Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hello there, new visitor, have been looking through the forums and it has left me a bit unsure as to the standard of my offer.

Basically I am a single man, 25yo and this is the offer....

Base Salary 10,200
Furniture allowance 600
Transport Allowance 500
Housing Allowance 3,500
Utilities Allowance 200
Total Monthly 15,000

Would this be enough to support myself and to have a decent 1 bed flat in the city?

Feedback would be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Yes its enough for sure...

yeah, i agree enough to get by on.

just check the furniture allowance, try and get a lump sum for the year paid up front (600 x 12) or at least half.... that way you can at least go and buy some stuff without having to take a loan or use your own cash to pay for things.

depending on where you work, look at buying a car, the 500 bucks won't get you very far with cab fare (unless you live pretty close to where you work). you will need to work here for at least 3 months to be eligable to get a proper bank account and loan facility. at the end of your contract flog the car. a small, decent car should set you back about 1,100 to 1,500 pm (excluding insurance, maintenance and petrol).

same applies to housing allowance, you will need to get 3 months up front (or 4 post dated cheques), so that you can take a lease on a place, alternativly get the company to take the lease in their name.


The package is okay, just the practicalities.....

The basic is great! Means your leaving gratuity will be good.

Where abouts is your job going to be based?

As a package it's good, but as the guys have stated you need to get the company to agree to give you some of the allowances as a lump sum to get you started. For furniture and stuff it's well worth looking around the notice boards in the supermarkets, as Dubai is so transient, people leave all the time and you can get practically new stuff as dirt cheap prices, also for electrical goods you can go to somewhere like carrefor and ask them to give you a bundle price on several items.

I have a similar offer.

AED 12,000 base
AED 5,100 housing
Other allowances, making the total package about AED 18 - 20K per month.

I work in the US now, and I make an annual salary of more than $70,000 USD per year. I imagine that Dubai is much more expensive than the US, so I'm wondering how flexible employers can be. ANy thoughts?

I've never been to the US, but the American guy I work with tells me the cost of living is higher there than here in Dubai. Housing is a fairly major expense, and water and electicity are not cheap, but apart from that I would say it is not expensive at all....

I think it probably depends on the lifestyle. I have found in my visits to Dubai that certain low cost alternatives that are available in the US are not there. In other words, there is less variety, and thus the expenses tend to be greater.

I just want to be in a similar or better financial position than I am currently, and the base salary would not allow me to invest or save much money at all.

Is your US salary net or gross, as also remember it's tax free here.

Apart from housing you can live dirt cheaply here, you don't have to go to all the expensive places, there are definately cheap alternatives, you just have to look around.

That salary is gross. I would estimate Fed Income taxes to be about 15% after deductions, etc. I believe I would still have to pay US Social Security/FICA on any salary earned in Dubai, so I can't factor that in. At the end of the day, I'm taking home less (even though expenses are paid), than I would be taking home here. I'd love to live in Dubai, but I need it to be financially worthwhile.

I think you live in Dubai for the lifestyle to be honest, many people come here to try and save, but the way things are going with rising rents and no incremental salary increase to compensate for it, many people are finding it harder to do and many are also leaving as it's not financially viable anymore.

Honestly, if your intention is to save and you're earning more in your current job then is it really worth it?

The only reason I would see it being an option is whether it would further your CV and potential better job opportunities, otherwise I'd stay put.

Thanks for your input. I think you are right. I have a strong desire to work outside the US for the experience of it. However, I also want to have a financial position similar to the one i have here.