Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi can you guys help me. I am a brit who is about to be offered a job in Dubai. I have been told I can expect a salary of £70,000 tax free + School fees + Medical + return fares. I am waiting for the formal offer

I know that there have been a lot of posts asking the same question but pls can you guys help.

In the UK I earn £50K and have a 4 bedroom detached house and all the creature comforts that me and my family need. However the bright lights of dubai are attracting me.

I have a wife and 3 boys aged 9 yrs, 5 yrs and 2 months.

My requirements or rather hopes of working in dubai are:-

1) to save around £3,400 per month (inc mortgage on house in UK) so that I can return home in 10 years and pay off the mortgage and that is about it however I cannot sacrifice the kids education so what are the good schools in Deira side of Dubai (near the airport) that follow the UK curriculum and how much will they cost and can I expect my employer to cover all the fees.

2) to have a safe and comfortable life. I know I cannot expect the luxuries I have here as far as the house is concerned. A 3 bedroom villa or apartment will do near the airport as I will be working in Dubai Festival City. What sort of rent can I expect to pay. I am not too bothered about the locality/ proximity to my british bretheren but do require a reasonable neighborhood where my kids won't mix with any riff raf.

I am not too bothored about the car a Toyota Camry will do - How much will that cost me on finance with £4k deposit over 4 years.

People here in the UK are trying to put me off going to dubai with stories of salaries not being paid etc Are the expats covered by law as far as payment of saleries is concerned

Also people here have stated that a normal working day is 06:00 till 18:00 6 days a week (from a friend of a friend's uncle's cat's brothers aunty). Is this true

what is this gratuity that I have heard about and do I have to contribute

If I decide to buy a property later on can I get a mortgage and over what period and how much deposit do I need.

We don't drink or party (boring I know) and love cooking indian food (can live on the stuff!!! and probably will ) how much should we budget for groceries and utilities etc.

Also does the "relocation package" include paying for shipping of furniture etc as we have some good and expensive stuff that we don't want to sell

Please can anyone help as I am worried about making the plunge and getting stuck between a rock and a hard place etc etc etc.

Please can you all be truthful about dubai warts and all especially the warts.

Doesn't that convert to AED 420 000??? Plus all the bells and whistles-have to say OMG!! That is a HUMUNGOUS package!!

Schooling Brit. Curriculum school around AED7000 per term x three terms. For year 7 double that. Add in uniform and bus if you requie bus, probably around AED300 per month per child but depending on distance etc.


Electricity/water or DEWA bills are probably around the AED1500 average, for a villa. Increases in Summer and decreases in Winter.

Rental around AED 120 000 to 150 000 for a villa per annum-based on three bedroom. Four bedroom add another AED30 000 to 50 000.

Cable-full selection of TV stations around the 250 to 300 AED per month.

Cars, inexpensive, check www.gulfnews.com classifieds and also look up accommodation in here. Petrol is inexpensive.

All packages should include medical-dental is often not included.


Living standard is high-you can get anything. Great place for kids and safe in MHO. I have three kids. Standard of education is good-excellent and medical/dental is also good- excellent.

Other costs

Groceries

If you are interested in the COL here in Dubai here are a few indicators from my shopping list:
1 litre milk DH5
1 loaf white bread DH3 to DH7
2 litre juice DH10
24 cheese slice DH10.50
1 litre of cream DH 12
Australian Lamb chops DH 28 per kg
Australia beef mince DH 18 per kg
Chicken breast fillets DH26 to DH30 per kg
Australian Rib eye steak DH 32 per kg
2 litre tub Baskin Robbins icecream DH30
1.2 kg fresh whole chicken around DH15
30 fresh eggs DH12
watermelon Dh2.90 per kg
bananas Dh3 per kg
carrots Dh3 per kg
apples around Dh4
ya/ nashi pears Dh2 to DH3 per kg
Potatoes DH1.75 kg
Eggplant DH2.25 kg
Pasta Sauce Dh10 per 750g jar
Dried pasta DH 2.15 (500g bag)
Tomatoes DH2.25 kg
Pawpaw/papaya DH5.95kg
Strawberries DH 5.50 250g punnet
Bananas DH 2.95
Arabic bread large Dh 2 small Dh 1
Croissants box of 6 Dh8
Cheese DH8 per 250g block
Sausages DH28 per kg
5kg short grain white rice DH11

Fish seems to be cheap and around the DH30 per kg up but Hammour is especially nice and considered to be a "local" fish. Overall fruit and veg varies in price according to the season and also according to it's origin.

Eating out
Local bakeries and small restaurants without alcohol are cheap as are fast food places like KFC, Hardees, McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut which all deliver. If you eat at Hotels some have buffets plus all you can drink ( INCLUDING alcohol) for LESS than DH150 per person and these are really nice places.

MacDonald's cost of living index
Value meal (drink, chips, burger) DH14
Kid's meal DH10

Publications
Get hold of a Dubai Explorer, The Connector free book and What's On and Time Out magazines.

