# Is 26,000 AED sufficient for a couple in Dubai



## gettingnervous (Oct 9, 2008)

Hi everyone,

I have been offered a job in duabi recently, and before I made the decision, would like to know if anyone can tell me 26,000 AED (accommodation by own) is sufficient to live in a moderate (middle class) lifestlye in Dubai plus saving.

other benefit includes;

me, spouse and dependent each one return air ticket to home country
medical insurance for everyone above
mobile phone reimbursement AED 250 per month
annual holiday 30 working days
children education allowance


----------



## mazdaRX8 (Jul 13, 2008)

26k a month? Gonna be tough, if you have a big family. Gonna be hard (not as hard) if it's just you and your wife as well.

Case is made worse with the fact that you have to pay for your own housing

There are tons of threads with prices of housing, living, lifestyle, children etc.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

gettingnervous said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I have been offered a job in duabi recently, and before I made the decision, would like to know if anyone can tell me 26,000 AED (accommodation by own) is sufficient to live in a moderate (middle class) lifestlye in Dubai plus saving.
> 
> ...


Have a look at this thread (http://www.expatforum.com/expats/dubai-expat-forum-expats-living-dubai/10504-expected-salary.html)

Each situation is different, the suggested cost of living calcs will help you decide if it's viable for your personal situation. Let us know whether you found it useful.

HTH


----------



## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I would have to say no! I'm here on my own and I'm on more than that! Life would be a struggle and accommodation on its own will set you back at least 10k a month as a bare mimimum, depending on the area that you wish to live in. Once you start factoring living costs, transport, sociliasing, etc, you will have pretty much nothing left to save at the end of the month.

I would suggest you hold off moving here until you can get a better offer or go back to the company and negotiate a better package.


----------



## gettingnervous (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks a lot on the input. Understand its gonna be tough on this.

Again, appreciate if anyone of you can share of an idea how much should I actually bargain with if a moderate lifestyle is looking at. 

There is only me and my wife coming along. No kid not other.


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Maz25 said:


> I would have to say no! I'm here on my own and I'm on more than that! Life would be a struggle and accommodation on its own will set you back at least 10k a month as a bare mimimum, depending on the area that you wish to live in. Once you start factoring living costs, transport, sociliasing, etc, you will have pretty much nothing left to save at the end of the month.
> 
> I would suggest you hold off moving here until you can get a better offer or go back to the company and negotiate a better package.


What do you spend your money on?????  shoes 

For one person here 26K would be more than enough for quite an active social life (I'm on less than 26k and go out every week). For two people it would be a modest lifestyle but as long as you don't have any commitments back in the UK (Mortgage, debts etc) it's doable - and I have both . It all depends on whether you want to live in the most up-and-coming cosmopolitan part of town or you want to live somewhere quieter and get a really cheap taxi in when you do want a night out.

It also depends on how it will benefit your career, what do you do? Will this adventure make your CV more attractive to future employers etc..

HTH


----------



## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

crazymazy1980 said:


> What do you spend your money on?????  shoes


Are my supposed to walk barefoot - you all abandoned me with shoes on my feet, what would you do if I turned up barefoot!!!  

Lol! Not just shoes, clothes and other rubbish that I've got no use for!  I was quite shocked when I was leaving London - so many unworn outfits and shoes - didn't even know I had them. Needless to say, I made a new friend just by handing out freebies!!


----------



## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Maz25 said:


> Are my supposed to walk barefoot - you all abandoned me with shoes on my feet, what would you do if I turned up barefoot!!!
> 
> Lol! Not just shoes, clothes and other rubbish that I've got no use for!  I was quite shocked when I was leaving London - so many unworn outfits and clothes - didn't even know I had them. Needless to say, I made a new friend just by handing out freebies!!


We didn't abandon you, you was with Giada and dawdling...

...maybe you should buy trainers and then you'll be able to keep up


----------



## grandesigner (Oct 5, 2008)

This thread worries me a bit. What is a lifestyle? Back in the early 90's, when I used to earn proper money, I paid 50per cent of it in mortgages and insurance. Looks like its the same now in Dubai. I had a similar arrangement with the taxman as you all now have.I was just wondering, at what point is 60,000 Euros a year, not enough to live on. 4 times the wages here in Spain and 40 times what a labourer earns, building the things we design. Its nice to be paid well, but I dont think I need to bathe in Champage EVERY night, and have the maid peel ALL the grapes.

I am sure, however, someone will correct me if I'm wrong


----------



## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

grandesigner said:


> This thread worries me a bit. What is a lifestyle? Back in the early 90's, when I used to earn proper money, I paid 50per cent of it in mortgages and insurance. Looks like its the same now in Dubai. I had a similar arrangement with the taxman as you all now have.I was just wondering, at what point is 60,000 Euros a year, not enough to live on. 4 times the wages here in Spain and 40 times what a labourer earns, building the things we design. Its nice to be paid well, but I dont think I need to bathe in Champage EVERY night, and have the maid peel ALL the grapes.
> 
> I am sure, however, someone will correct me if I'm wrong


To put it quite bluntly, you will pay more for a boxroom here than you would for a one bedroom flat in London! I used to work in Kings Cross and for what I pay for a room here, I could afford to live within 1 min walk of where I used to work in London - and it wasn't cheap. Your income is high here but so is your outgoing. Don't be fooled by the tax-free line; too many people have fallen for it already and the only thing I would advise someone wishing to move here is to do your research before you arrive and make sure you are aware of the cost of living here. Dubai caters for rich expats, with deep pockets and this is reflected in the price of pretty much everything, particularly accommodation - the market here is controlled by investors and you have to bear in mind that most of them are cash-rich! Making assumptions or failing to properly research your move before you accept your package will only lead you into financial trouble!

