# job offer at Jebel Ali free Zone



## aszx

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. Recently I went for an interview and got a job offer to work at Jebel Ali Free Zone.

1. I am wondering where is the best place to stay? - I'm married with 2 kids. I got accomodation allowance of around AED8,000/month. I'm not sure whether that will be enough. 

2. Also, based on the other threads, I found that cost of living is approximately 2-3 times higher than my home country. My prospective employer offers me AED9,000 per month. I need to send home around AED2,000 per month for house morgage & saving insurance in my home country. Will this amount be enough to live decently?

(Currently, my wife is working and our total monthly wages is almost equivalent to AED9,000 and we are staying in company's house as we're leasing out our house. And, yes, I have to pay 2 cars (~AED1.5k), petrol (~AED500), house mortgage (~AED1k), utility bills, and taxes. If I moved to Dubai, my wife won't be working).

3. On top of that, car and transportation allowance around AED1500. From the what I heard, car and petrol is not that expensive. Will that be enough for, say, mitsubishi lancer / toyota altis (same category of car that i used in my home country)? How's leasing works in Dubai?

4. Since I have two kids (6 and 3 years old), my prospective employer also offer me reimbursable tuition fees for the kid for around AED8,000 per kid per year. From my reading in this forum, all mentioned that education is very expensive in Dubai and long waiting list. Will this amount be adequate?

(In my home country, I spent around AED700/months for their kindergarden and nursery fee. For primary school later on, tuition fee is almost negligible).

5. Besides all those, there are annual return trip to home country for all 4 of us, end of service gratuity and medical insurance which cover the whole family.

Now I am in dilemma on whether to accept the offer.

Hope somebody which had similar situation with me could enlighten me. Thanks. 

ASZX


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## sgilli3

aszx said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm a newbie here. Recently I went for an interview and got a job offer to work at Jebel Ali Free Zone.
> 
> 1. I am wondering where is the best place to stay? - I'm married with 2 kids. I got accomodation allowance of around AED8,000/month. I'm not sure whether that will be enough.
> 
> 2. Also, based on the other threads, I found that cost of living is approximately 2-3 times higher than my home country. My prospective employer offers me AED9,000 per month. I need to send home around AED2,000 per month for house morgage & saving insurance in my home country. Will this amount be enough to live decently?
> 
> (Currently, my wife is working and our total monthly wages is almost equivalent to AED9,000 and we are staying in company's house as we're leasing out our house. And, yes, I have to pay 2 cars (~AED1.5k), petrol (~AED500), house mortgage (~AED1k), utility bills, and taxes. If I moved to Dubai, my wife won't be working).
> 
> 3. On top of that, car and transportation allowance around AED1500. From the what I heard, car and petrol is not that expensive. Will that be enough for, say, mitsubishi lancer / toyota altis (same category of car that i used in my home country)? How's leasing works in Dubai?
> 
> 4. Since I have two kids (6 and 3 years old), my prospective employer also offer me reimbursable tuition fees for the kid for around AED8,000 per kid per year. From my reading in this forum, all mentioned that education is very expensive in Dubai and long waiting list. Will this amount be adequate?
> 
> (In my home country, I spent around AED700/months for their kindergarden and nursery fee. For primary school later on, tuition fee is almost negligible).
> 
> 5. Besides all those, there are annual return trip to home country for all 4 of us, end of service gratuity and medical insurance which cover the whole family.
> 
> Now I am in dilemma on whether to accept the offer.
> 
> Hope somebody which had similar situation with me could enlighten me. Thanks.
> 
> ASZX



Hi and welcome to the forum.

1.Your allowance equates to 96,000 dhs a year. For this you may get a 1 bed in Discovery Gardens ( I believe they start at about 100,000 a year, but you may be able to negotiate). That is the closest apartments to the JAFZ.
A villa is out of your budget (there are some next to Discovery Gardens, but are roughly 21,000 dhs a month)

You may have also read, that your rent is payable 1 year upfront,. Some LL may accept 2 cheques, but may increase the price. You will also have 5 % agents fees on top to pay.

