singlemum

Hi there,

I have read a lot of posts here. Some say it is possible to save up some money and have a very comfprtable life in Dubai, others say most things are as expensive as they are in the UK.

I live in London and work as an Exec PA to a Director in a Property Sector. I also do full property management and some project work every now and again. I manage a small portfolio of both residential and comm.properties across Central London. Now, the question is... Would I have a better life in Dubai (i.e. better wages, better flat etc)? I earn 2,8K gbp on self-employed basis and have a 5-year old daughter who is in private school in Notting Hill (where we rent a nice 2 bed mews house). I must admit before my child turned 5, I had a very generous support via Child Tax credits as a single parent. I also have some income from my own property in Middlesex, which is rented out. I am studying part-time to become an accountant but I think I am going to deffer my course as its not possible to work, look after a child and study all at the same time. I thought I could manage but I have already missed nearly 70% of my classes... Anyway, the main reason for me wanting to move is so that we can have a better quality of life somewhere where its warm and sunny all year round.

I have been to Dubai in my late teens, I can't say I loved it. It was kind of OK and very different but I was told UAE changed a lot since then.

I was checking job vacancies, rental prices for the flat, school fees etc. It seems like I could potentially get paid more than I am paid here, but I am worried there are hidden charges.

First of all I need to establish the cost of living and then work out whether it would mae any sense for us to leave London.

We need at least a large 1 bed flat in a nice very central area (like Notting Hill in london ) with some kids activities nearby, shopping centres, cinemas etc. I don't have driving licence, but can surely learn how to drive. So eventually will need a car. We spend about £80-100 a week on grocery shopping in London for the two of us. I imagine it would be the same (if not more) in Dubai? And , of course, we need a good international school... So that we can come back to London and my daughter would be able to join any London school confidently.

Any advice will be very much appreciated!!!!

Thank you!!!!

shakh your bootie

Hello there - what a very charming and honest post. Well done.

I shall leave it to other posters to give you more up-to-date replies, since I left the UAE a few years ago, but my immediate thoughts are:

a) It is not a wonderful time to choose Dubai as a destination - one in four expats lost their jobs over the last 24 months (according to figures I heard from my brother in law, who still runs a business out there). With a five year old child, you must consider financial security and stability - this is far from a dead cert in the UAE today.

b). Do you have a degree - this makes it much easier to obtain work in the UAE as a Western-educated "expert" (not universally true, but is helps an awful lot). An ex-gf of mine had a position as PA to a Sheikh in AD (who similarly specialized in res & comm real estate development, and on a compensation packge in the ballpark that you mention) - but she had a law degree from Bond Uni in Australia (which, admittedly, was utterly useless to her in that position but, hey, they liked it).

c) There is no real equivalent to Notting Hill/Kensington in the UAE. The most des res neighbourhood remains Jumeirah. Rents have dropped, but so have the number of expats with the means to pay them. You my want to consider Abu Dhabi, where prospects are brighter, but there is NOTHING even approaching Notting Hill in AD.

d) It's only nice and pleasant in the UAE from Oct to March. The rest of the year is not warm. It is an inferno, and unpleasant.

You seem to have worked out a pretty good life for yourself in the UK, and have already said that Dubai didn't rock your world when you first visited.

Have a good think about why you want to move, what it might gain you and what it may cost you.

You sound like a charming and intelligent person - good luck! If you decide to make the move, there are lots of very helpful & fun people on here who will help you out.

Cheers

SYB

Blue Cat

Hi and welcome to BE. If I was you I would stay put in London, sounds like you have managed to create a nice lifestyle for you and your daughter and have some security in your life. Uprooting her and bringing her here would not be fair on her? Also were you married to her Father? what are his feelings about taking her out of the UK? Honestly I think I would stay where you are. You need to earn alot of cash here to keep a good lifestyle.

Millhouse

Hi Singlemum - my honest opinion is that I would stay put - if you didn't like the place 10 years ago, I'm sure you won't like it now either.

anyway, nobody has asked the deal breaker...

Are you single, married or divorced?

Madam Medusa

i reckon there's a bit of a clue in her name...

MM, xx

Millhouse

well, it rules out one of the options... although she signed up 2 years ago, things may have changed.

flares

slightly different approach - try and snag yerself an Arabic Prince in London - there's hundreds of them living it up right on your doorstep.

Look for the illegally parked Lambos with funny squiggles on the number plates outside Harvey Nicks!

The Dean

Interesting (and sensible) replies, but why shouldn't she give it a go out here just because she's doing OK where she is now? Are we to assume that this region will now attract only those who are struggling back home, desperate for work, debts to pay, etc?

I doubt if her lifestyle, prospects, etc, are going to improve in the UK in the next 2-3 years - just the opposite in fact.

It will be a big upheaval and culture shock in many ways, but it will make you without a doubt a more broad-minded, tolerant and understanding person in many ways (even if you think you are already those things), and you'll make friends who (for the most part) will go out of their way to help you if or when you need it, among other things.

I know very few people who came out here and, looking back now, regret having done so.

Hello.Kitty

Unless you're doing it for the adventure or for a significant difference, then I too would stay put. Sunny weather isn't so nice when you're forced to stare at the blue sky from the inside of an air-conditioned apartment, knowing that you actually can't go out and enjoy it.

I've only just started to keep my ear to the ground regarding schools (both of mine are pre-school) and there is word going around that even children doing well in "the best" schools here then struggle at entrance exams to private schools in the UK. Another thing that seems to come up time and time again is that people here have to pay the equivalent of more in fees for average/ decent schools here to top-notch private schools in the UK. I find all this quite troubling and so we're considering moving back to the UK when the time comes for my eldest to go to Primary. Of course, everyone has different experiences on the matter, but often you just have to go with what feels right for you.

Blue Cat

there is a 5 year old to consider and she is/is not a single parent, not easy here to make enough money to pay rent, and education. I know I couldn't earn enough even if I was working to keep myself and my 6 year old in school. As for a culture shock, it was more of a culture shock for me going to London from here!!

Millhouse

If she isn't married, or divorced, then she, or the kid, ain't coming. Simple.

The Dean

Good point about the schools here.

I hear very mixed reports (in fact, so mixed that someone somewhere must be lying).

On the one hand, you hear that this school or that school gets kids into Oxbridge, which I find hard to believe (apologies in advance if I'm wrong on that one), while others say 'my little angel went so far backwards out here that she needs extra lessons back in the UK just to catch up', or whatever.

Strange.

Blue Cat

most schools here are the same as State schools in the UK, you just have to pay for the pleasure, I am pretty sure Mitten's school here is no better than the local school in Shields, the quality of the attendees is a different matter

Millhouse

This confirms my beliefs that schools make almost no difference what so ever to the final outcome.

I went to a shit school. Every night, I would come home and study for another 4 hours or so (apart from Fridays when I'd drink on the streets with my school mates and set fire to dustbins). I was the first, and only, candidate my school sent to Oxbridge.

Ethos (and he agrees with me) - had a fortune spent on his education and had the best of everything - Yet we both ended up having broadly the same higher education.

"You can lead a horse to water" It's down to the candidate and their motivation - the schools here are fine, if anything they are better as you are not mixing with quite as much CHS.

Blue Cat

what is CHS? do you not feel a better school can bring out more in an already gifted child say?