# Possible Relo from US to Dubai, looking for advice!



## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

Hello All,

My husband's company is possibly transferring us from Texas to Dubai. I am looking for any helpful information on negotiating his package and the logisitics of moving a family of 5 halfway across the world. 

Any advice on the must haves for the package? We will get a living allowance, (amount not yet determined)...we have 3 children, 7 months, 7, and 11 so a 4 bedroom is a MUST. What should we expect to spend? Schooling is also covered up to $20,000 USD per year/child, is that enough? Any thoughts on this are appreciated!!! To give you a little background he is a project manager for an internationally present construction company, mostly of energy related facilities.


On to the logistics...what to bring? What areas and schools are better? What about the dogs...the list is endless. And, the big one, what have your experiences been? We want to maintain as much normalcy as possible, while experincing a new culture and environment. 

Thanks in advance!


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## Miss Maha (Jun 8, 2010)

Can please clarify more about the package , this will help to give you more useful information about the moving


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## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

I wish I could, everything is very vague right now...the only definites we have received are we will get a housing allowance or company provided housing, schooling for the children and 30 days of home leave, the rest seems to be up to us to negotiate. We need to know what we should be asking for. Are there expenses we will incur that will be tremendous that we wouldn't have in the US? What is "standard"? I know that each situation is different, we are just feeling our way and any thoughts would be helpful.


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## Miss Maha (Jun 8, 2010)

Well , Full package should include House allowance or housing provided by the company + the Schooling
Salary is depends on Qualification , Experience and the stability of the company how much is they are willing to pay , these are the most expenses will be covered by them ..


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## suzieq123 (Oct 10, 2011)

kimevans628 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> My husband's company is possibly transferring us from Texas to Dubai. I am looking for any helpful information on negotiating his package and the logisitics of moving a family of 5 halfway across the world.
> 
> ...


I am in the same position - the company pays tuition at ASD but we don't yet know about housing allowances. There are some good posts on here that will answer your questions about dogs. My girls are 9, 11, and 13 and are all very excited about the move!


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## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

Thanks SuzieQ! 

Any tips that you have are welcome! It is nice to know that there are so many in the same boat. I will keep weeding through the posts to find helpful info. We have not yet talked to our kids yet, as it is in the talking stages still, I hope they are excited like yours. 

Let me know how your journey goes! Good luck to you and your family.


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## suzieq123 (Oct 10, 2011)

My husband just said package should be ready Friday so hopefully I'll know more. I have a friend who just moved back from there and her family lived in Jumeira and loved it. The kids went to ASD. Keep in touch on here and good luck to you too!


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## OldFarmer (Jan 15, 2011)

Car/transportation allowance and annual family airfare? I think, given the position/company, these are probably standard...


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

kimevans628 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> My husband's company is possibly transferring us from Texas to Dubai. I am looking for any helpful information on negotiating his package and the logisitics of moving a family of 5 halfway across the world.
> 
> ...


- You can browse dubizzle.com to get an idea of what the rent would be like for a 4 bedroom villa - best options for a family would be Jumeirah, Umm Suqueim, Emirates Hills or Arabian Ranches.
- USD 20,000 per year per child in schooling allowance seems fine, however, its better if the company could write in a 100% school allowance into the contract rather than a fixed amount as the school fees increase each year.
- Housing allowance should also include full utility bills payment
- Full private medical insurance for the entire family. This is extremely important especially for the children.
- Annual air ticket to home base each year for the entire family. If he can get this in business class (depending on his grade), it's even better.
- You will be able to get more information about your pet relocation by searching the threads. The weather here is extremely hot most of the year so if you have dogs that are used to the outdoors, it wll be a big adjustment for them. 

Hope this helps and good luck!


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

20,000 USD/child is more than enough at any American school in Dubai. The American School of Dubai is the most expensive and it's tuition runs to just about 20,000/year. Pamela, however, is correct in that tuitions seemingly go up every year. 

Given that the company is offering you generous school fees I'm guessing that the housing allowance/provided house will also be generous. If you have to negotiate a housing allowance aim for at least 200,000, with closer to 250,000 AED, which will cover the rent + utilities for a 4-bedroom villa in the Ranches, Meadows, Jumeirah/Umm Suqeim. However it's also beneficial to get the company to agree to pay for the utilities and maintenance expenses for the villa to protect you against any nasty and unexpected high utilities bills which does happen too often out here. 

