# Relocating to Abu Dhabi



## andrew.ralston98 (Aug 18, 2015)

Good evening all,

My names Andrew and I live in Scotland and I have an opportunity to relocate and work in Abu Dhabi 

Problem is... do I?:confused2:

I work in the Oil & Gas and most of you all know the North Sea is in a bit of a pickle! I was up for redundancy at the start of the year but I managed to keep my job. 

When I was up for redundancy we were all advised to look else where for work. I did however I only look at internal vacancies with my work and one of the positions I applied for was in Abu Dhabi and I was pretty much told I have the job this morning in a phone call. 

I was told a guesstimate on what I would be earning (Less than what I'm on in the North Sea and it's the exact same job however, tax free makes it round about the same), allowances being a monthly payment for car, home basic (Think that's towards renting) supply allowance and medical care.

I have in Scotland a mortgage that's holding me back a bit and holding me back even more is my better half... don't know if she's that keen.

I was told it was meant to be a rotation but he can't offer that at the moment due to the current state they're in (too much work) maybe next year he said... 

What I was thinking on was going over myself to start with for 6 month, have the better half come over on holidays every so often and see if she likes it and I can push for a rotation so I can still come home if she isn't keen.

Has anyone ever made the big jump and think I've made the wrong decision? I'd be happy to rent the house out and go... but it's easier said than done! 

Anyways... I'll leave this here for just now! lol


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## Jordanbasset (Jun 11, 2014)

To start you off, you need to speak to your wife and see what she thinks. My wife loves it over here, more so than me! The social life is good and it is not too difficult to make friends. If your wife is not working there are plenty of events such as coffee mornings, as well as more adventurous activities, for her to meet up with people. 
You do not say what your housing allowance is, that can make a big difference to your life style here. Also if you have children it obviously is another factor. 
Summer is the worst period, a lot of wives and children do go back to the UK in these months, but overall it is not a bad life here.


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## andrew.ralston98 (Aug 18, 2015)

Jordanbasset said:


> To start you off, you need to speak to your wife and see what she thinks. My wife loves it over here, more so than me! The social life is good and it is not too difficult to make friends. If your wife is not working there are plenty of events such as coffee mornings, as well as more adventurous activities, for her to meet up with people.
> You do not say what your housing allowance is, that can make a big difference to your life style here. Also if you have children it obviously is another factor.
> Summer is the worst period, a lot of wives and children do go back to the UK in these months, but overall it is not a bad life here.


Thanks for the advice.

We were actually at Mexico at the start or July and when we came home she was all like... would you move away? I said we could look into it and now she has went cold a bit on it when I say I have pretty much got a job in Abu Dhabi but it's a relocate

I thought maybe if I relocate over and have her come over for a trip every few month to see if she likes it and look for a job over here. Maybe next year the position I have might lead to Month on Month off so I could just travel back and forth from the UK to UAE, don't want to completely move over if that's an option next year.

The manager rattled a few figures to me which was Monthly Salary of $3500-£4000 (USD). Home Basic of 36% of Salary/Month, Supply allowance of $400/Month, Car allowance of $400/month and a day rate of $150/day. This was only off the top of his head and HR will get in contact with me with correct amounts.

I have no children at the moment nor a wife... she will become my wife if anyone asks when over in UAE . 

Were only young too, I'm 26 and she is 23.


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## Jordanbasset (Jun 11, 2014)

Understand your situation, the housing allowance is not great but doable. Probably will not be a problem with your girlfriend staying with you for holidays, but to do it officially and to sponsor her on your visa she would have to marry you and you would need to get it legally attested etc. So at this time you are right to see how it goes.


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## andrew.ralston98 (Aug 18, 2015)

I'm sure there is room for negotiating... I'll have to see what they offer and take it from there... to be honest I was expecting to be offered in the region of £80/90k.

Better off in the stinking North Sea! lol


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

The money is still very good for someone your age. 

You are facing redundancy, no? This job keeps you gainfully employed. O&G is likely to have a hard few years so I'd think taking what you can get to keep you alive is what's important and eventually well positioned to return to UK at a higher/senior level when the good times come back. 

You're 26. She's 23. At your age they come and go.


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## andrew.ralston98 (Aug 18, 2015)

I was facing redundancy at the start of the year but I scored high in the scoring matrix that made me 100% safe from redundancy. 

The wage I get in the North Sea is roughly $99k that's saying I work 6 months of the year. Abu Dhabi would be about $93k including home, car allowance etc. 

I'm still going to consider leaving the North Sea as its in a bad state just now and when it picks up come back... That's if I want to. 

Just waiting patiently for HR to get back to me with the final offer...


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## aleleeson (Jun 10, 2015)

I dont agree with what TallyHo said about at your age they come and go, but the rest I agree with.

My husband is also in oil and gas and the company he works for (in europe) also has issues and has been trying to fire everyone they can. He was extremely lucky in applying for this job in abu dhabi as he did so pretty much the week before drama started and the people here in abu dhabi were very quick in replying to his application and saying that they wanted him. Even still there were issues with hiring him as certain people in the company didnt want it to happen.

Everyone at his home office keeps mailing us telling us about who got fired this month and how lucky he is not to be in this situation, we even have friends who are now looking for jobs. TallyHo is right that oil and gas is in trouble now, at the office here there is far less tension, no one is fearing anything and things are pretty much normal for him except for the fact that there is not as much work as there should be because investors dont want to invest at the moment. 

I dont think girlfriends come and go, so I would definitely consider how she feels but there is a good chance that you could regret not taking this offer just as much as there is a chance you could regret taking it. You know what your situation is at home, dont let a house hold you back and see if you can get her to warm to the idea of here ...for us in a similar situation (we also have a home in the country he worked in before) it was a good decision to come here.


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

aleleeson said:


> ...I dont think girlfriends come and go...


at 26, socks last longer than girlfriends... better investment too...


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

imac said:


> at 26, socks last longer than girlfriends... better investment too...


there are hundreds of Irish teachers gagging for some love.


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## andrew.ralston98 (Aug 18, 2015)

I've had HR get back to me but I'm offshore in the North Sea right now so going to have to wait to call them. 

What questions should I ask in regards of living over there, flights back home etc? Anything I should try and get?

Me and the girlfriend has been living together for 3 year and been together longer than some peoples marriages lol... Don't think I could get rid of her if I tried lol.


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