# Living & Working in Dubai.. is now a good time?



## kermit (Nov 20, 2008)

Hi,

Wanted some honest information regarding living and working in Dubai. I am based in the UK (british asian) and have lived and worked all my life in the UK.

However I recently secured a job working for an established UK company to live and work in Dubai (they are attempting to establish a part of their business in the UAE).

The package on offer is:

£45k tax free
Accomodation allowance (not sure how much, I was advised it would be enough for 1 bedroom furnished flat)
Company car (some japanese low budget thing but I have the option to put in some of my salary and purchase something a bit more up market)
3 return flight tickets
Healthcare
*Visa etc*

I have been working out the costs of living there based on the info on the net and it looks okay for one person however I have a young family in the UK and at some point down the line I would want to bring them out to Dubai.

However I am starting to think the cost will get to a point that the £45k is not all that great once you start factor in costs of education for one child (I have two that will require education).

Anyone care to shed light on the above, should I accept the offer as I am starting to think the rosey picture of living in the UAE is not that great anymore.

Thanks,

T


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2008)

*Good thinking is better than not thinking*



kermit said:


> Hi,
> 
> Wanted some honest information regarding living and working in Dubai. I am based in the UK (british asian) and have lived and worked all my life in the UK.
> 
> ...



T,

Applaud yourself for even questioning these things. So many others just fall into a dream state of what they think or want things to be, then go, and end up finding what they had blocked from occuring - that being, reality. 

It is difficult to say if the salary is sufficient. The housing and car allowance do help, but do understand that housing is outrageously expensive still. The health insurance is something that is also often bypassed consciously, just assuming that big brother will take care of all needs, when many of the insurance plans end up being so low, literally BP 35K cap in benefits, or worse. Also, have you looked into what your situation will be when you return to the UK? Many fail to even think about it, and later find out that they do not have health insurance benefits when they get back. Not so much a shocker, but quite in line with reality, if indeed it is looked into and known the situation beforehand.

Schools are also outrageously expensive, and then there are fees for bussing then, and for whatever else, too. If you call around to five random schools, I think you will get an idea. And also note, that although there are schools that call themselves 'international,' or 'British' this, or 'American' that, they are in fact just using those names, and it basically means that the language of instruction is English, and even then perhaps Indian English. So schools are best looked at either after arrival and visiting each one, or by finding out in advance the ratio of staff from which regions of the world. There is no generality, and each school has to be looked at separately. And they pretty much all are expensive. 

So, the BP 45K you mentioned, I think, is perhaps just maybe enough to sqeak by given the high cost of just about everything, and even then I think that you will be pinching and saving, if it is viable. My general rule of thumb is that one should have a salary of BP 65K or above in order to get by without worry, and also have education benefits and REAL health insurance, for the family too (and again, it is worth looking into what happens to your UK insurance when you leave, as it might be invalidated, just so you have no surprise later).

Whatever you decide, keep pushing these questions and getting the succint and detailed answers so that you can make your decision with the full information at your disposal. A lot of assumptions and hiding from the facts is what a number of people are doing, and the outcome is actually relatively predictable in the situations in which they have created for themselves, if they had only asked the type of questions you are asking, and then actually also looked into getting the answers and information before making a self-created blind leap, which they have only themselves to blame.

AllThatJazz


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## Littleover_Ram (Nov 18, 2008)

Hi T,

Top advise from AllthatJazz and I suppose the other side of the equation would be the financial situation you currently find yourself in re: package, career prospects and security. As well mortgages and financial commitments.

I too am an Asian Brit and have been offered a position with a major bank out here. The package at AED40k a month plus AED16k per annum for each child's schooling isn't spectacular however the future is pretty bleak for the financial sector in the UK and without bonuses and pay rises we could find ourselves in a bit of bother. 

And of course even more so if the worse happens and you're made redundant.

I've got some serious thinking to do whilst my work permit is sorted. 

Its a massive decision.

I


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2008)

*Tax free qualification*

T,

Another thing you might want to look into is what is the qualification for having income tax free status?

Are you assuming that automatically from day one the income will be tax free? You might be right. But it might be worth consulting with a tax specialist and see if in your particular line of work such as finance or banking or whatever classification, has such things as a certain number of days that you must reside outside of the UK before the tax free status kicks in. Or if once reaching a certain salary, that taxes are due above that amount. Or whatever other detail might be associated to attaining the tax free income qualification.

The point is that a blanket assumption of tax free salary applying to everyone in all cases including yours, it might or might not be valid. 

There might be some qualifying details. If there are none, then great, but at least then you know there are none. And if there are some qualfying details, then at least you know what those are as well.


AllThatJazz


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