vik7

Hi

My wife has been offered a role in Abu Dhabi which is paying 25,000AED per month. No living allowance or anything just the 25k

We are debating the offer as we are not sure if we can live on one wage in Abu Dhabi. is this 25k enough for rent (in a nice place) food, a couple nights out etc?

I am in IT - business development/sales side of IT. I jhave been looking at every UAE website going for roles and have applied to 100's of jobs and i havent recieved a single email/phone call from anyone. is the IT job market scarce there? am i getting no feedback because we are not "on the street there"? can anyone recommend any abu dhabi IT recrtuitment companies


Really need some help guys as we are in very good jobs in the UK and it would be a massive sacrifice for me to give up my job here for a pipe dream in the UAE. we are both under 30 with no debts if that clears anything up

thanks

rowell

Providing you have no kids and no mortgage to speak of at home you will manage fine on 25k. Lots of threads on IT if you do a search, good luck with your decision

lanarkwitch

Having lived here for 4 years i really don't agree that 25k is enough. sure yes you would make ends meet but that's just not a good reason to come here

Also if you don't get a job, how would you feel sitting at home all day, assuming the Mrs could sponsor you it might also mean you would actually not be allowed to work. if she can't sponsor you then you are on visa runs until you get a job giving rise to issues like health insurance etc

There are a lot of IT threads on here that say the same thing its a difficult market for westeners, hopefully one of the guys can advise you better on your speciality

vik7

hi

So im confused, is it enough or not?

also what is the story with visa's? i just assumed that if she got a visa which includes a spouse i would automatically be in receivership of a working visa

is that not the case? do i have to ask her company to sort this out for me?

to be honest i would like to cross into a new line of work, is it that easy to do in UAE? im not talking being a doctor or anything but another role where some of the skills i have acquired can be used

Will it be easier being on the ground there to find a job?

soukie

+ 1

lanarkwitch

No it's not enough.

As I said you could potentially survive, but thats about it, housing would eat up a serious chunk of that, not to mention a car/other means of getting around, groceries and basic utilities, you certainly would not have a better/good quality of life here.

I honestly think you need to do a bit more reading up about coming to the middle east.

Your wife will be sponsored for work/residence by her employer, she may (depending on her occupation) be able to then sponsor you for residency, at a cost of I believe around 5k or so for a 2 year visa, in this case it is my understanding that you will expressly not be allowed to work, the only way you can so that is to get a job and subsequently sponsorship of your own.

In terms of career diversity I would be very surprised if you found any success in that here, generally people that come here for work have a number of years experience in their chosen field and hence the expat salary package that goes along with it, unless they are very specialised in something very unusual.

You have to realise that there are a number of different cultures here, all more or less willing to work for a 10th of the salary that a westerner would entertain. This makes it difficult to find a job in certain industries ( of which I believe IT to be one) regardless of whether you are here on the ground or not.

Frankly I think you'd be nuts to even think about entertaining the idea, especially since you have decent jobs at the moment and would be significantly worse off financially.

busybee2

as lwitch says, you have to be earning a specific amount per month in order to sponsor a spouse and being a woman usually it will depend on your industry, being a teacher, lawer, engineer, doctor etc allows you to do so, sometimes other companies get around it too.... so without knowing exactly the job title and the company we cannot help you, but the short answer is that no, its not automatic to get a spouse visa, and even then its not a working visa. in order to solve that problem out you would need to be sponsored yourself. 25k i would say would be enough but trying to find a legal place to live and have enough money will be tight. also if you are not sponsored then you will not have medical insurance provided by company and thats needed so you would need to include that too. finding a job here even if you are qualified is very difficult at the moment just like the row, its no different, just because they do have a good cash flow doesnt mean that the place is made of gold etc. ad is more expensive than dxb, and will become more so that the new rules of making people live in the same emirate they work etc.

rowell

You will always get two sides, some will say its enough, others will disagree , as others have said you will get by on 25k but probably not save much at all, your reasons for wanting to come obviously come into the equation. As for a visa and health insurance for your husband then that's a different matter. Do a good search on the threads and get back for any more info.

vik7

so what is a good wage for living a moderate life then? 25k is over £4000 a month and the rents i am seeing for places are around £1500 (granted i dont know if these are good locations). that leaves £2500 a month for bills and living!

She will be getting a job in finance for a very well know arab bank.

so is the general consensus that IT roles dont pay well and are hard to come by? it sounding less appealing by with every reply. Can anyone tell me the main IT recruitment agencies in Abu Dhabi. we wont be moving till jan/feb if we do decide to take the offer. is this a good time to look for jobs?

sorry for all the questions but this will be the biggest decision of our lives and want to make sure its right financially. i dont want to move from being upper middle class to barely putting food on the table

lanarkwitch

There are places for that money, but as a young couple with no kids they might not be what you'd want to live in, tend to be further out of town, then you need a car, money just doesn't go as far as it does in the UK and as others have said on here plenty of times, converting back to GBP just doesn't reflect the cost of living here. If Dh and I go out for a night out, no food, just drinks we'll spend 1500 AED and we drink in dive bars, if you want more palatial surroundings (and working toilets) a bit of food, expect to pay more, 40 AED for a vodka and coke is not unusual money here. Basics like rent utilities, car, food ( also more expensive if you want decent quality stuff), you can see easily how your 2500 won't go that far. Couple of mobile phones, calls back home, flights for you, perhaps the odd holiday..I think you can see where I am coming from. Medical, dental, initial set up costs for a home, the list goes on.

As far as the overall decision goes, you and the mrs need to realise life here in the ME is very different from home, especially the work environment and if the money isn't in the right spot it becomes harder to deal with the everyday ballache that work becomes here for a lot of people. Not too many people come here for anything else but money.

There are a few IT guys on here, perhaps post another thread on the main forum to get their attention they can advise you better, I am only repeating what has been said many times re IT on here, if you look at recent threads on the subject you will see it's a competitive industry, many of the jobs held by Indian nationals who will work for far less than you would.

25k was our second income on arriving here (mine), DH's package was more than twice that, fair enough we had commitments back home at the time, but you are debt free and you want to stay that way, you also want to be saving a bit as well I'm sure

busybee2

remember though the tax years as well.

busybee2

a 2 bed place in al reef is like 90k so you could be looking at 10k gone in rent a month, at least 2k for a car each, utilities could be like 2k, food is mega expensive nowadays, you would need 2 cars if you wanted to live somewhere decent off the island and then you have to factor in the cost of petrol and service. you could easily be at 20 odd without blinking. so you would have some left over, once you have paid out the deposit of 1k for the electric, paid out for your tv satellite etc, paid out for your deposit of 5k perhaps, paid out for estate agent fees, 5%of rent, paid out for furniture, 20k wont go far and get you a bed and some applicances. so if you dont mind having all the upfront expenses it will take a little while to start saving.

Millhouse

deposits are not reoccurring expenses.
90 / 12 is not 10k a month
food isn't much different to UK in my opinion - as long as you are not stupid

25k is totally possible for two in AD but they will not be bathing in lattes - remember he will get a job at somepoint (can't do nothing for ever or he will get bored). If he gets a 10-20k IT job then they will be doing quite well.

costs explode when you have kids. IF a teacher can live on a 15k package (10k salary, 5k free house) and save a little (which they do), then I'm sure they can live on 25k.

Millhouse

1500 AED on a night out for two without food in a dive bar? WTF are you drinking? Does this include the cost of 2 hookers as well?

lanarkwitch

Doubtful he will have an upper middle class lifestyle Millhouse, really would you come here for 25k between 2 if you both had good jobs at home?