# Honest UAE Information needed!



## LadyA2013 (Dec 22, 2013)

Hi All,

My partner is currently considering accepting one of two job offers in the UAE. One in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi. I am currently considering re-locating with him-Can anyone provide some good, honest information for a young expat woman living in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai and which would be better?

Also my partner will be based in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai (depending on which job he takes) however he will travel a lot and therefore I will be there approximately half of the month on my own. Is the UAE suitable for an un-married young woman....what is there to do in your spare time in the evenings or weekends? Are you able to go out without your partner?

Also what difficulties can you come accross in the UAE as a result of living together but not being married?

Has anyone got any information of career progression in the UAE for expat women? Are we treated equally in the work place?

Any information on the above or relocating to the UAE in general would be a huge help.....!

Thanks,

LadyA


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## haval (Apr 14, 2010)

Hi young lady ,
To settle in Dubai or Abu Dhabi depends on the type of the offer given to your partner , but both of them are really fantastic to live in , and you will have many choices of plans for your weekend and in the evenings, so you can have many friends from going to gym , night clubs , spas , social media and so on , and yes uae is suitable for unmarried ladies , u can go on your own or with any friend where ever you want , believe me you will like it in uae and u will find any problems to live with your partner . iam teaching Arabic which will help you make more friends if u r interested , and belive me u will be treated fairly not only at workplace but every where you go in the UAE , and it is the very safe , Merry Christmas 
Cheers,


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## LadyA2013 (Dec 22, 2013)

Thank you for your reply Haval.

Is there any Western European young women who can share their experience of relocation to the UAE... Both positive and negative?

Thanks!

LadyA


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

LadyA2013 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> My partner is currently considering accepting one of two job offers in the UAE. One in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi. I am currently considering re-locating with him-Can anyone provide some good, honest information for a young expat woman living in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai and which would be better?
> 
> ...


firstly its illegal to live together unmarried under sharia law.
lots of people have spouses that do rotation off for a whole month at a time etc and travel often so yes its not an issue.
remember that if you dont follow the rules the consequences can be harsh.... deportation fine etc etc


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## Kangaroo_J (Aug 1, 2013)

You will not have any issues, best and safest place to live in middle east. Dubai is one of the best 10 cities in the world to live in. 

Just remember that if you are not married and not working, you will not have a visa, health coverage, emirates ID, all which could create problems later.


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

dubai may be a good place to live but you need the money inorder to survive its definately not cheap.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

busybee2 said:


> dubai may be a good place to live but you need the money inorder to survive its definately not cheap.


Nowhere is cheap if you waste money. And tell me where you can survive without money and thrive ?

Lots of folks save a lot of money when working in Dubai so by that measure it is cheap as salaries exceed incomes by a lot more so than at home.

That said, there are lots of examples where it is not as cheap as you would expect compared to high tax countries.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

You don't say what you do for a living. On the whole, although it may take a little time, you will get a job, but you will need to be patient. As long as your employer abides by UAE labor law, you will be fine, it's when they don't, you will have issues. Naps for progression, it just depends on the company you work for and the opportunities that arise within the organization. 

If you need to meet people here, there's MeetUp, Social Circles and InterNations. All organize events and all can be googled so you can join them on-line. You'll probably meet people through work too, but experience has shown me here, that it's best to have a wide group of friends because it's pretty transient and people tend to leave quite frequently.


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Nowhere is cheap if you waste money. And tell me where you can survive without money and thrive ?
> 
> Lots of folks save a lot of money when working in Dubai so by that measure it is cheap as salaries exceed incomes by a lot more so than at home.
> 
> That said, there are lots of examples where it is not as cheap as you would expect compared to high tax countries.


dxb is definately not cheap.... rent is a huge amount of your salary unless you are sharing with 10 million others squashed together. the salary here is usually more than "at home" if you are talking about "certain" nationalities! but if are talking from a uk point of view, yes it may be tax free, but its not as there is a lot of costs in setting up shop here....!


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Busy bee - all I can say is that having set up apartments in three countries in the last decade or so, Dubai is no worse than the others from a cost point of view. IKEA used at all three locations and prices were not that different. There are aspects of Dubai which are a pain, such as deposits on just about everything like internet etc, but you get your money back at the end.

It's certainly true that you have a lot more opportunities to overspend in Dubai, compared with other locations and you can live cheaply, safely and securely in Dubai.

I suspect that by 'cheap' some folks mean they want to live in all the best places but pay less. 

It is certainly possible to live and save a lot of money here, and to put it in context, my family is saving about 50% of my salary, living on the Palm, leasing a Audi Q5 and doing pretty much what I want. That said I never have been a drinker/partier as to me that's a waste. I still have a UK home (sold the house down Sarf and bought a place outright).

