# Thinking of moving to Dubai, Help!



## tlewisou (May 1, 2012)

Hi,

I am currently trying to convince my husband to move to Dubai. For people living there, what is it like? I am looking for an ESL teaching job. What are the best schools to work? What area of the city is best to live in? My husband is a bartender, are there bartender jobs available? Also, we like to have drinks. Is alcohol expensive? Can you get alcohol to drink in your home? Are the apartments that schools set you up in nice/big enough? Can you live on a teacher's salary and send money home? I know I have a lot of questions. I would appreciate any help anyone can give! Thanks


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Almost everyone speaks English to some degree, all the signs are in both English and Arabic and almost all business is conducted in English. Most people recruited to a managerial/senior level job will be expected to be fluent in English. The international schools expect their students to already have English capabilities. So....I've never seen particularly high demand for ESL instructions. Dubai is not like an Asian city where demand for ESL is very high. But there are certainly people who are looking to improve their English skills and some schools probably have one or two ESL teaching roles to help incoming students. The question remains whether those few ESL jobs pay sufficiently enough? I'd advise you to look at positions advertised by local universities that might need ESL teachers to help their Arabic/Emirati students. 

Most bartenders in Dubai are Filipino expats who make peanuts. There are western expats in some bartending roles but I can't imagine their salaries are noticeably high enough.

As for alcohol - it's a grey area. It's widely available in the hotels (all bars and clubs are associated with a hotel). Liquor shops are scattered across Dubai. Duty Free does a roaring trade. Drinking at home is standard. Technically you need an alcohol licence to drink and to buy alcohol from the various shops and it's easy to obtain one but many people don't bother with it. The one downside is that alcohol is very expensive.



tlewisou said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am currently trying to convince my husband to move to Dubai. For people living there, what is it like? I am looking for an ESL teaching job. What are the best schools to work? What area of the city is best to live in? My husband is a bartender, are there bartender jobs available? Also, we like to have drinks. Is alcohol expensive? Can you get alcohol to drink in your home? Are the apartments that schools set you up in nice/big enough? Can you live on a teacher's salary and send money home? I know I have a lot of questions. I would appreciate any help anyone can give! Thanks


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Do you have an actual degree to teach? 

Does your husband have enough experience that he can play up his resume and be a manager for a bar?


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## tlewisou (May 1, 2012)

Jynxgirl said:


> Do you have an actual degree to teach?
> 
> Does your husband have enough experience that he can play up his resume and be a manager for a bar?


 Yes, I have a 5 year professional license, K-12 TESOL, from Ohio, USA. I have one year teaching exp. in Japan, and two years in the US. I currently teach ESL in the US. My husband has been a bartender for 6 years and is the bar manager at his current job. My contract ends June 1st, so we thought this might be an opening to go abroad for a year or two. If anyone know of any openings, I would appreciate info.

Thanks!


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

tlewisou said:


> Yes, I have a 5 year professional license, K-12 TESOL, from Ohio, USA. I have one year teaching exp. in Japan, and two years in the US. I currently teach ESL in the US. My husband has been a bartender for 6 years and is the bar manager at his current job. My contract ends June 1st, so we thought this might be an opening to go abroad for a year or two. If anyone know of any openings, I would appreciate info.
> 
> Thanks!


Most people I have met here who are teaching ESL have been working in universities and have master degress in english, communication, etc. Anyhow, would suggest trying the universities. See what you can find for jobs there. There is also a few very active teaching sites for the middle east. A quick google will come up with some. 

There is a hotelier recruiting website that has been given before on ef. Maybe a quick search within ef it will come up or someone in the hotel industry can post that for you. Also, directly applying at the hotel websites might work as well as all bars are in hotels in the uae.


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## tlewisou (May 1, 2012)

Jynxgirl said:


> Most people I have met here who are teaching ESL have been working in universities and have master degress in english, communication, etc. Anyhow, would suggest trying the universities. See what you can find for jobs there. There is also a few very active teaching sites for the middle east. A quick google will come up with some.
> 
> There is a hotelier recruiting website that has been given before on ef. Maybe a quick search within ef it will come up or someone in the hotel industry can post that for you. Also, directly applying at the hotel websites might work as well as all bars are in hotels in the uae.


Thanks! I hadn't thought of trying Universities, but I do have an MA in TESOL and BS in Communications. I could give it a try. Thanks.


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