# Newbie! Appropriate package to look for



## roke2714 (Jan 26, 2015)

Ok so I apologise if I have missed a thread but I have searched and searched to no avail! Point me in the right direction if need be.

I am a teacher, husband a car mechanic for VW in UK.
We are keen to move to Dubai, but am starting to do some Maths and on first glance I'm a little worried.

Could my husband get a package that would give us a decent life - We have two children 6 years and 9 months. What should I expect?

I would go over on a sponsorship and then get a "local" teaching job, hopefully part time.

I'd love to hear from anyone that has experience of a car mechanic's package - when I search I just get people that want a decent car mechanic!

We are heading out to Dubai next week to start getting a feel, maybe hand in his CV personally - a bit scary!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

roke2714 said:


> Ok so I apologise if I have missed a thread but I have searched and searched to no avail! Point me in the right direction if need be.
> 
> I am a teacher, husband a car mechanic for VW in UK.
> We are keen to move to Dubai, but am starting to do some Maths and on first glance I'm a little worried.
> ...


Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
Look at the "sticky" section at the top of the Dubai forum to get loads of answers about living and working in the UAE.
As a teacher, you should be able to get a job in UAE that pays more than equivalent in the UK.
As a VW mechanic, your husband would be competing with mechanics from lower cost countries (india, Phillipines etc.) - so would earn much less than UK.
Cheers
Steve


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

I would expect that your husband is going to need to get a position along the lines of Maintenance Shop manager, anything less that upper level management of the workshop is unlikely to provide sufficient funds to live the western expat life.

There will be those who say "yeah, jump on a plane and come see what happens" but there are always others who will give more cautious advice. Come out by all means, but don't let the glitz dazzle you from seeing the real Dubai world - it is one of the most expensive places around the world to live. With regards to your 6 year old - take a good look at schooling costs they're high (not that I can speak from experience but from seeing some of the numbers on this forum, makes me glad we chose not to go down that road).


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## roke2714 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thank you guys!
I'm thinking that our initial thoughts are a bit way off with reality of living in Dubai

He is a Master Technician but on the job description for these speaking Arabic is pre-requiste.

Having looked a teacher renumeration packages I just don't think I could support the school fees, accommodation and healthcare let alone the cost of living.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Teachers can get free school places, healthcare and family accommodation provided by the school.

But you'd have to be a fairly senior and experienced teacher to get such an offer. 

Your husband is tricker. There are independent garages that may be interested in him on the management side, overseeing a crew. There are western mechanics and western owned garages out here. But only a handful. If he has any sales experience he could also look into getting a position as a salesman with Volkswagen or Audi due to his background and technical knowledge. 

Having said the above, it's still going to rely on a lot of luck and being creative with what your husband can do. And you just never know until you try. 



roke2714 said:


> Thank you guys!
> I'm thinking that our initial thoughts are a bit way off with reality of living in Dubai
> 
> He is a Master Technician but on the job description for these speaking Arabic is pre-requiste.
> ...


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## roke2714 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks Tallyho!
Those were my Initial thoughts, as a teacher of 12 years with management experience, I am looking for more leadership positions - reluctantly.

My dream of being a stay at home mum, sponsored by husband are slowly slipping away! Looks like the roles may even be reversed.

So if the school fees are accounted for in a teacher package, does anyone know if my child would get a place at the school I was to work in?

TIA
I can't believe how supportive people are on here!


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

roke2714 said:


> Thanks Tallyho!
> 
> 
> My dream of being a stay at home mum, sponsored by husband are slowly slipping away! Looks like the roles may even be reversed.
> ...


What is it with all you expat women.

Coffee mornings, yoga, shopping, hair and beauty salons, massages .... and thats just during the day.
Fancy restaurant dinners and hotel brunches on weekends.

While poor hubby slogs his guts out trying to make a decent living


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

My limited understanding is that if the school wants you they will offer up to two or maybe three free places but it's not necessarily in the same school. Most of the schools are privately owned by a company like GEMS, so while you may be hired for one school, the places they offer may be at another school in the network. Keep that in mind. 

