Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi,
I am Diana from Romania, Europe.
I was with my husband in Dubai last year in the honeymoon and this year we want to come as tourists (visit visa) and to fing jobs and a place to stay in Dubai and to move in.
I love all in Dubai, the food, the sun, the people, the malls, the hotels, shops.
I want to live in but I am wondering if I have a chance to find a job as a shop assistant or anything ..... in my country we are both legal consultants, with degrees in law.
Please can you help us to put in order our things to do first in order to have better chances to survive in Dubai for a long period - also with visa problems.
Thanks and I am very very anxious to have some answers. Diana

Why the hell would you go from legal consultant to some crappy job???

Liban wrote:Why the hell would you go from legal consultant to some crappy job???

Only a guess, but they might get paid more and have a better standard of living in some crappy job in Dubai than as legal eagles in Romania. We should ask Alexandra......

dear friends,
whay I eant to ...?
because....
in my country I earn as a legal consultant USD 650 and my husband USD 500 and the prices are bigger here than in Dubai (I was in Dubai in vacantion, remember.....) so for us it will be a better life in Dubai. Here we own a 2 bedroom apt and 2 DAEWOO cars and we have money for holidays, but we do not like the poverty and the people. If most people here earn USD 170, imagine how they are - ............in misery!
So, it is a chance for us to find jobs like shop assistants there and to survive ?

I think you will finf the reality is different from the fantasy

Libans point stands.

Seems a waste of two law degrees though!!
You could at least see if its possible for you to have a career in law in Dubai, even if its only as a legal secretary or something??

I think you will find more opportunities, and mind you well paid opportunities compared to Romania.

There are a lot of eastern europeans established very well in Dubai. I have some friends from Poland who came here because of similar circumstances and are doing really well, financially wise.

that's true! thanks guys...
I guess I will try and go in Dubai burt my bigggg problem is where to stay. Fierst I will stay at a hotel, and than????? I have money but I know that they are ranting only for one year long. it is true?????????????

Although this is probably not what you want to hear, as a long long time resident of this place, I would recommend you not make the move, given:



1. The most progressive firm would pay a shop assistant no more than AED4,500 and that's being positive.

2. The rent for an unfurnished 2-br apartment reasonably central is currently AED7,500. Considering you both are going to work, that leaves AED1,500 to live off!!! Accordingly people in those income brackets are compromising to the extent that they are even splitting individual rooms by partioning them off - this I guess is not what you want.

3. The standard of living in Dubai to a tourist may seem good - but in reality it costs higher than it seems from the outside. We do not have taxes but plenty of fees. Medical is quite pricey and a shop assistant would probably not have his/her meds covered.

4. If you plan to have kids then that complicates it further - the medical, the expenses, tution fees, visa fees, maintenance costs.

5. Of the things you Love in Dubai - only 'the sun' is free! the rest cost.




I would recommend you to re analyse your experience and see if you have any transferable skills that would land you a better job. Keep in mind that if your English skills are limited you are more likely to struggle. Get your CVs ready - come on visit visa, apply around and stay if you feel its suitable and your goal of a better life is being met.

P.S - The one year rent contract is a non-issue - it is renewable.

Given your intentions are to maintain if not better your standard of living and based on the information provided about your current earnings and outgoings I would recommend you park your dreams and stay where you are.

As you have indicated, you are earning along the medium income stream and are able to afford a 2 bedroom house, 2 cars, and still save and have holidays. To put it bluntly, you have a better chance of being bitten by dracula than you would maintaining that same standard of living here.

XRW-147 wrote:To put it bluntly, you have a better chance of being bitten by dracula than you would maintaining that same standard of living here.

Nice touch.... Seeing as she is from Romania

Its not worth your time coming to live here. You will simply not make ends meet.

Thanks for your thoughts.
It is sad for me to find that I should stay at home.
Here social life is a misery.
I don't know what to do...
I will thought maybe to Canada, Vancouver. The weather is like in Romania.

Vancouver has its own problems.

- The city is Canada's most violent.
- The prices are exorbitant.
- Salaries are not at all like say Toronto or Calgary.
- People are quite rude in general.
- Your Romanian degree will not be recognized in the legal profession in Canada.
- Living on a shop assistant salary (minimum wage) is not what I would call a life.

I don't understand this desperation to move at any cost!!!

diana

some very wise and true words and advice has been given by XRW, Liban and AFG - take heed please.

hi dianiana
come to dublin, you will find a job here very quickly, maybee not in your branch but they pay very good. i can help you

regards
kemal

Diana,

Here is a thought: Maybe only one of you should come first. It will be less expensive as that person can share an apt with someone else and a single person may be able to save more while the othe stays behind. If it does not work out then at least one person will still be employed in Romania. I would think that it may be best for your husband to come first becuase: he makes less money in romania and it is easier for a guy to get buy in Dubai alone than a woman!

X is 1000% right you will not be able to have the same standard of living in dubai on the same level of salary as Romania. But then again it is not where you start but where you end up that matters...

All the best.

I had some coworkers from Romania here in Canada, and some of them are talking about going back to Romania, since they say here it is hard to save money and find a job, and things look better in Romania..., I cant talk about Dubai because I havent reached there yet.....
As they say "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"...