# Lots of General Questions on Relocating to Abu Dhabi



## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Hello,

I may relocate to Abu Dhabi in early 2017, but I have a lot of questions that I hope you can help me answer. Firstly, a bit of background:

I'm American, but currently live in Europe and have dual citizenship. I will begin negotiating the position with the Abu Dhabi based company in the coming weeks. I've worked with the company before as a consultant, and they are very eager to hire me as a regular employee. It will be a very senior level position, and hence I'm confident they package will be very good. Otherwise, I wouldn't move. So let's assume money is not an issue (within reason, of course). I'm not new to the region or Abu Dhabi, I've travelled there many times over the past 5-6 years. My plan is to work in AD for approx. 4-5 years, minimum. With that in mind, here are my questions:

1 - I have two children, young teenagers (13 and 14). What are the best 2-3 schools in Abu Dhabi? Can you point me to a good resource for this? This is probably my top priority, finding adequate schools for my kids.

2 - My wife is pregnant and will have the baby in early 2017. She will most likely have the baby in Europe, and then move to AD mid year. How would we go about finding a very good doctor for her? Any tips, resources?

3 - What is the best way to negotiate employer paid housing? Should I ask them to provide and pay for a house in AD for me, one that I approve, or ask for a housing allowance and do everything myself? In that case, are there any additional fees, eg. huge deposits, other restrictions, about which I should be aware? 

4 - What are some nice areas in Abu Dhabi in which to rent a home or large apartment (5 family members)? Is it important to live near my place of work, or is that not an issue? I'll be working in Al Raha. Do you typically sign a 2 year lease? Does it vary? 

5 - Are there any special items I should be aware of while negotiating my salary, or can you point me to a good resource specifically for Abu Dhabi? I'm more interested in specific perks that are necessary to make the stay much more comfortable, but perhaps aren't obvious if you haven't yet lived in AD. Links, tips, suggestions, much appreciated...

6 - Are rented apartments or homes typically furnished, or will we need to furnish it ourselves? I will most likely keep my home in Europe with the furniture, and I don't really want to buy a lot of new furniture. On the other hand, I suppose I could ask for relocation allowance for this if furnished homes/apartments are not very common.

Finally, any additional links or resources you can point me to would be extremely helpful. I'll be negotiating this position in the coming weeks, and I'm only going to have once chance to put all of my needs on the table. Thanks for your help!

--JC


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## KhalidAbuDhabi (Oct 10, 2016)

Hi Joe,

First of all, nice to meet you and welcome to the forums, please have a look below for the answers. Please be noted that the following information is only in my opinion because your questions are very common and everyone have their own thinking, liking and preferences.

1. This is a list of all schools in Abu Dhabi ordered by official rating (Irtiqaa rating) along with fees, programs and location:
Schools in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Edumena

2. I would leave this question for any married person or women to answer this as i m still single 

3. The first part for the house allowance, it's already mention in your job offer letter, have a careful look or even you can ask for a particular information, no issues at all. Mostly big companies provide accommodation. Just suppose you will not get any, then finding an apartment won't be much difficult, there are many good agents to help you find a better apartment but you aware for the selection of your agents because there are so many bad agents as well who just work for earning commissions. Deposits are not huge at all, they are very much payable. Others things are also mentioned in your rental contract like restrictions you mentioned could be like pets are not allowed etc.

4. Al Raha itself a nice place to live in, i prefer to live near home because of the traffic issues while going to work as well as coming back home. Also if you have license then it's not an issue to live anywhere depending on your budget if you are paying rent for your apartment. Other areas that you should see are Al Bateen, Saadiyat, Reem Island. Yes, 2 years contract is mandatory unless you are living on a monthly basis rental apartment.

5. Usually everything is mentioned in your contract such as house allowance, food, transport, insurance, schooling, maternity/paternity leaves etc but in my view what employer doesn't want to mention is what is the system of salary raise, but i m not sure, is it a good time to ask or not.

6. You can get both options, furnished or non furnished but again depending on your budget if you are paying but mostly if companies are paying then you will get furnished apartment.

Additionally, there are many good places you can explore here but as you mentioned you have been here already so many times then i wouldn't be able to extend this answer here but below link would keep you busy in explore places you haven't been to and also you can explore more answers there to know more about the City or Country. 
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-top-things-to-do-in-Abu-Dhabi

I wish you best of luck for your future.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

theviewabudhabi said:


> Hi Joe,
> 
> First of all, nice to meet you and welcome to the forums, please have a look below for the answers. Please be noted that the following information is only in my opinion because your questions are very common and everyone have their own thinking, liking and preferences.
> 
> ...


Hi,
Much of the information in the above post is incorrect.
A few examples:- 
1. ADEC is the official Abu Dhabi Education Council. Their website gives details of all Abu Dhabi schools, including inspection reports. The best schools cost between 80,000 and 120,000 AED per child, per year.
2. There are loads of doctors and hospitals in the UAE - it won't be a problem to find a good doctor once you wife and baby arrive.
3. Housing allowance is normally part of expat packages. Be careful how it is paid - as most companies pay it monthly but you would need to pay rent in 1,2 or sometimes 4 cheques. The best companies will loan you the full rent and then deduct that from the alliance each month.
4. Apartments and villas are rented 12 months at a time - not 2 years!
5. If you look at the "stickies" section of the Dubai part of the forum - much of the salary information is relevant for Dubai and Abu Dhabi
6. The vast majority of apartment and villa rentals are unfurnished. Furniture is relatively cheap here and because of people coming and going so frequently - there is plenty of nearly new furniture for sale on Dubizzle and other market places.
If you really wanted a fully furnished place - then there are plenty of very nice hotel apartments available.

The Dubai part of the forum is more active than the Abu Dhabi section and there is a lot of useful information there.
Cheers
Steve


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## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Thanks, Steve. Much appreciated.


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