Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi all.

Will be in Dubai for 2 months June & July (perfect timing I know) for work and have a few questions - your assistance would be much appreciated.

Will I be able to do anything outside at all? Wouldn't mind at least getting a tan!
Should I be demanding a rental car, or are taxis reasonably easy to get?
Should I expect an apartment complex with a pool?
What sort of living allowance might I expect on a GBP 30k salary?

Slightly open-ended questions I know, but would be grateful of any input - maybe someone knows someone who did something similar?!
PS I am a UK graduate

Cheers

GK wrote:Hi all.

Will be in Dubai for 2 months June & July (perfect timing I know) for work and have a few questions - your assistance would be much appreciated.

Will I be able to do anything outside at all? Wouldn't mind at least getting a tan!
Should I be demanding a rental car, or are taxis reasonably easy to get?
Should I expect an apartment complex with a pool?
What sort of living allowance might I expect on a GBP 30k salary?

Slightly open-ended questions I know, but would be grateful of any input - maybe someone knows someone who did something similar?!
PS I am a UK graduate

Cheers

1. not much. i'd suggest you limit your outdoor activities. you could tan, but in july/ august it's pretty crappy outside. imagine trying to tan in a sauna.
2. during the hotter months, the level of driving in dubai deteriorates from crap to horendous. unless you have driven here before i would suggest you take a cab, they are much cheaper than cabs in the uk, plenty of them around and marginaly safer than driving yourself around.
3. odd question. depends if you are staying in a hotel or not. i assume due to the short duration of your stay yes, so the answer is yes, most hotels have a pool. if you know the name of the accomodation look it up on the internet, most of the hotels have web pages detailing the facilities.
4. not enough info to give you an answer, is that per month, per year, for the 2 months that you are here? if you are getting a salary don't expect a living allowance unless it has been specified by contract up front.

1) really depends what you expect to be doing. I play bball in the evenings from 6 and in the hour or so exposure to the sun I manage to tan up a bit, but then again I tan pretty easily.

Also, UK grad is one thing, but what's your actual nationality? This seems to play a role in the negotiation cards as well.

Thanks for the replies.

A few of the queries have been cleared up since my first post. As its going to be a business trip I think I'll be pretty well looked after.

Now I'm just worried about climate. I'm fairly outdoorsy and like the fresh air - from your post I guess the evenings aren't too bad?

I don't equate the air in Dubai to the word fresh....

Somehow when you are suffocating in the day and extremily humid and heavy feeling at night, it doesn't quite mean enjoyable....

This will be my first summer in dubai. All I have to say is what I've been hearing from People that dubai becomes hot as hell during the months of July and August.

Ven, just take what the weather is like now and imagine add 10 degrees and 20% more humidity. Welcome to hell on earth.