What's your "Local" like?
#16
I still dont believe it..
Joined: Oct 2013
Location: 12 degrees north
Posts: 2,775
Re: What's your "Local" like?
I felt a reply was appropriate.
Its a small booth on a wonderful beach. Its always open, there are no drink or drink driving laws, the cocktails almost melt glass, the service is impeccable, and a serious drink is about 3-5 us.
Welcome to Grenada...
PS they also sell ice cold beers and ciders from a uk owned brewery, lovely 8% porter...
Its a small booth on a wonderful beach. Its always open, there are no drink or drink driving laws, the cocktails almost melt glass, the service is impeccable, and a serious drink is about 3-5 us.
Welcome to Grenada...
PS they also sell ice cold beers and ciders from a uk owned brewery, lovely 8% porter...
#19
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Interesting comment from you, Sampy
On one hand you don't like it when people quote costs in pounds... yet at the same time you say that people should think of their UAE salary on the prevailing exchange rate - effectively re-basing it to pounds.
I can't help thinking that 45-48dh for a drink is high. Regardless of the exchange rate - in Abu Dhabi this weekend, I was paying 18dh all night for drinks.
If you want to get drunk, it's probably cheaper to drive to abu dhabi and stay in a hotel, than pay Dubai prices. Especially when you factor in Dubai taxis (80dh here and there vs. Abu Dhabi 5-10dh).
On one hand you don't like it when people quote costs in pounds... yet at the same time you say that people should think of their UAE salary on the prevailing exchange rate - effectively re-basing it to pounds.
I can't help thinking that 45-48dh for a drink is high. Regardless of the exchange rate - in Abu Dhabi this weekend, I was paying 18dh all night for drinks.
If you want to get drunk, it's probably cheaper to drive to abu dhabi and stay in a hotel, than pay Dubai prices. Especially when you factor in Dubai taxis (80dh here and there vs. Abu Dhabi 5-10dh).
#20
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Interesting comment from you, Sampy
On one hand you don't like it when people quote costs in pounds... yet at the same time you say that people should think of their UAE salary on the prevailing exchange rate - effectively re-basing it to pounds.
I can't help thinking that 45-48dh for a drink is high. Regardless of the exchange rate - in Abu Dhabi this weekend, I was paying 18dh all night for drinks.
If you want to get drunk, it's probably cheaper to drive to abu dhabi and stay in a hotel, than pay Dubai prices. Especially when you factor in Dubai taxis (80dh here and there vs. Abu Dhabi 5-10dh).
On one hand you don't like it when people quote costs in pounds... yet at the same time you say that people should think of their UAE salary on the prevailing exchange rate - effectively re-basing it to pounds.
I can't help thinking that 45-48dh for a drink is high. Regardless of the exchange rate - in Abu Dhabi this weekend, I was paying 18dh all night for drinks.
If you want to get drunk, it's probably cheaper to drive to abu dhabi and stay in a hotel, than pay Dubai prices. Especially when you factor in Dubai taxis (80dh here and there vs. Abu Dhabi 5-10dh).
I think my point with salaries is totally ignored or in fact, not understood at all. I think people should think of a UAE (or anywhere else) salary offer in pounds - this can easily be compared and workings out made. That's an important part of accepting a role, the mark up or improvement for coming away.
As long as the miserable ***** on here stay in their 14dhs a pint places, I'm happy.
#21
Re: What's your "Local" like?
I think my point with salaries is totally ignored or in fact, not understood at all. I think people should think of a UAE (or anywhere else) salary offer in pounds - this can easily be compared and workings out made. That's an important part of accepting a role, the mark up or improvement for coming away.
I'd say that its in your advantage to say pounds. If the exchange rate went to 10AED, then I suspect you'd only be looking at at the costs and saying the salary is not important as it's local.
#22
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Convert it to whatever you like.
I'm talking about having conversations with people who are making their first move overseas from the UK to the Middle East.
We regularly move people to another country on a lower salary package because of cost of living differences. They all know that what's important is what's left after cost of living. If you're not going to help or let people convert that back to pounds for whatever reason, then you're just going to leave them frustrated with a figure in Rupees.
#23
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,520
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Scamp, when I accepted my offers in the UAE, both back in 2008 and in 2015, I judged both offers based on the cost of living in the UAE, not the UK and didn't attempt to convert it into pounds.
The cost of living in the UAE (and Qatar) is different from the UK in many ways that it's apples and oranges. I knew the kind of lifestyle I wanted in the UAE and determined how much it would cost and what sacrifices I was willing to accept and went from there. I was paying X amount in mortgage in the UK and knew that a similar property would go for X+Y in rent, for example.
