# Cost of Living in Dubai



## IYMS (Jan 23, 2015)

Hello all, we are contemplating an offer to move to Dubai, but unsure of many things. Appreciate if anyone here can help enlighten us from your own experience or knowledge:

1. May I know what are the costs for international schools in Dubai for children the ages of 7yo and 10yo? 

2. If I do not have my own car, what is the best mode to travel? How much is it to own or rent a car in Dubai? We are Malaysians, so do we have to sit for driving licence test?

3. Where is a good and safe area to stay in Dubai, near to amenities, international schools and the expat community?

4. How much on average is the rent (for budgeting purposes, since housing is not covered in our package) for a family of 4 and maybe a maid?

5. What are the average utility costs per month (again, for budgeting purposes)?

6. Is it true that salary is TAX FREE? Are there any other taxes that we need to pay or net out from the salary?

7. With the ISIS now, is it safe to even move to Dubai?

8. Are there racial discrimination there? Can we go to a church freely?

9. What are the major CONS of staying in Dubai with children? Are the locals helpful and friendly and welcoming to foreigners?

10. Lastly, is USD8000 a month, a good package - no other benefit except for a car and petrol to use.


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## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

1. Don't know

2. Metro, Tram, Taxi, Camel, Donkey, Horse or http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/82210-cars-driving-questions.html

3. Anywhere, Marina, JLT, Greens or http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/89034-ultimate-guide-renting-apartment-dubai.html

4. Houses & Villas For Rent in Dubai, UAE | Dubizzle Dubai

5. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/89034-ultimate-guide-renting-apartment-dubai.html

6. Yes salary is tax free but there are other things to pay that may as well be taxes

7. God no, I wouldn't bother, they are all over the place.

8. So much racial discrimination it's cray cray, them ISIS people destroyed all the churches.

9. It's ALL a con and the locals hate us.

10. Depends on your lifestyle


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## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

The Rascal said:


> londonmandan
> 
> Kudos mate, amazed you have the patience to answer


Had a few minutes spare so thought I'd give some true and honest answers :lol:


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## Seabee (Jul 15, 2010)

1. May I know what are the costs for international schools in Dubai for children the ages of 7yo and 10yo? 

Varies from AED5000 to 100,000. You'll need to research individual schools.

2. If I do not have my own car, what is the best mode to travel? How much is it to own or rent a car in Dubai? We are Malaysians, so do we have to sit for driving licence test?

Getting around depends where from and to. The Metro, ferries, buses, taxis are alternatives to a car. Like everywhere, cost of cars depends on which make you choose. Petrol is very cheap.
Yes you need a test for a Dubai driving licence: Dubai government info is here: Convert a foreign driving license to drive in Dubai

3. Where is a good and safe area to stay in Dubai, near to amenities, international schools and the expat community?

Expats are 90% of the population, so everywhere is expat land. All areas are safe and there are amenities easily reachable from just about everywhere.

4. How much on average is the rent (for budgeting purposes, since housing is not covered in our package) for a family of 4 and maybe a maid?

Depends on location and quality and whether you want a villa or apartment.

5. What are the average utility costs per month (again, for budgeting purposes)?

6. Is it true that salary is TAX FREE? Are there any other taxes that we need to pay or net out from the salary?

Salary is tax free. What comes out of your salary is whatever you spend.

7. With the ISIS now, is it safe to even move to Dubai?

ISIS is not in Dubai.

8. Are there racial discrimination there? Can we go to a church freely?

There's racial discrimination everywhere, including your own country. Yes, you can freely go to church, thousands do.

9. What are the major CONS of staying in Dubai with children? Are the locals helpful and friendly and welcoming to foreigners?

I have always found them the same as people everywhere else, but as they are only 10% of the population you probably won't mix with them.

10. Lastly, is USD8000 a month, a good package - no other benefit except for a car and petrol to use. 

Depends on what level you want to live at, in particular housing and school costs. Thousands of people live on much less than that, others get much more.

Read through the government website, residents section, for more info about all your queries.


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## Grt1 (Nov 7, 2012)

hahaha... ISIS... capital.... !!


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Seabee said:


> 7. With the ISIS now, is it safe to even move to Dubai?
> 
> ISIS is not in Dubai.


Really? So that's why there are so many State Security trials going on at the moment. The naivety of some residents here is amazing.


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

ISIS are a bigger threat in Europe than over hear IMO.

You are very safe.


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## msbettyboopdxb (Mar 22, 2009)

londonmandan said:


> 1. Don't know 2. Metro, Tram, Taxi, Camel, Donkey, Horse or http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/82210-cars-driving-questions.html 3. Anywhere, Marina, JLT, Greens or http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/89034-ultimate-guide-renting-apartment-dubai.html 4. Houses & Villas For Rent in Dubai, UAE | Dubizzle Dubai 5. http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/89034-ultimate-guide-renting-apartment-dubai.html 6. Yes salary is tax free but there are other things to pay that may as well be taxes 7. God no, I wouldn't bother, they are all over the place. 8. So much racial discrimination it's cray cray, them ISIS people destroyed all the churches. 9. It's ALL a con and the locals hate us. 10. Depends on your lifestyle


Lolllll


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## 132467 (Aug 2, 2012)

You have some interesting questions, and there's going to be either a lot of denial or obliviousness from most answers that you're going to get, so I'm going to be as honest as possible in my answers while staying completely neutral.

