cip08aab

Hi folks,

Been offered a college teaching job but the salary is kind of a let down. I'm getting 1400 OR as a basic and 500 OR as allowance (transport and accommodation), so 1900 in total, they also pay for kids schooloing , medical and flights. This is about what I'm getting in the UK pre-tax. Does that seem like a decent offer.

Cheers in advance, any advice would be appreciated.

iggle

Is that 18,000 AED? If so you won't get any better in UAE, plus the accom + and education. Obvs it depends what your role is, but most teachers in Abu are on AED14-15k a month.

cip08aab

Thanks for your response iggle, it's a senior lecturer job at an engineering college.

asjglx

For 500 RO per month you will get a two bedroom apartment in an apartment building within an expat-friendly area of Muscat. I used to pay 550 RO for my 2 bedroom place in the most common place, Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos. I have recently moved to an area called Al Qurum and now pay 525 RO. This is a 2 bedroom, third floor apartment, with underground parking and a pool on the roof. Approx 36 apartments across 6 floors.

If you're happy to live slightly further away from the amenities, you will be able to get a nice 4/5 bedroom villa for between 600 and 1000 RO per month. This will be slightly further away from central Muscat, in places such as Al Khail, Al Khoud, Bousher and Al Ansab. You will also find villas in places like Ghala, Gubrah and Azaiba, but they will be slightly more expensive though. You can ignore places like Al Mouj and Muscat Hills because they will not be in your price range.

With regards to a vehicle, you will be able to rent a 'shit box' for around 160-200 RO per month. I ended up buying my car via a personal loan from Bank Muscat. The rates were favourable and they were willing to lend me a small fortune if I had wanted it.

Your take home salary will be sufficient. With fees, medical and flights, all of the BIG expenses are taken care of. If you live within your means then you will be fine, and should also be able to save some for a rainy day. I regularly see many families attending the expensive champagne brunches at the 5 star hotels, arriving in enormous 4 wheel drives. Unless these people are working in oil, and believe me, the amount of expat families working in oil in Muscat has dramatically decreased within the last 18 months, then they are the same as you and me with regards to package.

The cost of living in Oman is certainly cheaper than the UAE. Utilities are nowhere near in the same price bracket as the UAE (although they are slowly going up,) and I think the supermarkets are a little less. Broadband and mobile phone costs are expensive but fuel for example is currently around 36p/litre.

I have been here almost 3 years now and i'm happy to answer any specific questions if you'd like to PM me.

cip08aab

Thanks AndrewGrant for the detailed reply and offer of advice. I think I'm going to ink my signature and hope for the best. The plan is to save up for a mortgage deposit back in the UK. Things are not looking good here with the pound falling and inflation rising.

IKnowNothing

And Oman is a wonderful country, and Omanis are, by and large, lovely people.

OriginalSunshine

Before you do, do you have a guarantee as to what schooling they will pay for?

Also medical is compulsory, but can often be very basic (I had friends go back to the U.K. Because their employer wouldn't cover chemo).

Flights - check for how many people, how often, what class and how they reimburse.

scot47

No superannuation or other provision for pension.

missunderstood

Are salaries in Oman generally lower than rest of GCC like UAE and KSA? For Finance or HR professionals?

whovijay

Hi Andrew, many thanks for your insight of the place and accomodation, its very helpful. Can you please advise if 3000 OMR (all in) plus medical flights etc is a good offer to take in Muscat for a family of 3? How much do you think the savings may be with this salary?

reddiva

This is from a poster on another thread

I worked in Oman but only for a short period. As a western expat, a salary of OMR 3000 per month is simply not enough. More than half my salary was taken by accommodation and living costs. I didn't even run a car. I would say that for expats used to a standard of living somewhat lower than a European or American would deem acceptable, OMR 3000 might be OK. For a western expat, you need at least 50% more for it to be even worth thinking about. To demonstrate this, I found that while my salary was OMR 3000 my Omani colleagues were picking up OMR 4500 or more for exactly the same job. Hope that helps. I left Oman after three months and went to a country where I get 3.5x as much per month salary.

DXBtoDOH

3000 OR is about 28500 AED/month. Are you saying you make 100k AED a month!?

It's not a shabby salary. A single can easily live on it. I have - in the past. A couple can live on it. I imagine plenty of Indian families live comfortably enough on it. A modest 2-bedroom apartment, Indian schools, a decent car, a quiet life.

reddiva

Hi

That was a recent post on another thread from another poster ( He wrote it this morning)

Expected Salary in Oman

Last post on the thread

DXBtoDOH

Ah. Thanks,

The issue wasn't whether the money was enough, it was that it wasn't enough for him. Plenty of people will find that a decent salary, others won't get out of bed for it. While I understand finding the salary low if you are used to making more and having the disposable income and savings of someone with higher earnings, if you're struggling on the 30k without family/kids then there's something wrong with you. The guy in that example didn't mention anything about family/kids.

Regarding our friendly visitor, I get the impression that 30k is a solid benchmark for a mid-income Indian family. They'd easily save from it and live comfortably enough by their standards.

asjglx

Good morning!

I think 3000 OMR might be a little low for yourself. I've now left Muscat, but when I was there I was single and living alone. My salary was in the 2500-3000 OMR range, which for me, with few commitments was great. It allowed me to have a nice car, decent apartment, socialise and also save. Healthcare and school fees weren't an issue for me at the time. With another two people to provide for, I think that you would get through that 3K very quickly. You can live a low cost lifestyle in Muscat, remember that fuel and utilities are reasonably cheap. Be aware that mobile phones and broadband are a rip off, alcohol is expensive and if you want to buy all of the brands you are used to from the Waitrose equivalent (Al Fair) or Carrefour, then they are also quite expensive.

If you want to go down the route of a 4x4, golf membership and beach club membership, then i'm sorry to say that 3K is going to become tight.

As part of your package, you should be looking to get school fees and health insurance. I don't know much about the schools, but I do know that the British School Muscat is the main one and they have a good reputation with the local Omanis as well. There's a couple more to consider, TASIM (I think) and also an international school in Qurum (near Muscat City Centre.)

If you would be prepared to live slightly further out of the main Muscat strip, then you would find a really nice villa at a good price. However, this would still be in the range of 600-800 OMR per month. Check out areas like Mawelah, Mabella, Qantab, Seeb and Al Hail.

Somebody above said that their Omani colleagues were on 4500 OMR per month, these I think are the very top paying jobs for long serving members in large organisations and also for important government officials. The Omanis that I worked with, who were mainly around the same age as me (late 20s) would range from around 800 to 2000 month depending on their experience and education.