# contemplating relocating to Dubai



## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

:juggle:
Hi - Im new to this site and also to relocating from the UK
I am of Indian origin born and bread in the Uk.
I have a small family (wife and 2 very young children)

I am currently at the early stages of being interviewed for a position in Dubai

The offer is of 22000(AED) no relocation, meals paid for and healthcare for myself.

I was just wanting advise from recently new expats from the UK taht have moved to dubai or experienced expats that have been in Dubai for some time as to whether the salary on offer would be adequate fro a small family?

My biggest expenditure would most possibly be
rent/accomodation (housing, bills, food etc)
Healthcare for rest of family
In a few years time - schooling for 1 child atleast
tracelling costs (local)

I do not have much a social life though enjoy going out with family once a week atleast

I hope someone can reply and advise a realistic opinion based on the above?

My family would not be moving stariaght away (maybe after 6 months)

Thanks
H


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

I couldn't manage on that without sacrificing my standard of living by a large chunk and I'm on my own.


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## EmilieTS (Dec 28, 2011)

22k with no housing allowance?


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## INFAMOUS (Apr 19, 2011)

Depends on what your current standard of living is in the UK. 22k is doable here but if you have a family then you may want to try and negotiate a bit higher.


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

*expenses*



Gavtek said:


> I couldn't manage on that without sacrificing my standard of living by a large chunk and I'm on my own.



what are main expenses and roughly what do you pay for them?


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

EmilieTS said:


> 22k with no housing allowance?


yeah no housing allowance - is that not enough?


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

INFAMOUS said:


> Depends on what your current standard of living is in the UK. 22k is doable here but if you have a family then you may want to try and negotiate a bit higher.



in terms of standard of living i own house (mortgaged) in the UK a 4 bed mid terraced town house
I own my car
and currently survice on 25k annual gross salary

but obviously in the UK we have the NHS, free schooling etc


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## EmilieTS (Dec 28, 2011)

Well, I dont know but to me it doesnt sound like a step up at all. If you're making 25K GBP then thats like 12K AED monthly here, and if you really do the math (I cant, sorry!).... 22K minus housing which is at bare bones minimum 5K, so 17K, then you've got all the other expenses to factor in, which includes what you'll need to relocate, and I'd definitely fight for the whole family health insurance, if the company knows you have a family, and they should, then it doesnt seem fair to make them surrender to state coverage. 

And school fees, they are at least 2500 AED monthly so if there's no education package thats a pretty hefty sum too.


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

Thanks never thought of it like that


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

EmilieTS said:


> Well, I dont know but to me it doesnt sound like a step up at all. If you're making 25K GBP then thats like 12K AED monthly here, and if you really do the math (I cant, sorry!).... 22K minus housing which is at bare bones minimum 5K, so 17K, then you've got all the other expenses to factor in, which includes what you'll need to relocate, and I'd definitely fight for the whole family health insurance, if the company knows you have a family, and they should, then it doesnt seem fair to make them surrender to state coverage.
> 
> And school fees, they are at least 2500 AED monthly so if there's no education package thats a pretty hefty sum too.



My maths is quite cr4p too lol
I was wandering what the average price of accom for a 3/4 bed apartment in a resonable area would be?
my sons 3 and another on the way in afew weeks so ahve a few years before they need schooling - i quite like the lifestyle/climate in dubai and being a devout muslim thought dubai would be a great stepping stone to get to my goal in finding work in saudia arabia


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## EmilieTS (Dec 28, 2011)

4 bedroom flat, I dont think it exists, it would be a (quite expensive I'd think) villa. rents are all over the place, and so are the residential areas. A minimum for a nicer area is like 80-85K (yearly), I'd say, but it totally depends where the job is located, I've seen some newer developments for less than that but they're kinda far out. I've seen dirt cheap 3 bedrooms too, but in Sharjah so if the job is in the middle of Dubai that isnt really going to help. 

And actually, I think when the child is 4 he can go to KG1 so its not that far off, but I think the mandatory is 6, someone may correct me there. Another thing about that is, there are lots of Muslim or Arab International type schools that teach mostly in English, and they are quite a bit less expensive and easier to get into than the Western type schools. They do have Qu'ran and Arabic studies for sure.


