# Considering Dubai



## TWhitfield25 (Sep 6, 2019)

Hi everyone, lately me & my girlfriend soon to be wife have been considering moving from the US & starting a new life in Dubai. We’re both prior military & were debating finishing college there (physical therapy & business). I was just hoping to hear some things you wished you knew or had done before your move. Things such as the following:
Buying or renting a house/apartment 
Acquiring a visa to live there
Job options & how to find one 
Health insurance
Cars/transportation 
Cost of living
Daily life
College


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

You cannot just move here to finish your education - you need a job to live here.

Foreigners in education are generally living with their parents or working and doing college part time in the evenings.

You cannot just 'decide to live here' any more than people can do the same in the USA.


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

TWhitfield25 said:


> Hi everyone, lately me & my girlfriend soon to be wife have been considering moving from the US & starting a new life in Dubai. We’re both prior military & were debating finishing college there (physical therapy & business). I was just hoping to hear some things you wished you knew or had done before your move. Things such as the following:
> Buying or renting a house/apartment
> Acquiring a visa to live there
> Job options & how to find one
> ...


As has been said you can’t simply decide to move here .... that said much of your list is very well covered in many threads and will answer your questions. 

If you have specific (and realistic) questions come back and I’m sure you’ll get help.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

TWhitfield25 said:


> Hi everyone, lately me & my girlfriend soon to be wife have been considering moving from the US & starting a new life in Dubai. We’re both prior military & were debating finishing college there (physical therapy & business). I was just hoping to hear some things you wished you knew or had done before your move. Things such as the following:
> Buying or renting a house/apartment
> Acquiring a visa to live there
> Job options & how to find one
> ...


I will add that cost of living is very high if living to a standard you are used to in the US, this is not a country to come to as you try to figure out life. Unless you are a lottery winner.


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## ArturDelich (Sep 5, 2019)

I live in Dubai and I would highly recommend it in case you have a university degree and/or qualified-skilled worker otherwise you will have a lot of troubles finding a job


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## Enelram (Oct 18, 2019)

Hi. Got a job offer in Dubai and really considering moving there. We are in our early 50's, no dependents and are quiet people. The offer is about 50k AED/mo. No mention of housing or car allowance. Will we be able to pay for housing and still live comfortably with that salary? How is life there? Are you expats liking it or do you regret moving there? Appreciate your honesty.


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

Enelram said:


> Hi. Got a job offer in Dubai and really considering moving there. We are in our early 50's, no dependents and are quiet people. The offer is about 50k AED/mo. No mention of housing or car allowance. Will we be able to pay for housing and still live comfortably with that salary? How is life there? Are you expats liking it or do you regret moving there? Appreciate your honesty.


Firstly I’d take a serious look at the offer in writing and what it actually includes and the breakdown. 

Many here would love to earn 50k but it really depends on how you want to live and what your expectations are and what your standard of living is now, this will really determine whether you will be happy and comfortable. 

How does the offer compare to what you earn now ? 

What is your reason for moving in your 50’s (I did the same) is it career, money, life experience etc ? 

Do you live now in a 4 bed detached home or do you live in a 1 bed flat. Do you drive a 15 year old Ford Focus or a new BMW. More importantly what will you expect here ? 

Lots of threads on cost of living so I won’t break it down. 

If you explain a bit more then you should get some useful answers.


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## Enelram (Oct 18, 2019)

UKMS said:


> Firstly I’d take a serious look at the offer in writing and what it actually includes and the breakdown.
> 
> Many here would love to earn 50k but it really depends on how you want to live and what your expectations are and what your standard of living is now, this will really determine whether you will be happy and comfortable.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply. We are simple people with simple lifestyle here in Australia. I would say that the offer would be twice I was making 18 months ago....but then I got redundant as the construction industry slowed and been looking for work since. So the main reason will be money. Yes we do have a 4bed detached home with mortgage but we just drive standard cars. I can say that we are adaptable. Do you mind me asking.....do you love it there? And when did you move?


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## Handle9 (Apr 21, 2018)

We moved from NZ about a year ago. I'm making a similar salary to what you have been offered. I've make a bit more but have got two kids and pay school fees so you'd be better off than us.

It allows us to live comfortably in a 3/4 bedroom townhouse with 2 decent late model cars and a full time live in maid/nanny. My wife works as well so we save her salary.

Dubai ain't home but you can have an incredibly comfortable life here, save money and travel. You can also get into insane amounts of debt, get ripped off and have a pretty tough time.

We are doing well, able to save and travel. Service is very cheap here so you can get a lot of help for your money. It's also a decent place to travel from.

Is your job offer with a multi-national or a local company? If it's with a multi-national it's much more secure, most of the horror stories are with local companies.


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## Enelram (Oct 18, 2019)

Handle9 said:


> We moved from NZ about a year ago. I'm making a similar salary to what you have been offered. I've make a bit more but have got two kids and pay school fees so you'd be better off than us.
> 
> It allows us to live comfortably in a 3/4 bedroom townhouse with 2 decent late model cars and a full time live in maid/nanny. My wife works as well so we save her salary.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the insight. How did you do it? Did you move first and the rest of the family followed? Did you find your own accommodation or did your company helped you with that, including rental payment? As I can see rental payment there is for a full year, and we don't have that. Did you consider the tax payable in NZ before you took the offer?

How long was the visa processing? My employment contract say commencement date is 13th Jan 2020 (can be extended).

I hope we don't get ripped off. It is a privately owned multi-faceted group of companies really well known in UAE. We are doing our own research, like company reviews and its up and down really.....some people like it some not. Some say salary delayed, some say not.


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## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

Enelram said:


> Thanks for the insight. How did you do it? Did you move first and the rest of the family followed? Did you find your own accommodation or did your company helped you with that, including rental payment? As I can see rental payment there is for a full year, and we don't have that. Did you consider the tax payable in NZ before you took the offer?
> 
> How long was the visa processing? My employment contract say commencement date is 13th Jan 2020 (can be extended).
> 
> I hope we don't get ripped off. It is a privately owned multi-faceted group of companies really well known in UAE. We are doing our own research, like company reviews and its up and down really.....some people like it some not. Some say salary delayed, some say not.


If salary delayed and the company is in heavy debt, be a bit cautious, particularly in these times. If you don't have a job currently, you can still join but stay in a hotel apartment till you have atleast 2 pay cheques. And do ask for some advance for initial setup.


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