It's all relative, and that's the only way to look at it. Yes, food is undoubtedly more expensive in Waitrose  but when your salary more than makes up for it, relatively speaking, you still see it as cheap


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## xxxxxxxxclownfish (Dec 15, 2013)

haval said:


> Hi young lady ,
> To settle in Dubai or Abu Dhabi depends on the type of the offer given to your partner , but both of them are really fantastic to live in , and you will have many choices of plans for your weekend and in the evenings, so you can have many friends from going to gym , night clubs , spas , social media and so on , and yes uae is suitable for unmarried ladies , u can go on your own or with any friend where ever you want , believe me you will like it in uae and u will find any problems to live with your partner . iam teaching Arabic which will help you make more friends if u r interested , and belive me u will be treated fairly not only at workplace but every where you go in the UAE , and it is the very safe , Merry Christmas
> Cheers,


Yes, you can live here unmarried and you can go out on your own but you will not have an alcohol license and if you get a cab after a few drinks, you may be unlucky to get picked up by a taxi driver who will try and take you to the police or take a huge detour for a larger fare because he knows you have been drinking illegally. Be careful and sensible and don't get in a cab at night on your own. Many taxi drivers view single western females as loose and some will make all kinds of propositions. If you are sober, call the police immediately that you feel vulnerable.


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Busy bee - all I can say is that having set up apartments in three countries in the last decade or so, Dubai is no worse than the others from a cost point of view. IKEA used at all three locations and prices were not that different. There are aspects of Dubai which are a pain, such as deposits on just about everything like internet etc, but you get your money back at the end.
> 
> It's certainly true that you have a lot more opportunities to overspend in Dubai, compared with other locations and you can live cheaply, safely and securely in Dubai.
> 
> ...


well if you can afford to save 50% of your salary, still drive an expensive audi, live on the palm (is that also having to pay for sch fees too!! as they arent cheap), you can eat out cheaply if you want but you can also eat out at the hotels and pay a lot because of the "taxes" on top. if you of course dont go out partying all the time then you should have more disposable income but you still nowadays need to be on a good wack in order to save 50% salary ie featherbed package that a lot of the companies have cut back on. most people would not have the luxury of selling a house down in expensive south of uk and buying outright, so they would still have debt to fund too! yes since ikea has opened here its made buying furniture and the like much easier and cheaper too! not so in the days like 10 years ago when there just wasnt anything to buy as there were "no" shops! in dxb you had lamcy plaza and city center were the only 2 around for a long long while! yes uae is a deposit for this and that, and you are very lucky if you get them back especially from landlords, yes if you have the necessary receipts for the utitilities etc but its still a lot of upfront funds sometimes.


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## busybee2 (Aug 8, 2013)

auh is even worse for renting prices.... always been much more choice in dxb, and flexibility you could always pay in multiple cheques thats only just come into force in auh last few years. paying the rent upfront and the agent fees still need to be changed in order to move forward, but now we should be able to pay with direct debit... the banks/property agents still use cheques!


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## LadyA2013 (Dec 22, 2013)

Hi all,

Many thanks for all your replies, all of which I am gateful for and will take on board. 

My partner's company will be paying at least 85% of the rent so rental prices will not be an issue for us. My main concern is finding employment for myself and the progression opportunities. I really enjoy working and do not want to be in the UAE as an un-employed lady.

I currently work in HR so if anyone can shed any lgiht on this sector I would greatly appreciate it. Is there a requirement to have a through understanding of UAE employment law to work in HR there or is it something most international companies will teach you as you progress?

Also what is the salary band for a HR Generalist/Operations Specialist type role in the UAE?


LadyA


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## xxxxxxxxclownfish (Dec 15, 2013)

The majority of jobs here require UAE experience and particularly, I would have thought, a pre-requisite for a HR role. You would be looking for a job with a visa and a decent salary but as expo has just been won, there is a huge influx of people here from Asia and India on tourist visas looking for work. I get about 10 people per day dropping their cv into my office - we aren't recruiting unfortunately. Agencies here aren't great and it may take you a good few months to find something, but you will find something eventually, probably more by luck than judgement. Keep plugging away but try and come with savings or the knowledge that your BF will have to support you financially for a while.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Knowing the labor law here is important in HR, but so is having experience in HR and the relevant degree (in fact, for most companies, the latter is what they would consider most important). At the end of the day, as long as you aren't running everything on your own and have a good PRO to refer to as well as the book itself (which is available on line, so you could start reading it now) you can get by. You may find you will earn less because you don't have Gulf experience but you're going to have to start somewhere.


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