I also factored in the hidden costs of being an expat, of not having employer pension contributions, the high chance of redundancy and coming back to the UK unemployed with your tail between your legs and needing to tide yourself over till you find something else (so many people I knew in Dubai pretty much blew though much if not all of their savings just getting settled back in the UK or Australia. Only a minority, maybe 25% walked away from the UAE genuinely better off than if they'd never come out, those were usually ones who transferred to jobs waiting for them but that is no guarantees).
Telling people oh, the exchange rate is X and therefore the AED offer is worth Y in pounds and ain't that amazing is ignorant given that the exchange rate has swung decisively over the years, and the newbies rarely have a fully comprehensive idea of the genuine cost of living in the UAE, especially those with families and little sprogs to educate and the realities of school fees going up 5% every year when your package doesn't, stubbornly high rents and the very high cost of starting up a property with deposits and paying large rents upfront and more and more employers dumping the full burden on the employees for everything and so on.
It's like telling someone from Wales that this job offer in London is amazing because it's 30% more money, well, the cost of living is a damn sight more than 30% higher and you'll end up in worse housing and overall lower quality of life.
People need to weigh their package offers to the cost of life in the UAE and go from there. Will the salary pay for the lifestyle they want, and will they have anything left over? Who cares what that 'tax free' salary means in the UK, for you'll be living in the UAE and paying UAE prices.
The cost of living in the UAE (and Qatar) is different from the UK in many ways that it's apples and oranges. I knew the kind of lifestyle I wanted in the UAE and determined how much it would cost and what sacrifices I was willing to accept and went from there. I was paying X amount in mortgage in the UK and knew that a similar property would go for X+Y in rent, for example.
I also factored in the hidden costs of being an expat, of not having employer pension contributions, the high chance of redundancy and coming back to the UK unemployed with your tail between your legs and needing to tide yourself over till you find something else (so many people I knew in Dubai pretty much blew though much if not all of their savings just getting settled back in the UK or Australia. Only a minority, maybe 25% walked away from the UAE genuinely better off than if they'd never come out, those were usually ones who transferred to jobs waiting for them but that is no guarantees).
Telling people oh, the exchange rate is X and therefore the AED offer is worth Y in pounds and ain't that amazing is ignorant given that the exchange rate has swung decisively over the years, and the newbies rarely have a fully comprehensive idea of the genuine cost of living in the UAE, especially those with families and little sprogs to educate and the realities of school fees going up 5% every year when your package doesn't, stubbornly high rents and the very high cost of starting up a property with deposits and paying large rents upfront and more and more employers dumping the full burden on the employees for everything and so on.
It's like telling someone from Wales that this job offer in London is amazing because it's 30% more money, well, the cost of living is a damn sight more than 30% higher and you'll end up in worse housing and overall lower quality of life.
People need to weigh their package offers to the cost of life in the UAE and go from there. Will the salary pay for the lifestyle they want, and will they have anything left over? Who cares what that 'tax free' salary means in the UK, for you'll be living in the UAE and paying UAE prices.
Sigh. It just seems the common thing on here to convert the cost of a drink to pounds and then moan about it.
I think my point with salaries is totally ignored or in fact, not understood at all. I think people should think of a UAE (or anywhere else) salary offer in pounds - this can easily be compared and workings out made. That's an important part of accepting a role, the mark up or improvement for coming away.
As long as the miserable ***** on here stay in their 14dhs a pint places, I'm happy.
I think my point with salaries is totally ignored or in fact, not understood at all. I think people should think of a UAE (or anywhere else) salary offer in pounds - this can easily be compared and workings out made. That's an important part of accepting a role, the mark up or improvement for coming away.
As long as the miserable ***** on here stay in their 14dhs a pint places, I'm happy.
#24
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Scamp, when I accepted my offers in the UAE, both back in 2008 and in 2015, I judged both offers based on the cost of living in the UAE, not the UK and didn't attempt to convert it into pounds.
The cost of living in the UAE (and Qatar) is different from the UK in many ways that it's apples and oranges. I knew the kind of lifestyle I wanted in the UAE and determined how much it would cost and what sacrifices I was willing to accept and went from there. I was paying X amount in mortgage in the UK and knew that a similar property would go for X+Y in rent, for example.
I also factored in the hidden costs of being an expat, of not having employer pension contributions, the high chance of redundancy and coming back to the UK unemployed with your tail between your legs and needing to tide yourself over till you find something else (so many people I knew in Dubai pretty much blew though much if not all of their savings just getting settled back in the UK or Australia. Only a minority, maybe 25% walked away from the UAE genuinely better off than if they'd never come out, those were usually ones who transferred to jobs waiting for them but that is no guarantees).
