# Cost of living in Dubai??



## Willow7 (Jan 14, 2014)

I'm looking to relocate to Dubai with my Husband & 2 small children. The salary he would be looking at is around £45-50k. Is it possible to live a decent life in Dubai on this amount of money, especially if the company doesn't cover the school fees? I worry that even my food shop will be a lot more than it is in London! I understand it's a tax free salary but at present we don't pay any school fees out! Do employers usually cover the fees or even part of your rent!?


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

45-50K GBP equates to a monthly salary of AED 22,500 - 25,000

firstly, where did you arrive at that figure? it sounds like it is not a formal job offer.

Assuming you are from the UK (given the salary reference) you are going to struggle to house and school a family of 4 on that.
Assume the children are both at Primary school age (if they aren't, they soon will be..) you need to find between 70,000 and 90,000AED a year just for schooling (7,000 - 7,500 / month)

you do not say if housing is covered separately.
If it is, then you might be OK.
If not, you're probably going to struggle.

housing - circa 8,000 - 10,000 / month
school - circa 7,500 / month

your two biggest costs

look through all the threads for cost of living info on cars, telecoms etc.

you can spend 1,500 AED (250GBP) a month on food for 4, or you can spend 5,000 AED (800+GBP) a month.
There are those that will tell you that you cannot POSSIBLY spend less than 3,000 on groceries. Shop around, don't go to Waitrose, buy local / regional, and it's definitely feasible. I'd allow 2,000 in a budget. We are a family of 4 and our monthly grocery bill is between 2,000 and 2,500. We could do it cheaper.

When looking at a job offer, consider the TOTAL package, inclusive of allowances, schooling etc. All employers offer the package differently, so you need to add it all up and work it out that way.
Mosat employers give allowances for the sole reason that End Of Service benefits (compulsory by law) are derived from the base salary figure.

Get reading on here (you could read for days!) the search function is excellent.

good luck!


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

vantage said:


> There are those that will tell you that you *cannot POSSIBLY spend less than 3,000 on groceries*. Shop around, don't go to Waitrose, buy local / regional, and it's definitely feasible. I'd allow 2,000 in a budget.


Yikes. I don't want to know how much I spend on food. In fact, I won't even find out. We shop at a combination of Waitrose, Spinneys and Carrefour. 

Vantage is (as usual) pretty spot on with his estimations. Although, his housing guestimation might be a little low for a 3/4 bedroom villa. Although, you could live in a smaller abode 2 bed villa/apartment. Double the kiddies up. That could save you a fortune.


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## Willow7 (Jan 14, 2014)

Thanks guys! I'm new to all this.......I'm just going on what my husband earns here 50k plus about 20k in bonuses, so we would need to be bringing that in at least if we were to up sticks & move! I would be happy with a 2 bed villa or apartment, my daughter is 3 & tr baby is only 7months & always in my bed anyway.

Thanks I will have a good read later & weigh everything up 😊


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## Chocoya (Dec 9, 2013)

vantage said:


> 45-50K GBP equates to a monthly salary of AED 22,500 - 25,000
> 
> firstly, where did you arrive at that figure? it sounds like it is not a formal job offer.
> 
> ...



Also, remember that both housing lease payments and school fees usually are required on an annual basis (ahead for the year). Certainly, this is the case with our accommodation and schooling. These are big initial lump sum cash payments.


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## Willow7 (Jan 14, 2014)

I have friends living out there who have just informed me that they paid 3 post dated cheques & the other has it taken from his wages as his employer paid it!?


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

some landlords will accept multiple cheques but often at a cost

some schools will allow payment each term

some employers pay a housing allowance, others lump it all together, some may offer an interest free loan for your first year's rent which is then deducted from salary each month

as with most things here it all varies hugely


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## Chocoya (Dec 9, 2013)

I would spend about 5,000AED per month just on food. We have an extended household but not that big - 6+maid. Groceries are expensive here


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## Ogri750 (Feb 14, 2008)

I pay my rent through 4 cheques per year, school fees is 3 payments (1 per term) and uni fees for my eldest monthly over 10 months

Just for info


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

Ogri750 said:


> I pay my rent through 4 cheques per year, school fees is 3 payments (1 per term) and uni fees for my eldest monthly over 10 months Just for info


Same here (except the uni bit!)


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## xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxStewartC (Mar 3, 2012)

Willow7 said:


> I'm looking to relocate to Dubai with my Husband & 2 small children. The salary he would be looking at is around £45-50k. Is it possible to live a decent life in Dubai on this amount of money, especially if the company doesn't cover the school fees? I worry that even my food shop will be a lot more than it is in London! I understand it's a tax free salary but at present we don't pay any school fees out! Do employers usually cover the fees or even part of your rent!?


Cannot live well here even on a materialistic level for that salary. Then you have the sheer awfulness of Dubai to contend with. Sorry. Hard but true.