Cards that give me something

Wafi City advantage card
Air miles card
McGrudy's card
Privelege Card (centrepoint etc)

Coupons

Book stores have an Entertainer books full of coupons for restaurants, eateries and activities ie Ski Dubai, Arabian nights tours in Dubai-they have a 3 book offer out at the moment-I think the last one is for spas and stuff-loads of two for one offers.

Activities

karting
fishing
flying
football
horse riding
kite surfing
dune bashing
sailing
golf
diving(www.7seasdivers.com ,www.alboomdiving.com ,www.diversdown.tk , www.emiratesdiving.com , www.jumeirahinternational.com etc)
shooting
(Jebel Ali Shooting Club 8836555, www.jebelali-international.com and Ras Al Khaimah Shooting Club, 07 2363622, and Hatta Fort Hotel 8523211, www.jebelali-international.com)


Cars
Hire of small car around DH1300 to DH1800 per month
Petrol around DH6.50 per gallon

Electricity
Your DEWA bill will shock you. Families expect bills over DH1300 per month.
Electricity is 220-240V, plugs are three prong square.

REMEMBER WHEN THIS POST WAS DONE JAN 2006.

Also things to do:

Do the shopping bit-the malls are a treat for the eyes esp. little kids- Mall of the Emirates has magic planet and ski Dubai, Ibn Battuta is a visual beauty, leave the kids in Wafi City playing games, roller blading etc while you shop and then go to Wafi Gourmet for the best ice cream and something to eat,visit an Oud shop and check it out. The race course (horses) is just amazing to see (two tracks and a golf course ), dune bashing, go to the pictures, go for a dinner cruise on a dhow, take an abra along the creek, go to Wild Wadi, walk around the souks -the gold souq is dazzling, have threading on your eyebrows (ouch!! ), do the spa bit, have a manicure and pedicure get henna done on your hands, walk around the Madinat Jumeirah and eat alfresco, try shisha, walk around Satwa, go to Karama for bargains, go to Dragonmart for more bargains, go ice skating (Al Nasir leisureland or I heard the Hyatt is good plus you can do a decadent chocolate buffet after!!), hot airballooning, take the Big Bus tour or the Wonder Bus- duck that does the land and creek tour leaving from the Burjuman, creekside park has a cable car, do a Mosque tour, go to the Dubai Zoo-walking distance from the Mercato shopping mall-some people criticise this place but the animals are well cared for and the gorilla and its mate are awesome, visit heritage sites like the Bastakiya, Heritage and Diving Village etc(www.dubaitourism.ae), stuff your own bear at the bear factory and dress him/her in traditional dress and take a camel ride on the beach.
At the beach you can swim, kite surf, snorkel, build a sand castle have a bbq/picnic, go on a quad bike, jet ski, go to Jumeirah Beach which gives the Burj as a backdrop.
You can learn Arabic, get lost in your car driving, go to a different Emirate (sometimes unintentionally), go to a Wadi, go karting, sky dive, hot air ballooning, play snooker, go sand boarding, sailing (Dubai Offshore Sailing Club www.dosc.org tel: 04-3941669,Fun Sports www.funsport-dubai.com tel 04-3995976, Jebel Ali Sailing Club www.jebelalisailingclub.com 04-3995444), shooting(Jebel Ali Shooting Club 8836555, www.jebelali-international.com and Ras Al Khaimah Shooting Club, 07 2363622, and Hatta Fort Hotel 8523211, www.jebelali-international.com), roller blade at the park, go for a picnic/bbq at the park, try a shawarma, go to Al Reef and have the best cheese bread eva,go paintballing, take a helicopter or plane tour, join a motor cross/motorcycle club, go diving (Al Boom Diving - Aqua Centre P.O. Box 30439 Dubai, tel: (971) 4 3422993 Fax: (971) 4 3422995 email: abdiving@emirates.net.ae), play golf, go fishing, take a dhow charter, visit a museum, go to Children's city, go clubbing and pubbing, go to an art gallery, watch cable and read Dubai Forums.
Try http://www.turnertraveldubai.com/Dubai- ... st-att.asp.
Buy Time Out and What's on in Dubai magazines and a Dubai Explorer.

Absolutely top-notch post GABs. Thank you. I'm going to add this to my favourites for future reference!!

cheers,

Zoots

Bloody hell Gabs - brill post - pm this to Liban and ask him to make it a sticky.

Dreamin

I have sent you a pm with details of who to contact.

cheers

Cut and paste job lads!! Haven't got time to type that much these days as I have a pot scouring business to take care of!!

GAB wrote:Cut and paste job lads!! Haven't got time to type that much these days as I have a pot scouring business to take care of!!

Priorities

Bro you're raking in 450K, what are you worried about?

And I doubt you will drive a camry here. All the taxi's here are camrys...lol

Just get a Prado VX, since you got family and kids and its a safer car to drive, especially in Dubai. You can get it financed for approx 140K with 5% down. Monthly you're looking at around 2800aed. Make sure you bring your no claims forms from your auto insurance in UK. That'll help you knock off 40% from your insurance premium.

Rgds

Gab,

A truly great reply. I've cut and pasted it into a email for friends and family. Since I am now a whole two days on the ground in Dubai, I will print a copy for myself.

