u are fine with the hot weather in summer, the low efficiency, and cultural desert here, dubai is a better place to live.


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## heidiwsn (Feb 26, 2016)

the most important is to do all attestation in hk before you come to dubai, attestation in marriage cert, birth cert of kids, education cert, driving license(better have english translate though it got english on it-.-)


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

Hi really during my visit one thing that impressed me in comparison to hong kong is the much better choice in the supermarket and prices that are in many cases 50% or more cheaper for many of the products I consume. In Hong Kong grocery shopping is a total nightmare having at times to goto 4-5 different places to complete weekly shopping, the problem for my partner is worse as there some things she's used to that just don't exist in Hong Kong. I found eating out to be about the same more or less except HK does have some really good options to eat out for really cheap which I didn't find in HongKong in terms of western choices prices are very similar possibly dubai costing 10% more on average. I found drinking was very expensive in comparison to Hong Kong on the other hand


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

a quick question does Dubai have road tax for car owners? (e.g. in HK there is road tax which is paid either annually or every quarter)


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Hath123 said:


> a quick question does Dubai have road tax for car owners? (e.g. in HK there is road tax which is paid either annually or every quarter)


Yes, an annual registration fee.

As you would find in Dubai, there's a fee for everything.


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

I believe there are a few agencies that will provide a visa and medical along with a small basic salary (c. 4k per month? Maybe less nowadays) but I assume, with the number of agents around and the high proportion of commission only jobs, that there will be more competition for jobs at those agencies and lack of local knowledge might not help you vs a long term UAE agent.


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

just looked into the road tax it is quite low! compared to what I pay here. I have looked at all the costs one thing I just can't find anywhere is does one have to pay for car parks in dubai at the place of residence as I will be looking at apartments in dubai marina (possibly 2 bedrooms) would the rental price include a car park would I need to pay extra for this? Also are there any other hidden costs I could be faced with that I haven't considered?


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Yes, no, maybe and lots.

Your questions are too vague and non-specific.

Spend more time reading the Stickies, but the answer to all your questions starts with 'it depends'........


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## Mambo21 (Mar 19, 2016)

Having been to Hong Kong many, many times, I would say that eating out in Dubai is at least.50-100% more per meal. And it doesn't matter whether it's at the high end (Ryu Gin, Ming Court, Bo Innovation, 8 1/2 Otto, Lei Garden), or at the value-for-money end with street food. And that's before adding alcohol, which I find very affordable in Hong Kong.

Most 2-bedroom apartments would have at least 1 parking space allotted. A lot of cash will go into startup costs (deposits, commission, rental) so read up on other threads about it, as two wheels mentioned.


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

I don't think that is completely true, at the lower end I completely agree prices in HK are very cheap compared to most cities not just Dubai. However when I was in Dubai I didn't find that mid and high end restaurants were more expensive by anywhere close to 50% yes they were more but no where near 50% and some mid priced place I came out thinking it was close to the same or slightly cheaper. In terms of the top end restaurants I found Dubai 25% more costlier Im including a bottle of wine to this in comparison to Hong Kong. I generally found non alcoholic beverages way cheaper than Hk in every pretty much every scenario except right at the bottom. 

Im doing tons of research but certain information is just much harder to find out about Dubai in comparison to Hong Kong.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hath123 said:


> I don't think that is completely true, at the lower end I completely agree prices in HK are very cheap compared to most cities not just Dubai. However when I was in Dubai I didn't find that mid and high end restaurants were more expensive by anywhere close to 50% yes they were more but no where near 50% and some mid priced place I came out thinking it was close to the same or slightly cheaper. In terms of the top end restaurants I found Dubai 25% more costlier Im including a bottle of wine to this in comparison to Hong Kong. I generally found non alcoholic beverages way cheaper than Hk in every pretty much every scenario except right at the bottom.
> 
> Im doing tons of research but certain information is just much harder to find out about Dubai in comparison to Hong Kong.


You can over think it sometimes!


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

Btw I found the service wildly better in Dubai than Hong Kong.


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## Hath123 (May 13, 2016)

I have a tendancy to overthink everything


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## Roxtec Blue (Jan 14, 2013)

Hath123 said:


> I have a tendancy to overthink everything


If that's the case you'll end with paralysis by analysis in Dubai and drive yourself insane if you're not careful.


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## Reddiva (Feb 24, 2016)

Hath123 said:


> a quick question does Dubai have road tax for car owners? (e.g. in HK there is road tax which is paid either annually or every quarter)



We don't have anything called road tax as such but you have to register a private vehicle every year. Cars less than 3 years old don't require an inspection ( same as a UK MOT) anything over 3 years does. Any speeding/parking fines also have to be paid in full at registration. Car insurance is also paid annually


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## Mambo21 (Mar 19, 2016)

Hath123 said:


> Btw I found the service wildly better in Dubai than Hong Kong.




I agree at lower-mid tier, but not at the high end. It took me four tries with 3 waiters and 20min to get some butter for my bread and that's not an isolated incident  Ultimately, you need to ask yourself why you want to come to Dubai, and why you want to leave HK. That's the big picture. The numbers will validate those reasons, but likely won't be the driving force IMHO.


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