Telling people oh, the exchange rate is X and therefore the AED offer is worth Y in pounds and ain't that amazing is ignorant given that the exchange rate has swung decisively over the years, and the newbies rarely have a fully comprehensive idea of the genuine cost of living in the UAE, especially those with families and little sprogs to educate and the realities of school fees going up 5% every year when your package doesn't, stubbornly high rents and the very high cost of starting up a property with deposits and paying large rents upfront and more and more employers dumping the full burden on the employees for everything and so on.
It's like telling someone from Wales that this job offer in London is amazing because it's 30% more money, well, the cost of living is a damn sight more than 30% higher and you'll end up in worse housing and overall lower quality of life.
People need to weigh their package offers to the cost of life in the UAE and go from there. Will the salary pay for the lifestyle they want, and will they have anything left over? Who cares what that 'tax free' salary means in the UK, for you'll be living in the UAE and paying UAE prices.
The cost of living in the UAE (and Qatar) is different from the UK in many ways that it's apples and oranges. I knew the kind of lifestyle I wanted in the UAE and determined how much it would cost and what sacrifices I was willing to accept and went from there. I was paying X amount in mortgage in the UK and knew that a similar property would go for X+Y in rent, for example.
I also factored in the hidden costs of being an expat, of not having employer pension contributions, the high chance of redundancy and coming back to the UK unemployed with your tail between your legs and needing to tide yourself over till you find something else (so many people I knew in Dubai pretty much blew though much if not all of their savings just getting settled back in the UK or Australia. Only a minority, maybe 25% walked away from the UAE genuinely better off than if they'd never come out, those were usually ones who transferred to jobs waiting for them but that is no guarantees).
Telling people oh, the exchange rate is X and therefore the AED offer is worth Y in pounds and ain't that amazing is ignorant given that the exchange rate has swung decisively over the years, and the newbies rarely have a fully comprehensive idea of the genuine cost of living in the UAE, especially those with families and little sprogs to educate and the realities of school fees going up 5% every year when your package doesn't, stubbornly high rents and the very high cost of starting up a property with deposits and paying large rents upfront and more and more employers dumping the full burden on the employees for everything and so on.
It's like telling someone from Wales that this job offer in London is amazing because it's 30% more money, well, the cost of living is a damn sight more than 30% higher and you'll end up in worse housing and overall lower quality of life.
People need to weigh their package offers to the cost of life in the UAE and go from there. Will the salary pay for the lifestyle they want, and will they have anything left over? Who cares what that 'tax free' salary means in the UK, for you'll be living in the UAE and paying UAE prices.
#25
#26
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Sigh. It just seems the common thing on here to convert the cost of a drink to pounds and then moan about it.
I think my point with salaries is totally ignored or in fact, not understood at all. I think people should think of a UAE (or anywhere else) salary offer in pounds - this can easily be compared and workings out made. That's an important part of accepting a role, the mark up or improvement for coming away.
As long as the miserable ***** on here stay in their 14dhs a pint places, I'm happy.
I think my point with salaries is totally ignored or in fact, not understood at all. I think people should think of a UAE (or anywhere else) salary offer in pounds - this can easily be compared and workings out made. That's an important part of accepting a role, the mark up or improvement for coming away.
As long as the miserable ***** on here stay in their 14dhs a pint places, I'm happy.
****ing rip off....
#27
Re: What's your "Local" like?
DXBtoDOH, You clearly don't understand what I've discussed previously about this. Perhaps you have decided not to read it again or wish to just be deliberately difficult, whatever it is I don't have the desire to explain it again, you've totally missed the point and if you're going to be the same arrogant, patronising human you always are then I'd suggest you don't bother trying again.
#28
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: What's your "Local" like?
I thought you'd like that one. I even went low. Started at 18.
Apparently so...
Apparently so...
#29
Re: What's your "Local" like?
Not true. Have done it since I arrived here when it was north of 6.2.
Convert it to whatever you like.
I'm talking about having conversations with people who are making their first move overseas from the UK to the Middle East.
We regularly move people to another country on a lower salary package because of cost of living differences. They all know that what's important is what's left after cost of living. If you're not going to help or let people convert that back to pounds for whatever reason, then you're just going to leave them frustrated with a figure in Rupees.
Convert it to whatever you like.
I'm talking about having conversations with people who are making their first move overseas from the UK to the Middle East.
We regularly move people to another country on a lower salary package because of cost of living differences. They all know that what's important is what's left after cost of living. If you're not going to help or let people convert that back to pounds for whatever reason, then you're just going to leave them frustrated with a figure in Rupees.