Your reply should definitely be a sticky. Thanks

Thanks Gabs, venice and Arnie for your replies.

Gabs your reply was brilliant and gave us a lot of info. My prospective employers have stated that we visit Dubai for a few days to get the flavour of the place. Please can someone answer the one about mortgages
ie are they available and what %'ge of deposit do I need and how long can the mortgage run. Also is the gratuity somthing that I have to pay into or does my employer pay into it.

Many Thanks

OK

In the majority of cases the mortgage rate is around the 8-9% mark.

However YOU will only be able to borrow 70% of the "original purchase price".

It doesnt work like in the UK, where we can borrow on the "current value".

My advice would be to borrow here at around 4.5% secured against your own property.

The terms are simialr to UK 20-25 years.

There are a few lenders that will give upto 90%, but this is usually in conjunction with a developer.

arniegang wrote:It doesnt work like in the UK, where we can borrow on the "current value".

Some mortgages are available on "current value".

RAKBank does 70% or 80% of current valuation (costs 3000 dhs from cluttons or colliers).

Tamweel does 90% (I think) on some villas - EMAAR ones?

I just saw AMLAK offering refinance at 80% or 90% of current valuation on property owned - personal ATM anyone?

GABS, I will do a cut and paste of your post and make it a sticky

You are a darling!

Hello and welcome to the forums.

Firstly, you have come to the right place to get advice – the guys here are friendly and I got a lot of information to prepare me for the move out here a mere 3 months ago.

Another website that is useful is www.expatmum.com – especially for school information, and their forum is a wealth of practical information as well.

I’m a British Asian, but with roots in Mauritius and not Pakistan/India (unless you count the fact my great, great grandfather was from India), have 3 daughters (9, 2 and 2 weeks) and therefore am in a similar position to you.

In terms of salary – going from £50k gross to £70k tax free is a sizeable increase – but I note that you ‘expect’ to get this. If you do, then this is a great starting point. Accomodation is going to be the biggest expense, and expats tend to get allowances for this. For this, I would read the classifieds on gulfnews.com to get a feel for the prices for villas/apartments – but really reserve judgment until you come here for a visit and go round with an estate agent and see the costs and locations. (On paper it would appear Mirdiff will be a good option for you, location and price wise..)

Schools – there are great schools here and there is a good choice of them. Expatmums will be able to advise more fully – at the end of the day you will be able to find good schools for the kids, but do some research ahead of time and visit schools and locations for houses when you come out for the visit.

You don’t list accommodation as a perk, so if you have to pay for accommodation out of your salary, then things are less rosy – but still very good by Dubai standards generally.

You need to judge the offer both relative to what you are on at the moment and also relative to what others in your profession earn here – and look at the whole package. There is definitely racism here and it is institutionalised. Even multi-national companies will have people who have the assimilated the business culture of Dubai (and to be fair is the reality here) that ‘Sub-cons’ need not be paid as much as ‘Europeans’.

Do not expect people to play fair – haggling and low-balling are to be expected, whether it is in the market or salary negotiation. At least in my experience.

Grocery wise, you won’t have to worry – everything asian is well catered for and dirt cheap.

Car wise – again have a look at the classifieds, but with a £4k deposit you can afford to have a 4 wheel drive and pay about £100 a month if financing over 4 years. A new Lancruiser Prado cost me 140,000, about £21,000, and it was top of the range. I chose to pay it off over only 2 years and am paying roughly £1000 a month (I don’t like paying interest) – and this was with no deposit. The norm is 4 years financing – interest is charged up front on the whole amount borrowed at around 4% pa and the repayments divided by the period of payment – so it is relatively straightforward to calculate the payments.

To save the amount you want, you will need to ‘survive’ on the about 16,000Dhs a month you will have left. This may be do-able, but the biggest question mark will be accommodation costs.

Work hours – depends on the industry you’re in. I pretty much work 8 to 5 – choosing to come in earlier than the 8.30 start and no pressure to stay later. But my lawyer friends do work very long hours.

Relocation package should include shipping stuff over – but have a look at the cost of furniture and its quality here, you may find that you (or your wife) may want to buy some furniture here… it may be worth considering keeping your UK house furnished.

Do not bring any white goods – there is no point, here they are very cheap and designed for the climate here.

We shipped all our furniture and with hindsight should have sold off some of the stuff and bought out here (only the older pieces of furniture).

That said, I was given a furniture allowance and shipping costs – I’ve only used half the furniture allowance on furniture, and used some of it to top up the housing allowance.

Anyway – good luck and let us know how the negotiations go.

Cheers,
Shafique

Thanks Shaf

I did suggest he PM you, cos i knew you were both fairly close on numerous things.

Cheers buddy

Thanks to all for replying. Gabs, Arnie and Shaf were very helpfull. It puts me in a much stronger position to negotiate. If I do get the package etc and more importantly the courage to make the move you guys are all invited to my house for dinner once we get settled because you guys have given me somthing that money cannot buy and that is good honest advice.God bless you all.

Your most welcome dreamin

And its appreciated to be appreciated

Good luck