busybee wrote:Thanks bonk, i think the problem i have is i dont know the average cost of things in the UAE, silly as it may sound what kind of household bills will i be faced with or does the rent cover that, how does it all work oout in dubai. , if i know where to get the average cost of things i should be ok. I have a family member there who has a very well paid job and her advice was its not a lot but the oppurtunity will open alot of doors for me given the competition within the IT industry. i really want to weigh up both sides of things but also keep a positive mind and not be blinded. what would you say the average salary in dubai is
Average salary? Depends what you mean by average. Might be AED 15k-20k per month but that's distorted by quite a few extraordinarily high salaries. Less than AED 10k is a common salary especially in the service industry. Some numbers here ...
http://www.dubaifaqs.com/salaries-dubai.phpAs for costs in the UAE, here's a guide to some prices ...
http://www.dubaifaqs.com/cost-of-living-in-dubai.phpDepending on the nature of your work, you will be competing for jobs with many well-qualified and experienced IT personnel from Asia, for whom a 5k salary is often a significant increase on what they'd be paid for the same job in their home country.
You could go with the attitude of trying it for a year but I think especially with a child, that would only be a good idea if you know you can go easily go back to employment in the UK in a year's time (and be ready for an extra tax bill on what you earned in Dubai).
Bora Bora wrote:Sorry to be so negative. With regard to bonk and his employment, I assume he came to Dubai sometime ago and seen the good days. Times are rough right now in Dubai, and IMO I don't see it getting better for some time, if ever.
It was a while ago and yes I've seen good and bad days ... still here for the time being
. I perhaps should have clarified, the same job today I think is paying about AED 7-8k per month.
Good point about education for child. That is a significant cost. Some nurseries have annual fees not far off your total salary. And a few schools have annual fees significantly higher, even almost twice as much in a couple of cases. There are no free education options for non-Arab expats in the UAE, except maybe home-schooling but there are still costs associated with that.
Didn't see an indication of age but if young (<5), there are some nurseries that are open for childcare all day, so you might be able to avoid the cost of a maid/nanny that way. But of course, then you pay extra to the nursery.
http://www.dubaifaqs.com/nurseries-dubai.phpYou also need to know if medical insurance provided for child. Otherwise that's another significant cost.
How negotiable are they? Was that their final offer (usually most negotiations see a couple more adjustments after "last price" or "final offer"
)? How much do they want you in particular?
Suggest either no commission and a higher salary (try 90k or more), or increase commission to a significant level (try 45k or more). Then you're somewhere in the ballpark of something more doable. Still not great though.