waveydave

Just recently returned from holiday there, and enjoyed it (I know its not the same living somewhere as a holiday).

I've often joked with my wife about upping sticks and going, but I feel much more serious about it this time. However, I have some things I'd be concerned about and wondered if anyone here could offer opinions/advice/thoughts. I fear that it may be a pipe dream with no real practicalities, and therefore don't want to invest to much effort or emotion if it is not realistic.

I'm 40 years old, married with no children.

I have a very secure and decent paying job in UK (for my area in Wales at least), working in IT.

I'm fairly confident I could find a job in Dubai, even it takes several months of hunting.

My main issues centre around my wife. She has arthritis and reduced mobility. She currently works full time, but we work for the same employer, which is obviously convenient.

This may seem like a piece of string question, but what is the attitude toward employees who would be considered disabled in the UK? Things like sick leave etc? Are many employers family friendly? What about accessibility etc?

I'm sure she'd like to work there, as she'd go stir crazy sitting in an apartment or villa all day every day. During our recent visit, her health improved no end due to the dry heat of the region, so I could see this being a significant benefit to her.

I realise that it may not be possible to realistically provide an opinion on some of this, but any perspective would be welcomed.

Thanks

Dave

hong_konger

I'm not able to answer your specific question but you might find that the change in climate and way of life has a positive effect on your wife' arthritis.

BEVS

If it is rheumatoid, then the dry heat will be a help.

OriginalSunshine

dry heat helps RA, but accessibility e.g. for wheelchair users is close to zero

if she needs regular time off, again that might be a problem - it depends on the company, but realistically there are no protection laws for disabled, and they can and will be discriminated against, since it's all about the money and very little else. from their point of view why employ someone who needs 20% of the month off, but wants 100% of the salary?

but both being in IT may be an issue if you are not at senior management level, as there is huge competition for jobs in this sector, which is heavily localised, and if not localised then Indianised

busybee2

agree with all above... but be aware they are getting better with the disabled for ramps and parking etc but its really not that good compared to the rest of the world, you need to drive and if you have difficulties walking around then its a problem, a lot of the shops are big here and so with the heat it can be difficult.

Meow

From a purely medical cost point of view, you and/or your wife would need to work for a company that has a group medical insurance scheme set up on the basis of 'medical history disregarded' as she will not get cover for her arthritis under a personal plan.

waveydave

Thank you everyone for your responses.

Hong_Konger and BEVS, you are right - it is Rheumatoid Arthritis, and she was marvellous for the week or so we were there recently. The dry heat made a huge difference to her pain and discomfort. This is one of the reasons we've started discussing it.

OriginalSunshine - I work in IT, my wife works in accounting. I completely understand your point of the differences between having someone who is sick often and someone not. In theory of course her condition improving would mean less time off ill, or so we'd hope.

Meow - Thanks for this information, I realised I'd need insurance but didn't consider the fact her current condition wouldn't be covered.

We are at a very early stage in this, literally sounding out the idea. I wanted to get an overall feel the practicality and realism of the idea before investing too much time and emotion into it.

Realistically we wouldn't make any sort of decision without at least another couple of visits, so its not an immediate rush.

Thank you for the information so far. If anyone else has anything to add, please do.

WaveyDave

Sally Redux

Improvement could also be due to increased vitamin D levels. Dietary supplements could help if a move is impractical.