charlie03

Hi All,

I'm new to this site.

My husband and I with our 7 month old son are contemplating a move to either Australia or Dubai.

We are both in the Financial Services industry and wanted to know if there are many opportunities in this field and where would be the best place to live?

I'm very confused at the moment and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Charlie

renth

Australia. Your son will have a bright future here, the same can't be said for Dubai. Plus your wife won't be a second class citizen in Aus.

Amazulu

I agree with Renth. You will have a real future in Australia as it is a real Western democracy with a proper economy and society. Dubai, on the other hand is a muslim dictatorship (with all the shit that muslims want) in the desert where they are building some tall buildings.

No contest.

AlAils

Good morning Charlie03

Don't know if this will help but here goes.......

I live in Dubai and am going to be moving to Brisbane in the not too distant future with my husband - Dubai or Australia to have a good life and bring up your 7 month old........Can't speak of Oz yet, but can tell you a bit about Dubai...

Yes, I agree it is a muslin country, a more liberal one than say Saudi, however, it is still a muslim state and there are laws that have to be abided by - I agree that women are 2nd class citizens, you have to have a letter of no objection from your husband to allow you to work here, you have to earn over a certain amount of money to open your own bank account, but failing that you have to have a letter from your husband stating that you are allowed to be joined to his account!!! There are lots of other anomalies but suffice to say 2nd class is what us ladies are.

Bring up your wee one - it is hot here, uncomfortably so in the height of the summer and the humidity is around 80% and summer temperatures are around the late 40degrees C - uncomfortable to go out and about too much.

School fees here and getting a suitable maid/nanny and then nursery school place is also a minefield - if you are to get a maid/nanny - she would be a live-in maid with her own room in your home, she would be with you 24/7 (obviously not on her day or days off) you would have to pay for your maid's flight home once a year and any other expenses which is fair enough, but also a consideration when coming here, school fees are expensive and there are entrance exams for most schools of reputation - I know your wee one is only 7 months but it is a consideration for later. Your or your husband's company may contribute towards school fees.

The things all the travel programmes don't tell you about Dubai is the horrendous traffic jams, constant building sites everywhere, smog and unbelievably awful drivers - creative driving is what I call it - they don't drive on the right or the left, they drive in the shade!!!! and there isn't too much of that here - so they drive where they want to - have even seen drivers REVERSING down a 6 lane highway cos they missed their turn-off - crossing chevron lines at a junction and then changing their minds and cutting up in front of you - and if you have an accident - you have to 1,100% justify yourself even if you are in the right and if you are a woman......YOU are expected to admit it was your mistake when it wasn't..........

Reckon I've had enough of Dubai.......??? Don't get me wrong it is very exciting being here if you are young go-getters and these things don't worry you - there is so much happening and there is a buzz about the place - but you should put your questions onto another site called...Expatwoman.com - they are a middle east notice board like this lovely one - and you could get the feel from ladies over here instead of just listening to me. My 22 year old daughter came to Dubai last July and loves it!

The last thing - rents in Dubai are quite extortionate - and if your company is only prepared to pay a certain amount towards your annual rent, then you would be liable to pay the difference and rents go up on a yearly basis...

Having said all that..........the nice thing about advice is that you can take it or leave it - am South African by birth, but lived in Scotland for years, now Dubai - and I can't wait to get to a western society again with all those pitfalls but at least we all speak the same language and we have the same sense of 'fairness'.

Good luck with your decision - but if I was given the choice - Oz would win hands down.
Regards
AlAils

cool_archie

I am living in the UAE for the past 10 years, and will be moving to AUS shortly.

nickUK

Hi Charlie,

I can't really comment on Dubai, but for Fin Serv in Oz the best city is Sydney. If you want to get an idea of the types and amount of jobs check out www.seek.com.au or www.mycareer.com.au

Cheers

Nick

moneypenny20

You may also want to ask the same question on the Middle East Forum Be warned though the Sand Pit can be a strange place sometimes. I think it's the heat

charlie03

Thank you all so much for your comments.

I think we'll do a bit more research before we make our decision.

Charlie

ray2gill

[QUOTE=AlAils;6045824]Good morning Charlie03

Confirm everything AlAils has said. We are currently living in Dubai and will be leaving end of September for Hervey Bay.

The air polution is horrendous. People are ill mannered and have every type of bad habit known to man.

If you are lucky enough to get a job with a western company the working conditions & hours aren't to bad unless the managment are German - but that's another story. It is not very nice when you are the only westerner working in an office of Asians. It is more like Mumbai here than a Middle Eastern country.

Having said the above everyone does live in peace and harmony. We have more Xmas trees here and decorations than in the UK. Every religian is free to celibrate it own festivals etc providing it doesn't disturb the peace.The government here is quite liberal we have huge firework displays here at New Year.

True the summers are hot but the winters from November throught to end April are fantastic with people eating outside at the side walk cafe's & restuarants etc.

We came here over 10 years ago and you used to be able to park outside wherever you wanted to go, now people are driving round for an hour just to find somewhere to park. If you want to go anywhere during office hours you take a taxi as you will never get a parking space when you return. People who live in Sharjah are leaving home at 5:15am to get to work by 8:00am the traffic is so bad.

Go to OZ. Beautiful scenery, fresh air, nice climate - depending where you go. It's not like living in India. People have manners in every aspect of their life, and are not constantly trying to kill you on the road.

If your husbands company is going to provide a housing allowance you would need well over Dhs 100,000 for a 2 bed apartment in a decent area - not little India.

ray2gill

If the jobs you can do ccan be done by an Asian or Philipino then the salaries will be very low. This is not racist this is fact. there is a distinct pecking order here.

Emiraties, Arabs, Westerners, Asians & Philipinoes. the salaries are paid accordingly. why pay a westerner when you can get an ndian to do it for a 1/3 of the cost and you can bully them into working 6- 7 days a week for 12+ hours a day. Slavery lives!