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

Thanks a lot for all your help so far
The role will be based at the convention centre - do you know of anywhere i can search for accom?
Ive done abit of research and the prices/quotes im getting for accom and living expenses are very verified thus making decision making very hard for me.
If i get 22k aed thats £3800+ which i thought would be more than enough for a pleasant life in dubai???


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

No I definitely don't think you will be living comfortably on that salary, you will not be able to afford the standard of life you mention. 22K is money for a single person or a couple in a 1BH and maybe a couple with a baby. But for a family of 4, a house of the size you mention, health care, schooling for 1 kid, food, utilities, etc. I'd give it a miss.

Have you tried applying directly to jobs in Saudi (Qatar good option too)?


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

I'd love to apply saudi and qatar, but the sites ive used to apply dont give any feefback at all!!!
Know of any decent site for IT support staff in those 2 places (ideally jeddah)


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

hhh said:


> Thanks a lot for all your help so far
> The role will be based at the convention centre - do you know of anywhere i can search for accom?
> Ive done abit of research and the prices/quotes im getting for accom and living expenses are very verified thus making decision making very hard for me.
> If i get 22k aed thats £3800+ which i thought would be more than enough for a pleasant life in dubai???


thing is, in the UK as you mention you get free healthcare and free childcare and free schooling, etc. In Dubai you get none of that and on top of that, they are EXPENSIVE. 

Check Dubizzle so you can see the prices of accomodation yourself. Say you end up spending 120K dhs per year 

From what I understand good schools are around 30K dhs/year per child.

No clue about childcare (if your wife plans to work)

Medical insurance: budget at least 2,500 pp/annum so that's 10K for the four of you

You'll need a car too, that will cost you at least 2,000 dhs per month. 24K per year. Double that if you want two cars.

Food - say 2,000 dhs (can be cheaper perhaps but if you're kids are still on baby food and diapers perhaps not) - that's another 24K per year

utilities - varies greatly but for a villa I'd budget at least 1500 dhs just in case (and maybe in summer months) - 18K dhs per year

flights to go home once a year: say 16K per year 

that's a total of 242K per year and I'm not even including petrol, salik, maid, clothes, toys, entertainment, emergencies, etc.

And you are paying a mortgage back home. 

With your total package being 264K dhs per year, I'd say is not doable.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

no sorry no idea about recruiters for qatar or saudi, perhaps you can google the companies and try to apply directly? often sites such as monstergulf, gulftalent, bacme, etc. also have postings for saudi and qatar.


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

hhh said:


> I'd love to apply saudi and qatar, but the sites ive used to apply dont give any feefback at all!!!
> Know of any decent site for IT support staff in those 2 places (ideally jeddah)


A very high percentage of jobs in in the IT sector are being done here (in the entire GCC right now it seems) by people who are not from the west and will take considerably less pay. Unless you are in a senior role it is hard to find something that pays well, and even in a senior role it is tough. The belief here is that 3 people with 3 years experience is the same as one with ten years.


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

fcjb what is the salary range for 1st/2nd line support roles?


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

hhh said:


> fcjb what is the salary range for 1st/2nd line support roles?


I don't know specifics in that particular area, but I would doubt you are going to find anything in a help desk/tech support type role that is much more than what you are being offered. low 20s seems to be what a lot of companies expect to pay people in mid level position in IT.


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## basc (May 18, 2011)

fcjb1970 said:


> I don't know specifics in that particular area, but I would doubt you are going to find anything in a help desk/tech support type role that is much more than what you are being offered. low 20s seems to be what a lot of companies expect to pay people in mid level position in IT.


I'll second that - I would even say that you probably have one of the better offers for such a role, but it's still not enough for a family of 4 used to a UK standard of living (even living a modest lifestyle here).


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## hhh (Jan 25, 2012)

Can anyone please advise if decent but cheap areas to look for around the convention centre?
The agency advised, salary liiks very unlikely to be increased, however healthcare can be and annyal air fare would be included.
Education could be something that could be considered once my child is eligible (1/2 years?)


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