Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Hi,

I am currently earning a total package in the UK £75K in the UK. I have been offered £100K to go to Abu Dhabi. Obviously it's (salary) is tax free but I would look to be taking my family - wife, children 6 and 7 years old. I would rent our UK home out. It's not just about the money but also a change of scenery -
something different. We would have to look at childrens education, medical and pension costs. How does 100K salary compare in Abu Dhabi to other professionals?

My wife has been working in logistics/transportation and would like to resume her career. Question is what is it like for women working out there? We've been to Dubai on stop overs to the Far East and enjoyed our short breaks there. How does Abu Dhabi compare?

Thanks
Haider

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Works out to about 42,000 AED a month depending on the exchange rate. Out of that you would have to rent a property (villa? apartment?) and educate two children.

Very tight. Doable but no savings. If wife gets a job making at least 10k a month then it becomes easier.

A family on £75K in UK with free education, health and pension contribution is better off.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Only tax-free if you pass the Automatic Overseas Test, which will be April 6th 2019 at the earliest, or a year later if you mobilise after 6th April this year (you need to work full-time for a full tax-year and limit your visits/ working days in the UK, which can be tough to achieve if your family don't settle).

If I were you, I wouldn't do it. Your UK package is probably better when you factor in employment rights, pension, bonus, sickness benefits, free healthcare, free kids education etc., as posted above.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

I would suggest it would be very tricky to survive on that wage alone here. Things are shooting up in price,except for housing due to empty units.

You also have to factor in lack of job security here.....

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

If the £100k is all inclusive of accommodation etc. I would say no. You need to move before 6th April 2018 and stay until 6th April 2019 to be tax free.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

School fees ? Who pays ?

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

£100K excludes everything. I could try to negotiate upto another £10K... Wife would expect around £30K

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Exclude ?

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

It’s not enough.

100k was enough when the exchange rate was 7:1 but at 5:1 it’s not. That statement will frazzle all recruiters’ minds.

500k Aed isn’t enough. A family needs about 7-800k in my mind.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

It's not a great salary, but in many sectors there has been a bit of a downward pressure on packages over the past few years. There are plenty of British expats living happily on that sort of salary, so you could definitely do it, but it might not be a huge financial improvement unless you are sure you can do long enough to guarantee that salary stays tax-free. Without knowing your full cost of living in the UK (commuting etc) it is hard to make a proper comparison. Housing cost has dropped a lot, and is still dropping. School fees are rising, so I would definitely ask for an allowance towards fees (even if they are not currently offering it) - 20-40k AED per child per year is the norm for western expats (some get more), and depending upon where you send them that might almost cover the entire fees (BSAK), or only 1/3 of it (Brighton, Cranleigh etc). Also check that the firm will provide medical insurance for the entire family - some try to limit the number of children they will insure to just 1. They should also provide at least one set of flights home for all of you per year. Petrol costs are a small fraction of what you'd pay in the UK. Many expats waste stupid sums of money here "keeping up with the Jones'", so you need to be a bit self-disciplined on that sort of package - there are plenty of people earning many times the salary you have been offered, and the temptation to overspend can be strong and more "in your face" than in much of the UK.
What exactly do you do in the UK? Would this job be with an Emirati company, or an international firm? Job security can be pretty low in both types, so I'd look carefully into that. At least if you come with an international firm they might move you elsewhere if work dries up here.
There are many other non-financial benefits of being here, at least for a while, and the children are a good age to travel and spend time overseas. There are so many places you can get to which are only 2-4 hours flying time, so it can be a great place to do some family travelling - we've been to Kenya, Egypt, Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal etc, plus a few places a bit further afield, very few of which we'd have been to had we still been in the UK. We've been here as a family for 7 years (with similar aged children to yours when we arrived) and have had a good time.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are very different places - people seem to defend whichever place they live in, and will tell you that the other is rubbish for all sorts of valid reasons, but the bottom line is that they both have significant advantages and disadvantages over each other, and it all depends what sort of lifestyle you want to have.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

42,000 Offer

12000 Housing
8,500 Schooling
3000 1 car
2,500 Family Flights
----
26,000
= 16,000 left over.

1,000/wk groceries?
500/wk kids shit and clubs?
3000/mth utilities?
= 9,000

= 5,000 left over to have fun or save or to drink with.

It's not enough to make it worth it, risk is high, reward is low.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Doesn't matter if one ends up driving 3 times the distance that he would in the UK; very easy to do so if doing school runs.....

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Yup. My Petrol bill In Dubai was always higher than the UK. Big cars with half the fuel economy and driving 3x the distance.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

Could you imagine commuting in the UK? Fills me with dread.

Re: Abu Dhabi Prospective
 

I’ve done all types of commute in the UK at some point car, motorbike, tube, train, bus. Never again. Looking back I don’t even know how I did it.

Between the cold, darkness, complicated commutes and rain I find it hard to see me living back in the UK.