# Moving to Dubai (good idea or not)



## SA Dance Group (May 8, 2011)

Hi fellow expats or expats to be.

So we are from South Africa and we all work in the dance industry.
We have recently all taken part in an audition for a dance company in Dubai and got the job.
We have burning questions to ask of all of you and require advice asap!

1. What does it mean to work in a freezone and not have labour laws apply.

2. What are the rules regarding a commonlaw couple ( bf and gf or engaged couple)

3. What is the buying power of the dirham in Dubai, how easy is accommodation to afford? ( we wish to share maybe a villa or 4-6 bedroom place to rent near the Dubai knowledge village)

4. How suspect are job offers from dubai to foreigners? (should we be worried?)

5. What is a good housing allowance per person per month?

6. What is there to worry about for us in Dubai?

Thank you all for the advice, more Q's to come.


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## tigertmoore (Jun 2, 2008)

SA Dance Group said:


> Hi fellow expats or expats to be.
> 
> So we are from South Africa and we all work in the dance industry.
> We have recently all taken part in an audition for a dance company in Dubai and got the job.
> ...


Wow and so many questions!!! I'll throw in a few responses and then the old-timers here will have their go at these... and do mind that on this forum there are months and months of these same type of questions so do go backwards and you'll likely find every answer you need...

Hope this helped some. 

TT


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

SA Dance Group said:


> Hi fellow expats or expats to be.
> 
> So we are from South Africa and we all work in the dance industry.
> We have recently all taken part in an audition for a dance company in Dubai and got the job.
> ...


Good luck with your final decision


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Just to give you perspective - with all due respect Tiger T has been here for a few weeks. Pamela has been here for something like 10 years or more (if I am not wrong).


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## tigertmoore (Jun 2, 2008)

I always defer to those who are expert as I live my life as a very senior technical expert in my field. I said (politely put) what I said based on my own first hand experience. If that is not the experience of older hands here then wonderful! Just statements of truth there and then other statements of my opinion. 

Wouldn't want any here to think the two are co-mingled because they are not. I have my opinions and then I also have my experiences of what has occurred in this past 4 weeks and then what I have experienced in the past many years of travel and my reality of Dubai is not anyone elses. 

Again; politely and with courtesy. 

TT

Discontinuing now from this thread with my thanks for the read.


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## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

rsinner said:


> Just to give you perspective - with all due respect Tiger T has been here for a few weeks. Pamela has been here for something like 10 years or more (if I am not wrong).


it doesn't really matter how long one has been here. there are people who have been living here for 15 years and are content or have nowhere else to go; comparatively, there are people who spend here 6 months are are extremely happy or can't wait to break the contract and leave. there are no two similar paths people take here due to the different circumstances under which they are hired because, after all, you count here as long as you work. 

what matters when giving advice here is whether any poster has gone through the situation described and can contribute some valuable advice.

just to give you another perspective...


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Sure - length of time has nothing to do with advice regarding document attestations or where to find the right housing. But one needs to be here for more than a few weeks to understand whether it is a safe city, what is the law and how it is practised in general (e.g. cohabitation and alcohol license) etc and these kind of issues. Surely you don't need to be in dubai for years to understand that, but also you need to be here for more than a few weeks to pass on something more than hearsay.


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