# Thinking of moving to Dubai in Mid-2010...



## Niknpatel (Dec 27, 2009)

Hi there all,

As you can see i am new to this forum.

i have been offered a position over in Dubai for a fairly new telcoms company that i have been advising for over the past 2yrs.

they are opening an office in Dubai in mid-2010, and i am seriously thinking about taking up the position IF it makes overall sense for my family and I.

my wife and i have a near to 1yr old daughter, and currently have been living here in connecticut, USA, for 7yrs having moved here from the UK.

here are a couple of questions that i would like some advice on so that i can carry on my research and make an educated decision on whether to move to Dubai or not.

1) what salary in Dhirams would i need to be earning in order ofr my family and i to live a decent/comfortable (not paycheck to paycheck yet not flashy either!) life over there? i would like to be able to rent a 1br apt, lease/buy 1 simple car, pay for utlities and food and be able to enjoy dubai too yet be able to SAVE $1500-$2000/month for our savings account.

2) is it a must that i need a car in dubai or is their public transport good like new york city or london city?

3) any other advice that you feel would be beneficial to me would be great too!

Like i said, we are looking to get all the facts about Dubai before we decide on whether we should leave our life here in the USA and move to Dubai for a few years.

cheers,

Nik


----------



## vincetruong (May 10, 2009)

You should ask for minimum 17,000Dhs a month in order to save maybe $1,000/mo, plus housing, medical, relocation, round trip flight, etc. That would give you a modest to decent lifestyle assuming the other allowances and your own discretionary spending.

Rent a car first until you've been here awhile. Ideally, have money saved up to Calculations did not account for establishment charges being deducted first before the investments are actually made. buy a car as getting a loan here adds legal complications if for some reason you can't pay the loan. Public transportation has gotten better with the metro but it's not on the level of NYC. Relying on taxis or the metro can get to be a real bother though, in my opinion. 

Consider what your wife will be doing and how she'll be plugged in socially, especially with a young child. It's often more difficult for women and mothers to adapt than the husband who has a career.

Are you going to return to the US? If not, you may want to consider abandoning residence status so that you're not subject to US tax rules over here. read IRS Publication 519 for more info.


----------



## Iron Horse (Apr 10, 2008)

What salary range is this job in the States? Figure to add about 15 percent on top of that salary for here. Where is your tax base? In the US or the UK?

You will want a vehicle here in Dubai as the public transportation system isn't completely online just yet.

The housing will be expensive here compared to anything in Connecticut. I would look for buildings here that are more established, compared with newer ones that might be lower in price. Reason being that most of the kinks have been worked out of the established buildings.

Read through some of the sticky items to become familiar with utilities expenses and other items.

My own little piece of advice is to ask for the world when negotiating your new package. Such things as business class seats when flying over here, and if they come back with economy and you can live with that then maybe you've earned something they wouldn't have done for you.

If you keep posting here others will keep throwing advice to you too.


----------



## Niknpatel (Dec 27, 2009)

vincetruong said:


> You should ask for minimum 17,000Dhs a month in order to save maybe $1,000/mo, plus housing, medical, relocation, round trip flight, etc. That would give you a modest to decent lifestyle assuming the other allowances and your own discretionary spending.
> 
> Rent a car first until you've been here awhile. Ideally, have money saved up to Calculations did not account for establishment charges being deducted first before the investments are actually made. buy a car as getting a loan here adds legal complications if for some reason you can't pay the loan. Public transportation has gotten better with the metro but it's not on the level of NYC. Relying on taxis or the metro can get to be a real bother though, in my opinion.
> 
> ...


Good evening Vince,

Thank you very much for your info today, it was ALOT of help.

In regards to "abandoning" our US status....i don't think that is something that we would do as we would like to return to the US sometime in the future if we do decide to move to Dubai.

cheers mate,

Nik


----------



## Niknpatel (Dec 27, 2009)

Iron Horse said:


> What salary range is this job in the States? Figure to add about 15 percent on top of that salary for here. Where is your tax base? In the US or the UK?
> 
> You will want a vehicle here in Dubai as the public transportation system isn't completely online just yet.
> 
> ...


Hi Iron Horse,

thank you for your post.

our Tax base would be the US, and like i mentioned on my earlier post, abandoning our US status to keep out of the IRS's way is unfortunately something we cant do as we would like to return to the US someday.

i'll definitely be posting on this forum more often now as there is alot of great advice here!

cheers,

Nik


----------

