# basic settlement budget for apartment/flat in Al Ain



## ExpatLibrarian (Nov 10, 2013)

I am going to start a new job in Al Ain very soon(just waiting for ADEC to get back to me with my departure date) and am wondering how much it will cost to set up a basic apartment for a single person. I will be receiving a settlement allowance of 20K AED - will that be sufficient or will I need to tap into my savings/credit cards? So basically agent's fees, utility deposits, sofa, bed, TV, fridge, stove, w/d, microwave, think anything else can wait until I get my first paycheck which I think will be at the end of Jan(or maybe Feb if I don't hear anything soon, my contract technically starts today!!!)


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## Andy17 (May 30, 2013)

ExpatLibrarian said:


> I am going to start a new job in Al Ain very soon(just waiting for ADEC to get back to me with my departure date) and am wondering how much it will cost to set up a basic apartment for a single person. I will be receiving a settlement allowance of 20K AED - will that be sufficient or will I need to tap into my savings/credit cards? So basically agent's fees, utility deposits, sofa, bed, TV, fridge, stove, w/d, microwave, think anything else can wait until I get my first paycheck which I think will be at the end of Jan(or maybe Feb if I don't hear anything soon, my contract technically starts today!!!)


Hi I am in first to reply on your new thread again. We covered part of this on the IAT thread whom I thought you were joining, did you decide on Adec instead? The 20K will not do it all but it depends on your view point of second hand versus brand new. Most places over here have a high turnover of people coming and going so there is usually a thriving second hand market to pick up stuff. It will also depend on the type of accomadation you go for. There does not tend to be a lot of furnished places although some places in Abu Dhabi are now being let brand new fully furnished. Possibly a new trend but someone who has been here longer may have more information on that. Anyway have fun setting up.


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## ExpatLibrarian (Nov 10, 2013)

Andy17 said:


> Hi I am in first to reply on your new thread again. We covered part of this on the IAT thread whom I thought you were joining, did you decide on Adec instead? The 20K will not do it all but it depends on your view point of second hand versus brand new. Most places over here have a high turnover of people coming and going so there is usually a thriving second hand market to pick up stuff. It will also depend on the type of accomadation you go for. There does not tend to be a lot of furnished places although some places in Abu Dhabi are now being let brand new fully furnished. Possibly a new trend but someone who has been here longer may have more information on that. Anyway have fun setting up.


Hey Andy, thanks again for helping a noob. I thought that ADEC was the umbrella organization which manages HCT, IAT, etc. The alphabet soup is very confusing, guess I will figure out who's who very quickly, but yes I will be working directly for IAT. 

I am assuming I will be moving into an unfurnished apartment, though who knows. I haven't been able to figure out where the school is even - Google shows two different schools when I search for it. I will have about $5K in cash available beyond the settlement allowance plus credit cards(though I hope I won't have to use them). I don't mind second hand stuff at all (like most people who have lived in NYC a while, I have been known to grab discarded furniture from the hallway of my building or even the curb). My main concern besides cost of course is the logistics of getting stuff delivered and set up, especially since I will be starting midterm and am not sure how much of an orientation and settling-in period I will be given.

I was looking at the Carrefour site and comparing prices to P.C. Richard(a local NYC appliance store) and it looks like appliances are a lot cheaper(not even including tax), though it seems that they are smaller in some cases.


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## Andy17 (May 30, 2013)

ExpatLibrarian said:


> Hey Andy, thanks again for helping a noob. I thought that ADEC was the umbrella organization which manages HCT, IAT, etc. The alphabet soup is very confusing, guess I will figure out who's who very quickly, but yes I will be working directly for IAT.
> 
> I am assuming I will be moving into an unfurnished apartment, though who knows. I haven't been able to figure out where the school is even - Google shows two different schools when I search for it. I will have about $5K in cash available beyond the settlement allowance plus credit cards(though I hope I won't have to use them). I don't mind second hand stuff at all (like most people who have lived in NYC a while, I have been known to grab discarded furniture from the hallway of my building or even the curb). My main concern besides cost of course is the logistics of getting stuff delivered and set up, especially since I will be starting midterm and am not sure how much of an orientation and settling-in period I will be given.
> 
> I was looking at the Carrefour site and comparing prices to P.C. Richard(a local NYC appliance store) and it looks like appliances are a lot cheaper(not even including tax), though it seems that they are smaller in some cases.


The major stores like carrefour and Lulus all make free delivery and fitting normally and come in the evening. They also ring you before delivery so if you are out you can rush home to take receipt. It is worth getting a washing machine with a built in tumble dryer, takes up less space. They also have fridgefreezers from small to large depending on your needs.


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## Carny6457 (Jan 28, 2014)

Check Facebook group Al Ain Swap and Shop


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