On top of housing and school fees, expect annual flight tickets to the US, a local transportation allowance to cover car costs (at least 5,000 AED/ month) and full health insurance with a reputable international health insurance organisation such as Bupa.


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## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

Thanks Everyone!!!

All of your thoughts and suggestions are very helpful! I have more info and more questions!

Should the transportation allowance cover 2 vehicles or just one? I hadn't thought of maintenance or utilities, very good points! 

The plane tickets home are covered, I forgot to mention that. As for vacation, my understanding is that the 30 days is deducted from his regular vacation days...we currently have 3 weeks, so that is a jump, however, is 30 days enough to deal with whatever issues you have back in the states and to take other vacations as well? I know that sounds silly, but I know that if we have limited time to be with family they are going to expect every free minute. I would like to take the family to experience other places as well, and this will gives us the opportunity. Should we push for more vacation? 


My husband has been assigned to Canada while we stayed home and we were covered through our insurer under an international policy for our medical and dental, I am assuming this would be the case in this instance as well. How are the medical facilities and what vaccinations, etc. are required? I am concerned about the baby and a bunch of aditional shots, does anyone have experience on this?

I will check into the areas for housing that you suggeted, that was another big question! On the housing subject, our home here...we have heard through the grapevine the company pushes you not to sell your current home. I do not want to deal with renters and maintenance from so far away and leaving it empty is not good for the house. I would prefer to sell, should we stand firm on that? What does everyone else do? There is no guarantee when we return we will be reassigned to Texas and we will then have to deal with selling the house when we return and trying to buy a new home in a new location...HEADACHE!



I have researched schools, ASD and DAA seem to be the best American based curriculum schools...is that true? Any input on this is welcome! 

I will keep all of you posted as things unfold and get your opinions on things as we negotiate. It is comforting to have people to lean on, thanks!


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## scschroder (Apr 1, 2011)

We just moved from Houston in August. We have 2 kids who go to ASD and they really like it there so far. It seems like a really good school. We live in the Meadows and like it here as well. Our rent is $220,000/dh year for a 4 bedroom but our budget is only 185,000. It will be very difficult for you to find a place in a decent "neighborhood" for under 200,000 (for a 4 bedroom). But we were told by a higher up in my husbands company that "the housing budget is meant to supplement your housing not pay for it". We also receive a 15% expat pay/month based on his salary, about $2,000 (dollars) for everyday living expenses (This doesn't even cover our DEWA bills. They are crazy expensive here.) We get 1 round trip ticket for all 4 of us per year to go home or anywhere else.
As for moving expenses it cost us around $12,000 for the move from Houston and we moved one car. But we got a very good deal so I would probably negotiate for at least $15,000. It was also cheaper in Houston because we lived near the port. If you live in Dallas or Austin or anywhere else instate it will be more expense because they will have to truck your things to Houston. 
We also moved one dog and we used the Dubai Cattery and Kennel. I would highly recommend them. I actually did most of the stuff on our end and they did everything on this end. But it was very expensive. I think the flight was $1,300 and it cost us about $800 to hire Dubai Kennel for their part. THis does include fees as well. Not to mention all the costs involved with getting your dog ready to come over here. This was definitely the most stressful part of the move. But I don't regret bringing him. He got off the plane and when we finally saw him 5 hours later his acted like he hadn't been on a plane for over 15 hours!

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask. We really like it over here so far and our kids ( 8 and 11) have adapted really well so far. Good Luck!!


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## OldFarmer (Jan 15, 2011)

My dh visited ASD and DAA and we chose DAA. We're Muslim, so Arabic and Islamic Ed were important, and they have those, and the instruction seems (so far) to be differentiated quite well. Academically, so far I'm happy (and my kids are close in age to your older 2). We're in Jumeira and the ride to school is longer than ideal, but we chose easy access to other things.