The housing provided will be either 2-3 bedroom apartment in some proximity of the school. With housing and fees taken care of, you'd probably receive around 15 to maybe as much as 20K a month, depending on your management level in the school. Even if it's only 15, it's definitely livable for a family of four given that your housing and fees are covered. 

I will say it's odd that the adverts you mentioned stated Arabic as a pre-req because almost all the mechanic staff I've seen are either Filipinos or Asians. 





roke2714 said:


> Thanks Tallyho!
> Those were my Initial thoughts, as a teacher of 12 years with management experience, I am looking for more leadership positions - reluctantly.
> 
> My dream of being a stay at home mum, sponsored by husband are slowly slipping away! Looks like the roles may even be reversed.
> ...


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## FourAgreements (Mar 19, 2014)

I'm a (currently) non-working expat woman with a husband slogging his guts out. I had gotten the sense that a woman not working was a lot less frowned upon here; I assumed it was because our husbands are generally making more money than they would in our home countries.

I've told my husband that if I made as much money as he did (or something near it) we could absolutely reverse roles. As long as he learns to cook proper meals. Several years ago he had a 7-month period of unemployment, the first time in his life. I'd never seen him so happy. Running and working out every day, riding his motorcycle all the time. He loved it.

But I had to quit my job to come here. My particular line of work is not well paid here, and I don't have a degree so I can't fall back on my previous line of work - there is a big emphasis placed on having a degree here. I even see it on ads for receptionists. Really???


Anyhow, thanks for the laugh. You're right, and I agree that we expat women are just a wee bit spoiled.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the beauty salon is calling about my appointment... 






arabianhorse said:


> What is it with all you expat women.
> 
> Coffee mornings, yoga, shopping, hair and beauty salons, massages .... and thats just during the day.
> Fancy restaurant dinners and hotel brunches on weekends.
> ...


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## roke2714 (Jan 26, 2015)

Well I seemed to ruffle Arabian horses feathers!

If you saw me now I'm definitely a stay at home mum, 9 month old tugging at my tracksuit bottoms, hanging the washng out, nails unkept, hair scraped up!

My husband will do his damnedest to get a job with a package that means he can work and I can carry on my 24hr stay at home job as he certainly doesn't want it!

Right where was I, cooking dinner next, baby attached!


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## FourAgreements (Mar 19, 2014)

Hi Roke,

Don't take it personally... there is a lot of tongue- in-cheek humour in this forum, and not everyone gets it when they first start posting. It can be hard to tell whether someone is serious or kidding when reading stuff online. Can't see someone's facial expressions.

And don't worry, you won't have to justify not working outside the home to anyone in Dubai, if you're lucky enough to end up in that situation. It's very common, and not at all frowned upon.




roke2714 said:


> Well I seemed to ruffle Arabian horses feathers!
> 
> If you saw me now I'm definitely a stay at home mum, 9 month old tugging at my tracksuit bottoms, hanging the washng out, nails unkept, hair scraped up!
> 
> ...


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## roke2714 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thank you all
I seemed to have diverted from the original post, no offence taken honest :wink:
I've actually applied for a job today! So we'll head out next week, drop hubby's cv in to main dealers vw, audi etc and see what happens!

I feel a bit more optimistic now, our original aim was to both work and earn lots, then our miracle baby girl came along so threw a spanner in the works, I wanted to appreciate the time I have with her!

I'm back on the original game plan now though both work for a few years and save save save! It must be do able.

As long as we can get at least housing, healthcare, a flight and schooling for the 2 children from one of the jobs we should be ok.

Any mechanics out there with some advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

roke2714 said:


> Well I seemed to ruffle Arabian horses feathers!
> 
> If you saw me now I'm definitely a stay at home mum, 9 month old tugging at my tracksuit bottoms, hanging the washng out, nails unkept, hair scraped up!
> 
> ...


Just kidding Roke - honest !

But oh what I would give to stay at home and look after a 9 month old - easy peasy

Much better than going to work and putting up with a/holes


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