# Hoping to Move to Dubai - costs needed



## Hoping for Dubai (Apr 1, 2009)

Hi all,
I am hoping to move to Dubai this year for work but before I set my sights on that, I need all the facts (I am way too much of a strategic planner). After reading a lot of reports on living costs (most quite out of date) I think I have worked out what my general living expenses will be but thought I would go straight to the source (all you lovely people) for confirmation on my findings 

Rent per month 5000 standard fully furnished studio
Groceries per month 900 - breakdown below
Transport per month 600
Dining Out per month 2350 - breakdown below
Mobile Phone per month	200
Nails, Hair, Waxing per month	410 (sorry, I am a female) 
TOTAL: 9460 AED per month

The Groceries will be general household items, breakfast, snacks/fruit for work and cooked dinners 5 nights a week (work days)
The Dining Out is based on coffee/muffin and takeaway lunch each day, dine out for 200AED once a week and takeout for 65AED once a week.

Any thoughts on my calculations would be very much appreciated and will help me further my quest to get to that fabulous place!


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## jatwani (Dec 14, 2008)

Hoping for Dubai said:


> Hi all,
> I am hoping to move to Dubai this year for work but before I set my sights on that, I need all the facts (I am way too much of a strategic planner). After reading a lot of reports on living costs (most quite out of date) I think I have worked out what my general living expenses will be but thought I would go straight to the source (all you lovely people) for confirmation on my findings
> 
> Rent per month 5000 standard fully furnished studio
> ...


HI, 

I have to admit this is great strategic planning, 
Rent AED 5000 per month is slightly over budgeted you can find a nice studio for a cheaper price try www(dot) dubizzle (dot) com or www (dot) gulfnews (dot) com and negotiate on the price

Groceries AED 900 a month is also a little over budgeted because the government is trying hard to control prices and keep inflation in check so you can expect a drop in food prices specifically grocery items like veggies and meat

Transport AED 600 a month is OK

Dining out is totally dependent on your eating habits, in Dubai you can find the cheapest and most delicious foods in some places and also the most lavish and pricey food in some places. You are the best judge of that.

Mobile phone expenses are controllable, you can get a prepaid line ( AL Wasl or Du pre-paid) and save up to buy telephone cards to call abroad, calling after 9pm DXB time is half rate to all international destinations, so definitely cash in on that 

Nails, hair and waxing, I am a guy so I can't comment on that. Women in this place of the woods are definitely very fashionable, so it’s your call on this one too. 

Also, think about utilities, it isn’t necessary that all rentals include the utility cost. Moving here in the summer utilities bill can run up to a significant amount because you will need your air conditioner running for a good 8-12 hrs a day. 

Cutting some costs and negotiating on your rental can definitely get you to a lower monthly expense amount. 

I moved here about 5 months back from Chicago, was lucky to find a decently priced apartment so the money that I saved there and adding some more I bought myself a car, definitely comes in handy. 

Good luck with your move to Dubai and feel free to let me know if you have any questions. 

Sundeep P. Jatwani


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## adiwsusanto (Apr 1, 2009)

Are you going to drive to work? you need count in rent/ installment cost for car. 600 for fuels/ month is enough & I commute most of the days to Jebel Ali in SUV but not for taxis or installment. Of course you can also car pool.

Dine out really depends on your lifestyle

Good luck 



Hoping for Dubai said:


> Hi all,
> I am hoping to move to Dubai this year for work but before I set my sights on that, I need all the facts (I am way too much of a strategic planner). After reading a lot of reports on living costs (most quite out of date) I think I have worked out what my general living expenses will be but thought I would go straight to the source (all you lovely people) for confirmation on my findings
> 
> Rent per month 5000 standard fully furnished studio
> ...


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Hi

You need to budget more for your "beauty allowance" I think - just to give you an idea, expect to pay around 400 dhs for acrlyic nails + pedicure in a salon around the Marina/Greens/Al Barsha area, however I am sure you can find something more reasonable in salons around Deira (too far out for me though which is why I haven't found out). As for the waxing I'd say around 200 dhs. A haircut is 150-200 dhs, but if you have colour, highlights etc, expect to pay at least 700 dhs and sometimes as much as 1,200 or 1,400 dhs (my friends have been charged this much - the most I've paid has been 700 dhs and I wanted to die!). Again, all this must be cheaper in Deira but I don´t know any beauty parlors there and I don't want to risk my hair either so I'd rather stick to the ones I know.

For the transporation you also need to allow more money. If you are planing to use taxis, you are calculating on a basis of 20 dhs per day and that might be too low unless you live super close to your place of work. If you plan to drive, to hire a small car (Yaris) costs around 1,500 dhs per month, plus petrol and salik. And if on the weekends you plan to drink alcohol then you need to add taxis on top of that. So I would allow at least 2,200 for that if you plan to drive. Otherwise it all depends on the distances you will be commuting from home to work and back. 

Finally the rent also depends on where you want to live. 5000 dhs a month will get you a unfurnished studio in Discovery Gardens for example (one of my colleagues just got one), but not on the Marina area, etc. So it all depends on where you want to live.


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