We sold because we had a farm in WI. Those old barns just don't do well without livestock living in them, and obviously there was no way we'd find someone to live and care for the animals and acreage to our satisfaction. Plus the weather is so extreme, maintenance on an old farmhouse would have been an invitation for disaster (pipes freezing, ice damming on roof shingles, t-storms and tornadoes in summer, etc.). So we liquidated, and after the assignment, we'll just see what happens. (I'm not done crying over my livestock.) Your mileage may vary. If you're really attached to the house, and they'll maintain it?

Our plan for summer is that kids and I will spend the whole school break stateside. We spent this summer here, and I'll be fine if I never spend another summer in Dubai. I'm sure there are people who like it, but it was simply too hot for us to leave the house, um, ever. For all of July and August. Even the water was too hot to enjoy the beach. Plus, Ramadan is over the summer now, and we found it a very isolating experience here, so we want to spend Ramadan and Eid al Fitr in the US next year. So kids and I will leave when school lets out (mid-June) and return a few days before it starts in early September. Dh will come a week or two into Ramadan, most likely, and after Eid, he'll return to Dubai. In his case, his family isn't in the US, just mine and our friends, but he'll no doubt still be in serious demand.

We've had a few medical things come up and have found that, with good international insurance, care is good and access is easy. I don't know about any extra immunizations for kids (nothing has come up yet), especially for the baby.

Good luck with the planning. It can be stressful, can't it?!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Working on the basis that your kids would have their normal jabs, MMR, Polio and so on, recommended for all of you are Twinrix (Hep A and B), Typhoid and Tetanus. I doubt most people have them though. They aren't compulsory.


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## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

scsschroder,

We are also from Houston! Well, that's our current location anyway  I appreciate your input. 

The company will ship our belogings,they arrange for the movers and all that but the car we would be responsible for. We are tryig to figure out what is most cost effective in that area, to pay the shipping or just purchase a new one. What cars seem to be more functional there? We have the kids and I am the carpool queen, right now I have a Toyota Sequoia...will I need something as large there? 

As for our housing, it is still undetermined what our allowance will be or if we will be provided company owned housing...I am hoping for the allowance, I would really like a little control over the house. I would like to like it seeing as I have to live in it. Leaving our house that is exactly how we want it is going to be hard....did you ship all your belongings? We are allowed 2 200 cubic foot containers and 1 40 foot container. What that will hold is beyond me, I cannot visualize that in terms of sofas and beds, etc...

Thanks for the advice on the dogs, that is pricey, especially x2 but we will figure it out. The thought of leaving them is hard, even though they make me crazy! 

I am glad to hear that your kids have adjusted well, it is always a worry, wether you are moving around the corner or around the world! I hope that ours do as well if this becomes a reality. How did you get placement in the school? I was on the website and it is completely full for 2nd and 5th grades, does your husbands company have guaranteed spots? I am unsure if ours does or not, we aren't to that point in the talks yet. I was very impressed with their website, and advice you have on school would be welcome!

Keep in touch, I think we will have lots to discuss as we have kids about the same age and coming from Texas! Moving here was culture shock for me, can't wait for this one!


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## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

Old Farmer,

Thanks for the advice! Especially on summer...I hate summer in Texas, I can only imagine. I hate to be away from my husband that long, but the thought of being inside every day all day is too much for me.

I agree with you on the upkeep of the home, it is tremendous. I am sure it was hard to sell, bt probably a wise decision. We are leaning that way, it's just not practical and is an added stressor, we already have a home in CT that is being rented, headache enough. Two might send me over the edge.

This has got to be one of the most stressful things I have ever done! We move a lot, but this is throwing me for a loop! The worst part is nothing is finalized!! I could be putting myself thru this for nothing...my husband says it will be a long process to come to an agreement on all sides. What was your experience?


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## suzieq123 (Oct 10, 2011)

Be sure you know the tax consequences of selling vs renting your home. We will rent ours simply to not have to pay taxes on the gains, because you only have 18 mos to reinvest and we plan on being in Dubai 3 years.


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## kimevans628 (Oct 11, 2011)

I hadn't thought of that and being a former realtor you would think I would have! My brain is so fried right now. Our assignment will be 3-5 years. We just bought the house last year, so we will not make much...I will have to figure out what is more economical. Thanks for the thought, I need all the help I can get!


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