€60,000 is enough if you are single but if you have a family, accommodation will pretty much wipe out your whole salary and that's before you start adding school fees and just about everything else. I guess it all depends on where you are from and pretty much what you are prepared to accept - we all come here for different reasons so whilst your future plans might make €60k acceptable, for a lot of us, this might not necessarily be the case!


----------



## adywicaksono (Jul 19, 2008)

gettingnervous said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I have been offered a job in duabi recently, and before I made the decision, would like to know if anyone can tell me 26,000 AED (accommodation by own) is sufficient to live in a moderate (middle class) lifestlye in Dubai plus saving.
> 
> ...


simply say 26K is good enough if your lifestyle is moderate


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

gettingnervous said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I have been offered a job in duabi recently, and before I made the decision, would like to know if anyone can tell me 26,000 AED (accommodation by own) is sufficient to live in a moderate (middle class) lifestlye in Dubai plus saving.
> 
> ...


If I were you, as a first step I will investigate if education allowance is sufficient for your kids. For a good school (British education) you should factor in at lease 4K per child per month. If education is sufficient I would allocate at least 10-12K per month for accomodation.

So 26K is doable but don't expect huge savings since you need to pay for utilities, insurance , car maintenance etc.


----------



## greatexpectations (Aug 5, 2008)

i agree with maz....
you can get by on what you're being offered, but you will be at the bottom of the (westerner) heap, and will not save much.

Given that you won't save much, i'd say there are far more comfortable places to live...


----------



## Giadita (Sep 21, 2008)

Maz25 said:


> To put it quite bluntly, you will pay more for a boxroom here than you would for a one bedroom flat in London! I used to work in Kings Cross and for what I pay for a room here, I could afford to live within 1 min walk of where I used to work in London - and it wasn't cheap. Your income is high here but so is your outgoing. Don't be fooled by the tax-free line; too many people have fallen for it already and the only thing I would advise someone wishing to move here is to do your research before you arrive and make sure you are aware of the cost of living here. Dubai caters for rich expats, with deep pockets and this is reflected in the price of pretty much everything, particularly accommodation - the market here is controlled by investors and you have to bear in mind that most of them are cash-rich! Making assumptions or failing to properly research your move before you accept your package will only lead you into financial trouble!
> 
> €60,000 is enough if you are single but if you have a family, accommodation will pretty much wipe out your whole salary and that's before you start adding school fees and just about everything else. I guess it all depends on where you are from and pretty much what you are prepared to accept - we all come here for different reasons so whilst your future plans might make €60k acceptable, for a lot of us, this might not necessarily be the case!



Very Interesting subject here.
Yes, the point is everyone has different background and different expectations. I come from Italy where salaries are just bit higher than in Spain but a lot lower than in the UK, I know also that when you come from the middle class of such countries you are kind of more "down to earth" -no offense to anybody- so you really don't think that bathing in champagne is something that you really need to be happy. So to me 26.000aed per month sounded pretty good when thinking with my Italian reasoning.
But again, we are all different, we have different goals and demands. Also, people have different attitudes towards money, some tend to go immediately for mortgages and loans to buy property or a nice car right away, some other tend to just save the money for the future. If you're willing to live a middle class life plus saving good money then you might be a little tight.
If you think of people here in Dubai coming from FIlippines, South Asia and other arabic countries they live on not even a quarter of such a salary, they share rooms in the "poor" neighborgoods, they don't party at all, they work double hours than we do and still they feel as they have won the lottery and, god bless them, most of them use the money they earn to help their families back home!

I don't agree that everything is more expensive here, accommodation is but the rest of expenses are cheaper than UK, Italy, France, Holland just to mention some. If you go to the supermarket you have potatoes from everywhere in the world, of course if you want sweet potatoes from UK they are very expensive, but if you are fine with trying the local ones they are cheap . Only alcohol in bars is definitely out of range! But again, petrol is sooo cheap, and it is a crucial factor if you're using a car to go to your office everyday. And if you don't, transportation also is much cheaper, let's be fair. Having a maid also would be much cheaper as there's plenty of people coming from poorer countries that would undertake manual jobs for very little. Hairdressing, manicure, spa, massages...all these is are luxury benefits that here you pay sooo little and they do it much better than back home, always with smile on their face and treating you as you were a king just because you come from the so said "first world".Oops, think I got kind of political there...better to go back to the main subject

May be it would be interesting putting together a list of the things you definitely need to live a decent life and compare prices, still I have the feeling that apart from accommodation everything's a bit cheaper when doing a balance, plus you are in one of the most amazing cities next to the beach, 7 months per year of good weather and almost as many facilities as in the most developed countries.
My personal opinion is that when doing a balance there are many factors that need ponderation, knowing where you come from and where you're heading to is crucial just as your attitude towards money and luxury.