The next closest (affordable) apartments are in International City. You may get a 2 bed for just over 100,000 dhs, but believe they are hard to come by at the moment.

2. 7,000 dhs a month left to live on - I dont think may be doable with 2 kids (extra activities, school uniforms...food approx 600 - 1000 dhs a week.


3.You will possibly get a small car for 1,500 dhs a month.

4. 8,000 dhs a child for education is nothing. If you are after a British or USA school, you will need a min of 30,000 dhs each a child per year (not including uniforms, extra curricular activities or transport). For primary school, some fees are as high as 50,000 per child each year.

There are some Indian, Filipino, Russian and Pakistani schools, whose fees are much lower, but generally they too have long wait lists and are really only suitable for those who speak the language.

5. Are you saying they offered flights etc ?


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## aszx

Thank you Sgilly3 for your immediate reply.  appreciate that.


sgilli3 said:


> 2. 7,000 dhs a month left to live on - I dont think may be doable with 2 kids (extra activities, school uniforms...food approx 600 - 1000 dhs a week.


Are you saying that 7000 dhs would not be enough for us?



sgilli3 said:


> 5. Are you saying they offered flights etc ?


Yes, they offerred annually flight home + reimbursing taxi, etc until reaching hometown.

I'm still waiting for some response both online and offline from friends before I make up my mind.  I really like the job, though.


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## dizzyizzy

hi, can you post what your total package is per month so people can give you more advice? in general i feel you are not being offered enough money to support a family of 4, accomodation and schools are so expensive here! also i have recently been looking for small cars to rent myself on a monthly basis, and I haven't found anything for less than 2,500 aed per month including insurance. Not trying to be negative but better to have your numbers accurate before you make a move here.


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## aszx

dizzyizzy said:


> hi, can you post what your total package is per month so people can give you more advice? in general i feel you are not being offered enough money to support a family of 4, accomodation and schools are so expensive here! also i have recently been looking for small cars to rent myself on a monthly basis, and I haven't found anything for less than 2,500 aed per month including insurance. Not trying to be negative but better to have your numbers accurate before you make a move here.


Hi dizzyizzy,
TQ for your concern. I appreciate that.

My total package is around 23,000 dhs (inclusive medical, end of service gratuity, return trip to home country, etc).

When asked the expected remunaration, I told them to offer me what they expect to pay for 8-year experience Mec. Engineer. I do not want to look greedy nor being short charged by the employer (or their HR). Is the offered remuneration fair?

ASZX


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## alli

You will not be able to survive on 23,000dhs per month with two kids and a wife to support. No way. 

Food for a family of four (with no treats or going to dinner) will be about 2500 per month.

A 2br apartment will cost you *at least *100,000 per year in the cheapest part of town, which is not necessarily near jebel ali. Allow 9000dhs a month.

A car will cost at least 2000dhs per month if you lease. If you buy, the minimum contract length is about three years. You can buy a toyota yaris for 35,000dhs and pay it back at about 1000dhs per month.

I have no idea about school but you should at least allow 10,000dhs each.

Plus you have to buy all your new furniture for your house - TV, fridge, sometimes even a electric cooker, microwave, lounges, tables, beds, curtains, etc. You can get all of this second hand but even so, you should allow 8000dhs to set up house.

To be honest it sounds like too much effort for not much reward....


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## aszx

hi all,

Thank you for giving your valuable input. 
I've already decided that i will decline the offer.

ASZX


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## dizzyizzy

aszx said:


> hi all,
> 
> Thank you for giving your valuable input.
> I've already decided that i will decline the offer.
> 
> ASZX


I think you made the right decision. This place, even with all its advantages, is difficult and expensive, and is challenging even for singles who move here on their own (my case), so I can't imagine coming here with a little family unless money will be enough to have a comfortable life. Otherwise is not worth all the effort.

Best of lucks and keep looking, perhaps the same company will come around with a more appropiate offer, or maybe you could try with other potential employers  Just make sure they give you a realistic sum for your accomodation, transportation allowance, food allowance, schooling, healthcare, flights back home, etc.

Good luck!


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