LynR

I am sure somewhere on this forum there is loads of questions and answers about living in Abu dhabi - however time right now is of the essence for us and I could spend days going through the forums because they are so interesting however my husband has, today, been offered a job in Abu Dhabi at 32000DH - with this sort of salary (which also has the benefit of medical and dental cover) would we be able to live pretty comfortably in Abu Dhabi and at the same time be able to send money back home to the UK to cover the mortgage costs of our house? I would also want to work but have no idea of the job prospects for women there - I am in the fitness industry. Apologies if I am being a pain by probably asking what has been asked before but if anyone can give me some sound advice I would be grateful. The stumbling block here is that the company wants my husband there within six weeks which is really pushing it - they are asking us to make a life changing decision in a matter of days and I dont do decisions very easily even if we have loads of time

Blue Cat

welcome to BE, no children?

get yourself onto www.dubizzle.com and look at the rental prices, that is going to be your biggest expenditure and remember that rent is normally paid up front in one or two cheques, not monthly like the UK, especially in AD.

You can work but you won't earn much in the fitness industry but who cares, if it covers you running a car and getting new clothes then why not.

As for the mortgage at home that depends how much you need to send home.

Meow

Dhs 320,000 per annum and nothing else? Dhs 26,666 pm is not a lot if you have to support both of you, pay rent and send money back to the UK.

Note that medical cover must be provided by law if you are on AD visas. The company is not offering a benefit - it has no choice.

As to whether the money is any good, well that depends on what he does and his experience.

Eva

Haven't you been thinking about this since 2008?

Is this a new offer since your visit to AD.?

It's only a stumbling block if you make it a stumbling block @ six weeks to get on the ground-actually this is pretty normal;after months and months of faffing about the call comes to get there pdq.Then there are more months of faffing about......in the sunshine though..
No-one is going to make the decision for you,I suspect you already know all there is to know having received good advice from forum stalwarts in the past.The major change since then is housing.

Rents in AD have plummeted since your first inquiry and there is a continuing
demand for personal trainers/pilates instructors among the expat womenfolk.

Autonomy very kindly produced a superb spreadsheet for new people to calculate their proposed incomes- v- expenditure.
Try it out,it'll only takes a few minutes.
It may be a life changing decision but not a life-ending decison,you can always go back home.

LynR

hi this is a totally different position - the one in 2008 fell through (sheesh was it so long ago?). When we visited in 2008 we literally had a day to wonder but it was really different because nothing had really happened and it was a 'what if' which we did not think would come off - which it didnt. This however is an offer so our only choice is 'yes' or 'no'. As for being able to come back if it doesnt work out if we were in our 30s - great, it would not be a problem - but we really only have 10years working life left (bring on retirement) and know, from prior, experience that at our age it is extremely difficult to get work back in the UK

flares

Meow - you've managed to turn 32,000 pm into 26,666 pm...

Meow

Argh yes. I thought she'd written AED 32000 PA. I think I really need a holiday soon as I am definitely losing the plot at the moment.

Eva

Ah well ,nothing as certain as death and taxes after all

No idea what genre of work your husband is in but there are other flourishing
expat destinations,doesn't have to be back to Blighty.

Johnnyboy11

Remember that UK Income Tax and NI will be due on all your earnings unless you complete a full Tax Year in AD, i.e. until 6th April 2014.

You need to he committed before you relocate to the Middle East

auzdafluff

But I thought that's what IFAs did all the time.

Patsy Stoned

AHEM!!!!

Meow

Oooooooh! Not this one.

Autonomy

To try to estimate Is It Worth It - You could try this little spreadsheet thing I was tinkering with...

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...8&postcount=29

Give it a try maybe?

LynR

Thanks very much for that - I will have a look right now

auzdafluff

I know