jonny blond

Hey all,

I'm looking at a job offer for me £42,000 GBP ( 222297 AED ) a year including all allowances.

My girlfriend would be looking to come to and get work ( guessing 170000 AED ) . we're mid 20's

but we would like to know how real life in dubai would be with that sort of money

rowell

Try trawling through past posts on this subject first there are loads of them which show living costs etc and comment on lots of salary pointers, its all down to the individual at the end of the day, what would you and your girlfriend be doing, also read the posts on visa runs as you cannot sponsor a girlfriend and she would of course need a visa, she could do visa runs till she got a job.

Meow

Bear in mind that co-habiting is illegal, although many expats do.

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jonny blond

In the uk I'm a freelance AV Tec and lighting designer. I work in the events sector and I earnt around £30k GBP last year. The job is for a a AV company in dubai. The idea of it sounds great and with the uk market slowing down being freelance isn't the best place to be! what im trying to figure out is the life style in dubia for the not so super rich. obviously low payed people CAN live out there ( maids, builders from other nationalitys etc ) and i have read a good budget for a family of 4 is 40,000Aed a month, but what sort of life style can a 28yo with 17,000 a month expect to live, i have seen flats from around 50,000-100,000 a year. assuming I'm sharing that cost, so rent at 4,000 a month leaving 13,000 for bills, food, entertainment etc, will i be sat in with a pot noodle trying to get watch iplayer at 100dec cause i cant afford the ac, socializing around the pool / beach with other ex pats and nationalitys and having a beer at the ex pat club after, or will i have enough to spend the weekend out skiing followed by dinner out and a club with friends?

AnotherWorld

I have ex colleagues earning exactly that amount, sharing a flat with others, dont go out every night though, save money, still have a pretty ok life. Drive older second hand car. Depends what you expect i guess.

rowell

First of all it is a low salary for what you do if you are degree qualified, but its a new market out here now and people seem to be prepared to work for less. You say your girlfriend may join you, that being the case you may be looking at a 1 bed apartment which could be anywhere between 60k and 100k depending on the area you will be in, however if you are looking at renting a room then you are not far out with your 3 to 4k a month.Food in the shops is a little more expensive than the UK but not so much it would affect your budget. Eating out can be cheap in some areas and expensive in others but in general you can eat in the average Italian for around 10 to 15 Uk pounds a head, alcohol is only served in restaurants in hotels and these are obviously more expensive and also with beer/lager at anywhere between equiv of 5 - 7 uk pounds a pint.As for socialising around the pool and expat clubs, what have you been reading lol. Once you have been to Ski Dubai once if you are a serious skier then you will not go back again, night clubs again vary in price for entrance and cost of liquor. Remember if you are renting somewhere you will need to put a years rent up front be it you will be aableto give anywhere between 2 and 12 cheques.Also as someone pointed out, in theory you are not allowed to live with a girl but plenty do without any issues however the visa issues will be different ie you could not be a girlfriends sponsor.

jonny blond

Thanks Guys,

So from that i gather the social scene isn't great unless your loaded? as i lived in Greece on €35 a day and had the time of my life, not so much splashing the cash as just good people to hang out with. So no one just hangs out at the pool or beach then! i heard camping was big, it seems a bit dumb if things are expensive and the weather is great not to just have friends over for BBQ's or watch a film and such? I was kind of using the snow dome as a general activity as the one in Manchester is about the same sort of cost as lots of other activity's, wind surfing, paint ball etc. Ideally i'm looking for a social lifestyle, if i want to sit in and do nothing id rather do it in the uk with Sky+ and the whole of the WWW. I mean who cares that its raining if your inside! whats the attraction for you guys then what do you do when not working?

Roadking

Social scene can be what you want it to be. It's not only bars and hotel prices. Your biggest challenge will be somewhere to live at a reasonable price that allows you to invite friends round and have the beer and bbq by the pool. Yes, you can go camping, provided you have access to a 4x4. Finally, for my part, the summer is fast approaching. Consider the opposite of winter in the UK; it's fewking hot, humid and nasty. You go from airconditioning to airconditioning, no fun for poolside parties or camping.

As everywhere, life is what you make it!

Shehryar

Sorry, completely minor and irrelevant point...but even the poorest of the poor do get to "afford" the aircon here...e.g. the poor labourers paid AED 400 a month (yes, really) still get air-conditioned "accommodation".... more like a slum in so many ways, but air-conditioned and "well-fed" nonetheless.

Slightly more upmarket....most of the apartment buildings in the older (ie non-freehold) parts of town have central A/Cs, the costs of which are not apportioned to tenants...ie they are built into the (already exorbitant) rents. Hence the phenomenon of people keeping the A/Cs in their flat on 24/7 even in milder months like Feb and March...cos its 'free'!



And pot noodles are not thaaaat cheap. Shawarmas are probably better value.

admon

Agree 100%.
The deal is to get yourself involved with something over here that interests you, that allows you to meet people.

Some people even go to the weekly british expats dubai pub quiz(zes)..