Giada


----------



## Mrman (Jul 14, 2008)

If it makes anyone feel better, I'm coming over with a family of 4 with only 33k aed/month. (plus potential 15% bonus and schooling is covered)

We know it will be tight and we are prepared to make adjustments as compared to our present lifestyle, but money was never the issue for this adventure. I am under no illusion that we will be "saving" money as is typical of an expat assignment since I am on a "local" contract. 

We also know that for us (and many families coming to Dubai), this is a 2-3 year stint, so if it is difficult to manage, we know we will be returning home.

From what I've seen so far, the biggest issue is getting there and getting established. There are lots of additional expenditures that are needed to be planned for before you can budget normal day-to-day/month-to-month budgets (deposit, commission, license, visa, etc).

$.02


----------



## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

Giadita said:


> Very Interesting subject here.
> Yes, the point is everyone has different background and different expectations. I come from Italy where salaries are just bit higher than in Spain but a lot lower than in the UK, I know also that when you come from the middle class of such countries you are kind of more "down to earth" -no offense to anybody- so you really don't think that bathing in champagne is something that you really need to be happy. So to me 26.000aed per month sounded pretty good when thinking with my Italian reasoning.
> But again, we are all different, we have different goals and demands. Also, people have different attitudes towards money, some tend to go immediately for mortgages and loans to buy property or a nice car right away, some other tend to just save the money for the future. If you're willing to live a middle class life plus saving good money then you might be a little tight.
> If you think of people here in Dubai coming from FIlippines, South Asia and other arabic countries they live on not even a quarter of such a salary, they share rooms in the "poor" neighborgoods, they don't party at all, they work double hours than we do and still they feel as they have won the lottery and, god bless them, most of them use the money they earn to help their families back home!
> ...


Well said Giada.


----------



## Pasanada (Feb 5, 2008)

qwert97 said:


> Well said Giada.


I second that.

Having lived in Spain prior to moving to Dubai, I know how poorly paid people are in Spain. When I was offered an 80,000$ package, I almost fainted! LOL


----------



## stevieboy1980 (Sep 9, 2008)

you can survive off that if you get a cheap rental....
you would need something in a cheap area though...


----------



## grandesigner (Oct 5, 2008)

stevieboy1980 said:


> you can survive off that if you get a cheap rental....
> you would need something in a cheap area though...


Well, thats all I needed. 

Sorry, for getting out of my tree in the so-so socio-political sarcasm of my little world. its an attitude born of fear that I for one accepted an offer that was too low. Western Europe is completeley on its arse, and I couldnt beleive the offer was real.

I'm fortunate I think, in that my socialising expenses are always very low; I dont drink. So, now with the confirmation, that I for one can live on what I've accepted, I am once again looking forward to the visa arriving, and starting work. I hope that we few can meet at one of the gatherings organised by those members active and tolerant enough to get involved here..

I'll try not to hijack a thread again.


----------



## stevieboy1980 (Sep 9, 2008)

dood, post away, whatever you want..

no probs...

where you from anyway, what type of job is it for the pay


----------



## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Very true. We have all found ourselves in the same boat and this forum is here to provide as much information as possible, so do not be afraid to use it.

You will be very welcome at our next forum night out. We started off with just 5 and our little group is certainly getting a lot bigger.


----------



## grandesigner (Oct 5, 2008)

stevieboy1980 said:


> dood, post away, whatever you want..
> 
> no probs...
> 
> where you from anyway, what type of job is it for the pay


Site Landscape Architect. Its why I've mentioned being stuck in a tin hut somewhere in the desert a couple of times. (I've got Senior in the title aswell somewhere, but I'm not sure where.)
Land Arch has never been a highly paid job, but it seams to be getting a bit better.

I'm currently in Spain, been here about 10 years. Got to the point where even I cant survive on the lack of money. Not being a man of independent means. 

Spain used to be the land of opportunity, but its the problem with a single market economy. As soon as the pound dropped, the tourists and buyers left. Prices go up and wages stagnate. I was hoping Dubai might of learnt well from the lesson.


----------



## stevieboy1980 (Sep 9, 2008)

you will be ok here dood im sure...

surprised it doesnt pay more than that...

as i said just make sure your rent isnt a lot... rest is ok...

spain? yeah i know, i got a house in spain, its time to get out me thinks!


----------



## grandesigner (Oct 5, 2008)

stevieboy1980 said:


> you will be ok here dood im sure...
> 
> surprised it doesnt pay more than that...
> 
> ...


I've accepted on the grounds I can re-negotiate the housing allowance on completion of the probationary period. All agreed, with the usual provisos. Within the scale etc.

We're keeping the house in Spain, Got a good deal, so it'll sit here for a few years and make its money back in time. and of course, without it I'd be homeless again.


----------



## stevieboy1980 (Sep 9, 2008)

[ok mate, lemme know if you need anything


----------

