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Dear All

I posted back in August a cry for help on wether it's worth to take an offer of 18K for a Dubai job. I finally refused and kept looking.

Ironically the company that offered me the previous job (It's a Dubai Authority) has come to their sense and made a much better offer. At the same time I got a straight forward offer from an international consultant in Abu Dhabi, same salary, except tickets for me an the family once a year to London and back.

Now I am torn between the two, but bearing in mind, having three kids, in a new country I would want to spend more time with them, I undersatnd that government bodies tend to have more relaxed working hours, whereas consultants earn on their time spent at work and hence I will probably be expected to do more hours.

So it's yearly air-tickets against more relaxed work. Besides I hear that accommodation in Abu Dhabi is more expensive than in Dubai.

Any thoughts please?

Thanks

Zino

Government bodies take days off at the drop of a hat. There's a reason why people call Abu Dhabi - Scabby Dhabi!!! It's still far more traditional and conservative than Dubai which has much more going for it.

Zino wrote:Dear All

I posted back in August a cry for help on wether it's worth to take an offer of 18K for a Dubai job. I finally refused and kept looking.

Ironically the company that offered me the previous job (It's a Dubai Authority) has come to their sense and made a much better offer. At the same time I got a straight forward offer from an international consultant in Abu Dhabi, same salary, except tickets for me an the family once a year to London and back.

Now I am torn between the two, but bearing in mind, having three kids, in a new country I would want to spend more time with them, I undersatnd that government bodies tend to have more relaxed working hours, whereas consultants earn on their time spent at work and hence I will probably be expected to do more hours.

So it's yearly air-tickets against more relaxed work. Besides I hear that accommodation in Abu Dhabi is more expensive than in Dubai.

Any thoughts please?

Thanks

Zino

Accomodation in Abu Dhabi is unlikely to be more expensive than in Dubai, this I can guarantee..provided, we are talking about the more populated areas in both emirates..I dunno about comparing the outposts though!

In your case, I think you should forego the yearly tickets and go for the govt. job offer...tickets to London can get really really cheap depending on the season, airline and special offers...Alitalia a few weeks back was offering Dubai-London return tickets for as low as AED 2250 including taxes..

LookingLondonTalkingTokyo wrote:Accomodation in Abu Dhabi is unlikely to be more expensive than in Dubai, this I can guarantee.

ummm don't kid yourself AD is expensive, i live walking distance to my office in "downtown" Dubai and I have a friend who lives walking distance to his office in "downtown" Abu Dhabi, our apartments are comparable and he pays close to 30k more than i do, go shop around and if you think the UAE is expensive try to find a decent place in a newer building in central Doha.

But AD doesn't nearly have the traffic congestion problems that Dubai has and if you don't mind a short drive you get a lot more value for your money, in this situation the 'burbs' of the 2 emirates Abu Dhabi is cheaper.

Also you have a family, there are 2 schools of thought here Dubai is more "western" it has way more to do and likely it'll be easier for your family to assimilate here then AD, but there are perils as well, along with the western pluses are the western minuses Drugs, prostitution, etc. are all higher in this emirate than that.

Ask yourself this, what do you like to do in your spare time with the family? How important is family time for you? Governments get more holidays and a 7:30 to 2:30 work day ain't all that bad plus keep in mind you can make it from one city to the other in under 75mins.

I personally chose Dubai over AD and forfeited more money for a more social atmosphere. Generally speaking I think salaries in AD are higher than in Dubai because fewer people choose to live there.

Good luck in your decision.

Fayz you are awesome!

I have finally made my choice and decided to go with the Dubai job. It was very difficult as boths offers are similar with good career prospects.

I have signed the contract with my Dubai employers who are processing the visa for me. It has been three weeks now and I am getting worried.

Does anyone now how long it take for them to process the visa (Bearing in mind they are a Government Authority)?

The reason being is that I want to be sure I ma actually going before I can give notice to my current employer, besides, I need to plan my move as well. It is quite stressful sitting and waiting.

Any ideas? Many thanks in advance.