staceymay

I am officially moving to al ain before the end of January!!! So excited but nervous too!!! My biggest concern is finding a place to live!!! I'll be working at the zoo so a place close by would be the best...but what kind of rent and size am i looking at???? all the classified sites seem to have very few options!

shammy

I would suggest that it is almost impossible to find a place before you arrive, most jobs have you in some sort of temporary accommodation on arrival to give you time to sort out somewhere to live, either a hotel or apartment, you also cannot get all the paperwork for the house sorted out until you arrive, and no one will hold a place for you. Wait until you arrive, and then you can get an idea of how things are done, its not like most western countries, things happen in their own time, and you need to be aware that accommodation is one of them!!
Shammy

meseta

if this means something to you...

MERRY Christmas !

staceymay

hI EVERYONE... i'm really concerned about wether my salary is going to be decent and i'm struggling to figure out what my expenses will be. Is it appropriate for me to give you guys an idea of what I earn and somebody could give me advice?

Bluelionesse

This is a difficult one - how long is a piece of string? Here's some questions you should ponder and factor into the equation. We are a friendly bunch here so give us some more info and we will try to help!

Are you on your own or have you a spouse/family coming with you? Does your job offer include accommodation?

What do you like doing? Partying/drinking alcohol/eating out in hotel restaurants = expensive. Golf/sports - leisure resorts membership fees not too bad. Offroad driving = expensive set up costs, but not too bad after that. Eating out in arabic/indian/lebanese cafes = very cheap (arguably cheaper than eating at home!) Furnishing your home with trendy pieces, probably cheaper than the UK, but much more expensive than second hand/ikea or from local shops down in Saniyya (industrial area).

It is also asking yourself "why am I coming here?" To save money? To immerse yourself in a new culutre? Or to make your CV have wider appeal? Meet interesting people from diverse cultures? At the end of your 2/3/4 year stint here, how will you measure if your expat experience has been a successful one?

This list of questions is not exhaustive, but will have a bearing on your salary requirements. Some people are paid 10,000dhs per month and can survive, though our family of 3 could barely exist on double that as we have to pay our own accommodation.

staceymay

Dear Bluelioness

Ok I will be absolutely frank about my sAlary, the basic is 12 500 AED and then housing allowance, furniture allowance, transportation allowance and recreation allowance the total package comes to 21 000 AED.

I am a single female 26, no family or dependants and I need to find my own accomodation right from the start and it looks to me as though rent is quite expensive?? I need to save some money but I'm going mainly to gain experience for my c.v.

As for recreational expenses...I will adjust that to my budget if I have any spare ha ha!

So is it decent...will I be able to find a decent place to rent and still save money? I hope so!

Thanks for your reply it was definitely helpful

Bluelionesse

Sent you a PM with more info Staceymay
Happy New Year
M

Bluelionesse

Hi - after a quiet two weeks, is it coffee as normal at Cosi Al Jimi on Tuesday

i-like-tea

nice

campagrecord

A little off the subject, but still relevant to the thread: my father has recently moved to Al Ain and started work almost immediately, on 2nd January. As he's so busy he doesn't have time to check all the adverts and do viewings etc, so I'm having to do as much research for him as possible. No, he doesn't have a PA. If only..

Anyways, if anyone has any recnt and up to date information on reliable letting agents, private landlords, or friends/individuals that have a place they'd like to rent out, in Al Ain.

I did start reading the first 30 odd pages of the thread and there was plenty of information, but I soon realised I was reading posts from 2007!

Your help, advice and assistance is much appreciated

Oh..Happy New Year everyone! Still not decided whether it's "two thousand and ten" or "twenty-ten"....

cymrolass

Welcome!! What a pity - we just left the Inercontinental a couple of weeks ago - enjoyed our time there and the "Cocktail Parties"!!! Not far away staying opposite the Etisalat building so a nice walk down the Wadi ( well most of the way!!!!) Coffee's always on!!

djinaa

Hi Folks

New to this forum and joined initially in the hope that someone out there could recommend a good full time nanny.

We have 2 kids under 3 years old and need someone with English, energy and some experience.

If anyone springs to mind please let us know asap.

All the best for 2010.

cheeznleez

For those of you that have lived there for a bit:

I'm currently looking at ads on Gulf News and the Asteco website for villas. I'm looking for a neighborhood(s) with a large expat population and family oriented. Can anybody tell me the names of the areas in the city that fit that criteria?

There seem to be some new villas in the Asharej area, what's this like?

Just had a friend pop is so I'll continue this is a bit......

Amazing Grace

This is the lovely lady who started this wonderful thread and whom I am very proud to call a true friend in the real world. For those of you new to the site this post was made in 2007 and sadly she has left now for pastures new.

larnie

Love you AG! You are a star!