*1. May I know what are the costs for international schools in Dubai for children the ages of 7yo and 10yo? *

Depends on the school and the grade/year your child is going to be in. Generally speaking, the more westernized the school is the more expensive it is. From most expensive to least expensive:

1) UK (30,000 - 100,000)
2) Arabic/Western (15,000-50,000)
3) Other (<5000)

Expect a lot of "vacancies" to rely on your nationality/passport/connections

Look here for more info: Which School Advisor UAE | The 12 Best Schools in Dubai - KHDA - Advice, Guides

*2. If I do not have my own car, what is the best mode to travel? How much is it to own or rent a car in Dubai? We are Malaysians, so do we have to sit for driving licence test?*

Expect your travels to be least costly and convenient with a car since gas is cheap. Taxis are fairly expensive and the amount you pay for one trip can fill up your car from empty to full and can get you at least 5-6 trips with that money depending on how much gas your car consumes. 

Metro can be somewhat cheaper than traveling by car, and is therefore full most of the time. The metro is not a faster method to travel to and from work, unless there is traffic. You would still need to take a taxi to the metro, and from the metro to work and vice versa, which means you can only save if you have a car that you can park at the metro station (and pay for parking fees) and the metro stop happens to be walking distance to your work.

Taxi minimum charge is at 10 AED ( i believe it was recently increased, i am not sure ) and starts counting at 3 or 4 AED ( somewhere around that )

Long story short: private car is the best method.

There are also buses, but I do not know much about them, I never used them.

*3. Where is a good and safe area to stay in Dubai, near to amenities, international schools and the expat community?
*
Generally speaking, all areas in Dubai are safe, except the areas where most low wage workers live (labour) as they are the most likely to commit a crime (the crime rate is still very low though, and they generally happen due to disputes between each other)

Most areas have accessible amenities, the more accessible it is the more expensive it is to live there. Don't expect any amenities to be of walking distance from your house, unless its a small cafeteria or a supermarket.
*
4. How much on average is the rent (for budgeting purposes, since housing is not covered in our package) for a family of 4 and maybe a maid?*

You can get a studio for about 4,000 AED a month at Discovery Gardens/International City (Cheapest) and a Villa for about 10,000 AED a month at Mirdif/Rashidiya (mid range, # rooms vary depending on how new the building is) and if you enjoy in more "Western" areas such as Jumeirah or Marina, expect to pay a lot more. 

Getting a maid is a luxury, can cost you an additional ~2000 AED a month excluding initial agency and visa costs.

*5. What are the average utility costs per month (again, for budgeting purposes)?*

Depends on how big your house is, how often you use the A/C and such, for a mid sized villa with A/C turned on 24/7 expect to pay around 3000-4000 AED

*6. Is it true that salary is TAX FREE? Are there any other taxes that we need to pay or net out from the salary?*

Yes, it is tax free. Nothing else to pay.

*7. With the ISIS now, is it safe to even move to Dubai?*

No ISIS in Dubai.

*8. Are there racial discrimination there? Can we go to a church freely?*

Racial Discrimination and going to Church are not related. 

There is a lot of racial discrimination, *WAY more than other countries* some cultures have learned to accept and live with it as well.

Some are very open and straight forward with their racism, others are not.

The people who are the least *openly* racist are the Locals (Emiratis) and the most unpleasant behavior you can get out of them is a frown.

By openly racist I do not mean being called names and such, by it I mean facing strange behavior such as being ignored, not taken seriously, or being disrespected in one way or another.

You will never face any problems going to church.
*
9. What are the major CONS of staying in Dubai with children? Are the locals helpful and friendly and welcoming to foreigners?*

Culture shock would probably be the major Con (google culture shock).

Locals are generally kind, friendly, and helpful but there are some odd ones out just like anywhere else, never generalize.

Make sure you put your children in a good school. This applies to any country.

*10. Lastly, is USD8000 a month, a good package - no other benefit except for a car and petrol to use.*

It is excellent for a start, but expect little to nothing to be left if your whole family is here with you as Dubai can be expensive if you want to live a decent life. By decent I mean good schools for your children, and living in a reasonable house location and size.


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## Seabee (Jul 15, 2010)

The Rascal said:


> Really? So that's why there are so many State Security trials going on at the moment. The naivety of some residents here is amazing.


The question obviously related to what's in the news about what ISIS is doing in Iraq, Syria, not to places where they may have a few supporters (which is almost everywhere anyway).

The trials in UAE are largely to do with support for the Muslim brotherhood plus a few agitating for change in general.


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