NIguy

Hi

I have been offered a position in Abu Dhabi
Currently i am an IT Service Manager with 10 years experience (not managing people)

Would love to get everyones thoughts on my package and whether it is worth going for. All figures in dirhams

The package is as follows
Basic - 26500
Housing - 120000
car allowance - 2500
Total - 39000 per month

mobile paid
schooling is 85% of the costs covered up to 4 kids (no cap)
travel allowance for whole family which is around 5k per year per person
medical insurance for whole family
visas for whole family

relocation is around 40,000 AED
hotel paid for 1 month upon arrival


That is the offer and i have negotiated these figures to the max. The housing is very low but is set for the whole company at my level so i know i will need to top this up. I am also aware i have to pay housing upfront but i will have the funds initially for this and the company will pay the 120k straight away when i move over and have a bank account.

There will be me, my wife and 2 kids (not in school yet) moving over. Wife will not work for the first year (maybe never as she doesn't really have any qualifications and with 2 kids it would be hard in a new country)

Is this a good salary for my experience and will it be enough to have a good middle class lifestyle (nice apartment, 2 decent cars, couple holidays, drinks and meals out once a week). Although i have no commitments back home i would love to save a thousand pounds a month if possible

Appreciate all your thoughts on this

co durham boy

Doable , your major costs are covered . Get clarification on how the housing is paid as in will they front you the money or is just monthly hit. Keep the purse strings tight though as costs escalate quickly coupled by living in the sun with millions of ten bob millionaires .

The devil is in the detail

NIguy

Thanks for your reply Co Durham Boy.
the "doable" comment doesnt really fill me full of confidence. Is this not a good package then? would it not be enough to have a good middle class life?

co durham boy

Mate , it's all relative out here . I think that package is very good for a first time expat in DXB with his family with his major costs covered in your relative job role. I also think it's crap for a CEO of a bank.

Forget the labels of middle class and focus on what you have and live within your means . You'll be deluged by people out here who have much much more and they'll tell you that , don't listen and do your own thing .

The streets are not paved in gold in Dubai more like tin foil and i think you have the basis of a decent deal , live tightly and sensibly for the first year and you'll be on your way .

I've seen so many people come overseas over the years and they want what the next bloke has and more , it just doesn't happen . You'll be able to bag yourself somewhere decent to stay on that allowance as well .

Good Luck

mission

if you were a single guy or coming on out on your own and leaving the family back in the UK, then I'd say it was a good deal....supporting a family of 3, you will struggle.


If the mrs is going to be a stay at home wife/mum then I am sure you would want to live somewhere it's pretty decent with amenities near by....and with 2 kids I suspect you will want at least a 2 bedroom place....for AED 120k in fairly decent location you won't get a 2 bed place....I would say you are looking at adding at least another further AED 20k on of that, so that's almost AED 1,700 knocked off your basic salary.


in addition you will have all your other day to day costs ie
dewa - water and electricity
chiller - AC
tv/internet/mobile
also there is a 5% housing fee which is based on 5% of your annual lease, you will also need to give 5% comms and 5% security deposit

mission

2,500 for the car allowance - you'll probably get a Nissan tiida or yaris or something along those lines on lease. You might be able to pick up something decent if you were to buy. But you certainly won't be able to get 2 cars within that allowance.

scrubbedexpat141

39,000

- 13,000 (housing)
- 6,000 (2no cars)
- 1,250 (towards the 15% of schooling one day you'll pay)
= 20,250 Costs
= 18,750 left for beer, whores, burgers and clothes for the kids...

(@exchange rate of 5.8 = 3,232 GBP remaining. @e/r of 4.6 = 4,076 GBP)

That works because schooling is covered, as long as you're not a knob about the house you get. If you go silly the costs rise exponentially (A/C, cleaning etc).

Definitely doable.
If you get the mrs to do some cleaning and nanny work at home as well and not get a full time maid, you'll be fine.

mission

err SCAMPY that 19k surplus will be depleting with all the other day to day costs. And converting it to GBP is kinda pointless (except for savings purposes).

scrubbedexpat141

Normal day-to-day costs that compare to the UK or anywhere else in the world, roughly.

39k + 85% schooling + Flights is a doable package. It's not silly money but it's not shit.

DXBtoDOH

120k will get you a 3-bedroom apartment in Dubailand and possibly even JLT. Or a smaller villa in Mirdiff.

Add another 10-15% for annual operating expenses (utilities, internet, chiller if needed). Apartments have lower expenses than villas.

You can live decently enough on the rest. It means two basic Japanese models, likely used (4-5 year old Pajero for the family, something Honda or Toyota for you).

With some careful planning you can probably still manage to eke out 10k a month in savings.

So, yes, a middle class lifestyle.

co durham boy

They will not struggle believe me , they'll only mess up if they get sucked in to the usual shite but theres more than enough in there to make a decent fist of it.

NIguy

Thanks for all your replies
Seems i have split opinions on the package and i am not getting a whole pile of confidence so i am going to reject the offer unfortunately.
when i first got offered the package i thought wow i should be able to save a lot but it seems unlikely.
Some families must be on serious money out there!

mission

are you kidding me...a 3 bed aprt in JLT for AED 120k...you are having a laugh...you will barely get a decent size 1 bed for that amount, let alone 2 beds or more.
And most of the buildings in JLT are pretty shyte.

mission

yeah, I guess you are right.

Millhouse

are you joining NI?