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## Willow7 (Jan 14, 2014)

StewartC said:


> Cannot live well here even on a materialistic level for that salary. Then you have the sheer awfulness of Dubai to contend with. Sorry. Hard but true.


I take it you don't like living there!! Lol.......my friends that live there would beg to differ! They hate the thought of coming back home.


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## Willow7 (Jan 14, 2014)

Chocoya said:


> I would spend about 5,000AED per month just on food. We have an extended household but not that big - 6+maid. Groceries are expensive here


That's roughly what I spend back home in London! Converting it to £800 in GBP.


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## ACertainRomance (Jun 21, 2013)

StewartC said:


> Cannot live well here even on a materialistic level for that salary. Then you have the sheer awfulness of Dubai to contend with. Sorry. Hard but true.


I cant comment on the first half of this (its just me and my wife) but please ignore the second half... Dubai does have its problems but certainly no worse than any other major city.. personally we are having a great time.


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## harkybella (Jan 22, 2013)

I think if you have no other debts it's just about manageable but it would be hard. Rents can be as cheap or expensive as you like as can your lifestyle. Were a British family of 4, my hubby works away a lot and I shop at lulu hypermarket. I think it's the best shop. It's always quiet, guys to help pack and it's way cheaper. I hate the other big shops when you can hardly move! My average shop costs @600 dhs a week. I pick up some extras in spinneys but that's the average. If you do your main grocery buying in spinneys / waitrose then you can double that figure at least.
I actually feel shopping is cheaper there than the uk esp for fresh produce.
Good luck


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## Willow7 (Jan 14, 2014)

Thanks for all the info.......I got the annual wage wrong, it's 80-90k in GBP so we should be fine, especially if I get a job flying again as well 🙏


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

Willow7 said:


> ... my daughter is 3 & tr baby is only 7months & always in my bed anyway.
> 
> 😊


Good idea. That will save you money in the long run. 4 bedroom villas are expensive


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

Willow7 said:


> That's roughly what I spend back home in London! Converting it to £800 in GBP.


if you spend that on groceries in the UK, expect a hefty food bill here.
I dont think we have got near half that in the UK!


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

Willow7 said:


> Thanks for all the info.......I got the annual wage wrong, it's 80-90k in GBP so we should be fine, especially if I get a job flying again as well &#55357;&#56911;


yes. Much better off!
Be wary of the school fees / nursery fees for both though.
With a 3 bed villa and school fees, and your generous grocery bill, you'll make a hefty dent in that!


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

harkybella said:


> My average shop costs @600 dhs a week. I pick up some extras in spinneys but that's the average. If you do your main grocery buying in spinneys / waitrose then you can double that figure at least.
> I actually feel shopping is cheaper there than the uk esp for fresh produce.
> Good luck


spot on there

If you only shop at waitrose and insist on buying exactly the same items as you would buy in the UK then your grocery bill will be MUCH higher. 

Waitrose (and to a slightly lesser extent depending on branch Spinneys) really annoy me with their insistence that local produce/products are not good enough. If you want to pay AED6+ (£1) for one cucumber or (bell) pepper shop at Waitrose/Spinneys. If you want a bag full of local/Omani cucumbers/peppers for the same price shop at Lulu/Carrefour/most other supermarkets. 

Just one example of many. 

I find most groceries here are cheaper than average, let's say Tesco, prices in the UK. This is especially so with unprocessed food. Eg steaks are incredibly cheap, far cheaper than imported (and taxed as pork) sausages. Fruit and veg also much cheaper unless you insist on fresh (imported) broccoli etc which Waitrose seem to sell by the plane load


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## blazeaway (Sep 28, 2011)

Jumeirah Jim said:


> spot on there If you only shop at waitrose and insist on buying exactly the same items as you would buy in the UK then your grocery bill will be MUCH higher. Waitrose (and to a slightly lesser extent depending on branch Spinneys) really annoy me with their insistence that local produce/products are not good enough. If you want to pay AED6+ (£1) for one cucumber or (bell) pepper shop at Waitrose/Spinneys. If you want a bag full of local/Omani cucumbers/peppers for the same price shop at Lulu/Carrefour/most other supermarkets. Just one example of many. I find most groceries here are cheaper than average, let's say Tesco, prices in the UK. This is especially so with unprocessed food. Eg steaks are incredibly cheap, far cheaper than imported (and taxed as pork) sausages. Fruit and veg also much cheaper unless you insist on fresh (imported) broccoli etc which Waitrose seem to sell by the plane load


Whilst I agree that some local produce is very cheap etc overall my shop here is much more expensive than the UK and I don't by the same stuff as at home


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

blazeaway said:


> Whilst I agree that some local produce is very cheap etc overall my shop here is much more expensive than the UK and I don't by the same stuff as at home


I'm with Jumeirah Jim.
No more expensive than the UK if you don't want it to be.


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## IzzyBella (Mar 11, 2013)

Have to say, waitrose broccoli is worth its weight in gold compared to the limp local broccoli. This is mainly as one of the very little veg philyand will eat.


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