# From Canada to UAE



## yosemite (Jun 27, 2009)

Hello,

I'm a Canadian in my early thirties, married with a two year old daughter, living in Halifax, NS, Canada. I have about seven years experience in the IT field, mainly as a Java programmer, but I have several IT skills at my disposal. I was thinking of moving to Dubai (or Qatar or Bahrain may be) to live, possibly for a long time, but I'm hesitant at the moment because I'm not sure what to expect there. I really want to know how it differs from the quality of life I'm used to in Canada, mainly from a financial perspective. For example, we have free medical for the most part here (the rest covered by corporate insurance), education for my child is free (unless I go private), etc...
I lived in Kuwait as a child, so I don't think I'll have problems adjusting to the culture.

Can any Canadian who lives in UAE now comment on what it's like to be in UAE in terms of the quality of life compared to Canada? I'm afraid of going down there and find that I'm not making as much money as I'm used to (I don't know how much it costs there to live). I currently make around CAD$ 67,000 / year with bonuses. Do you really make a lot of money when you go to UAE, or do people tend to exaggerate this idea? Are there income taxes? I'm not necessarily looking to get rich, but I want to live a comfortable life, have money for health, child education, retirement, and a yearly vacation.

One thing that really concerns me about UAE is the economic downturn and the fall in the price of gas. I've heard a lot of people are getting laid off and that the country's economy got affected a lot. May be now is not the time to go there. What are the major downsides of living in UAE? 

I'd like to replace my thoughts with real facts though, so if I could get some feedback, that would be great. If someone has information about neighboring countries as well like Qatar and Bahrain, that would be great.

Thank you.


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