khitan004

I doubt it, we would be looking to have a second child and she stay at home as we couldn't afford the childcare. All the teachers must be single then at the school, when kids get to school age, the fees are just extra-ordinary. I have nothing to compare it against, I've never lived in London, so have no experience of higher prices.
Back to the drawing board I guess...

Millhouse

two kids will be impossible.

Better to stay in the UK and live of the state

DXBtoDOH

That's the dirty secret and it goes both ways. Yes, there are many couples with toddlers who survive on 14K+housing but they're not British. They're South Asian or Arab or Filipino. They live in an environment that's conductive to surviving on their income levels. The activities they do, the communities they belong to and supports them in exchange, makes it feasible. But a western expat family isn't going to be able to jump in and tap into this network.

Your peers are other western/British expats. The expectations - social and QOL - is based on having much greater disposable incomes. A single westerner can probably play around with the expectations and many do, but not the families. Khitan's wife wouldn't even be able to afford a muffin and cappucino at Starbucks with the other bored mums. She'd be isolated.

Surviving on 14K a month even with housing paid for is a borderline existence that will see preciously few AED left in the bank accounts at the end of each month.

jam25mack

14K - screw that as a singleton let along with a wife and sprog!

This isn't the place to come and count the pennies.

Can it be done, sure! Would you want to...... no thanks! Would be a pretty miserable existence!

scrubbedexpat141

I know plenty of people on 10-14k + housing + flight as teachers who are absolutely fine and enjoy life and save out here.

Just not any with a non-earning partner and tiny tot to pay for too.

mission

gotta agree with SCAMP i have a handful of teacher friends - all of whom are single and seem to live fairly comfortably on approx 10-14k plus allowances (and these are western expats)...but even then as singles earning in that bracket range they have to constantly watch what they spend on.

Can't you 'secretly' rent out your place in the UK? Maybe through family connections or something. Paying for a monthly mortgage for a place that you aren't even living in and can't officially rent out, seems crazy

khitan004

Yep, it's down in the fine print. It's because the Govt owns equity in the house, so we can't make money after they have helped us buy it. We could always sell, but then we would be in greater difficulties if we needed to move back.
It's disappointing to hear that schools only survive on the gullibility of singletons with minimal experience, especially when you are paying large fees for your kids to be taught by them.
I'll go to the interview, but they'll have to up the ante massively if want me to come across. They can only say "no". I've turned down positions before in Abu Dhabi.

flares

You'll be fine mate. Few frugal years in Dubai you'll be able to buy a whole terrace of houses in Burnley.

scrubbedexpat141

It's just business at the end of the day. They know they can get people like my mrs who, when we first moved here 4-5 years ago, was a 1-year-experienced teacher. She was cheap. She still is in fact but like many others in her position she's willing to work her tits / nuts off because she's fresh and excited about being a teacher. She's in the stage where she really wants to be a great one and deliver great lessons.

I know some older teachers are great, but out here - when parents are paying a fair whack, young, enthusiastic but professional will always be preferred not just commercially, but aesthetically than the old, tired battleaxe type who won't use iPads in lessons etc etc.

DXBtoDOH

I don't know if I agree with that.

I've heard many a complaint among parents here that there are too many young teachers in the schools, implying that they're flakes more interested in the parties on the weekends than precious little Ollie.

Back in the UK my sister is shopping around various schools for her precious little Ollie and the teaching staff at the better schools skew towards the older. Not ancient but with at least 1-2 decades' teaching under belt. I can see why. Young enough for the energy but old enough to have pragmatic experience.

scrubbedexpat141

You're not necessarily wrong.

Here it is purely cost driven. Younger = Cheaper. Get 10 new ones each year and if 6 are good, committed and want to deliver quality then you're ****ing laughing.

I know a lot in the same school as my mrs who are absolutely brilliant from what I can tell. Want to deliver great lessons and learning, are completely modern in methods and seem to be really valued by parents and the senior staff. There are absolutely those party animals who don't give too much of a shit and just scrape by when needed.

Luck of the draw as a parent I reckon, but reputations are big talk out here on schooling so they have some credibility and must be considered.

khitan004

I must be an inbetweener then. Not fresh-faced enough to be on the cover of the magazine, but not wrinkly enough to be dye-in-the-wool haggard. It does appear that schools out in UAE have a high turnover of staff. But, why not? If people are willing to pay and put up with it, then more power to the faceless corporations who milk us dry! Just hoped I could suckle a little bit more of a teet than is offered.
It appears as though my wife would never forgive me for dragging her to a sand-filled racetrack where she would be stuck in the house all day

co durham boy

To be honest i believe you have too much overhead to make it work , a lot of teachers in this part of the world do very well but a lot have minimal costs when they're here , that's a big difference.

I don't think the sums add up for you , it's not the place to be struggling that's for sure .

Believe you me you're better off in Shitsville UK than Shitsville UAE

khitan004

Told them I wasn't even coming to the London interview. Nail in the coffin from them was the fact they didn't even try to say it would be enough to live on, just that it was competitive.

scrubbedexpat141

They aren't telling porkies, it is competitive, but that doesn't mean it's enough for everyone and every situation.

Keep looking, something else might crop up.