Making the move
 

Hi

I am a 26 year old male working in consuilting in London and talking to my employer about the possibility of moving to out Dubai office. I have searched the forum and found a lot of useful information, however there seems to be a lot of contradictory things said on the cost of living. I am currently on £55,000, I believe this translates to c400,000 UAE. If my employer does not offer me any support with housing etc will this amount of money be ok to live rather than just survive?

I think Dubai Marina is where I would like to live, and was thinking of paying c120,000 UAE for a one bed apartment, is this reaslistic? Ideally I would like to flatshare but I have been told that this is ilegal and only one person can have the lease in their name, and if they leave the country you don't have a lef to stand on with the landlord?

I would be really interested to hear peoples views on these things.

Have a good weekend.

Re: Making the move
 

the weekend ended yesterday:D

For 120,000 i think you will get a one bed in the marina...

Flat share is illegal but there are lots of people that do it with no problems. Correct it will be in one persons name, but they will prob have paid the rent in advance eg 120,000 or in 2 instalments. Usually (and i await to be corrected) if you did flat share, you would pay by the month so 10,000AED per month in cash.

55,000GBP is not a bad all inclusive salary for living out here , its not Great, but its not bad

and your 26, go for it...

Re: Making the move
 

is your current 55k with or without tax ? 120k dhs for a 1 bed in marina is attainable but you may have to go upto 140k. |Never heard of arny flatshare being illegal - apart from co habiting with a partner without being married...but others more knowledgeable maybe bale to confirm

Re: Making the move
 

There are loads of people on 20-30kdhs out here that manage fine. You are single so will have no problem. Its only the married men that seem to moan about their wages, due to their wifes shopping, kids schooling and hefty shopping bills. :lol:
There are people who share out here and lots of the notice boards advertise rooms to rent in villas. I wouldnt pay too much out for your rent if I was you just come out get the job experience, save some and blow the rest on parting and having fun!:thumbsup:

Re: Making the move
 

Thanks for the advice all.

The 55k is subject to tax, however I understand that I would not be paying this in Dubai?

The way I have calculated things is:

Rent: 120,000
Utilities: 12,000
Car Lease: 40,000 (mid range saloon, BMW 3 Series equiv)
Food/essentails: 34,000
Flights home etc : 50,000

Total = 256,000
Therefore leaving me 144,000 for fun, 12,000/month (£1650)

This seems a reasonalb e amount of money to go out for drinks and eat out a couple of times a week, join a sailing club, join a gym etc.

Am I being realistic?

Also can anyone clarify the tax situation? how long do I need to be out the UK for to avoid paying tax on my return?

Also does anyone know any good sailing clubs in Dubai?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Re: Making the move
 

Re: Making the move
 

[QUOTE=UKCHAP;6394514]

Also does anyone know any good sailing clubs in Dubai?

QUOTE]

good sailing clubs..no
social clubs revolving around boats yes.

Dubai International Marine Club and Dubai Offshore Sailing Club


excuse the sceptisim but a friend who is an ocean yacht master, 3x skipper round the worlds etc was knocked back for and i quote" A lack of commitment to sailing"

Re: Making the move
 

Hi

If you hit the Indland Reveune web site you will get all the required informaiton regarding taxation and non dom status.

In simple terms the rule is - you need to have a contract for more than 1 year and as long as you don't spend more than 180 days in the UK within the tax year you are exempt from UK income tax. There are also issues regarding of non payment of tax on savings etc. There is a detailed handhout available on the Inland Reveue website.

I have lived in the Marina - you can get a 1 bedroom for 100,000 AED - check gulfnews.com. I have a friend who is living in JBR and paying 100K inc all utilities.

Flights home - you can travel KLM for as little as £300 return. I have travelled KLM for as little £280 because I booked via the US website expedia.com as opposed to the UK site expedia.co.uk - cheaper depending on current exchange rates.

Re: Making the move
 

If you need the detailed income tax info email me I have it saved on my pen drive.

Re: Making the move
 

I'm fairly sure it is. A bunch of lads got kicked out of a house where we live for doing this.

Re: Making the move
 

It is in Villa areas which are zoned for families only. but even then its only supposed to be 1 family per villa. Many Villa owners advertise rooms for maried couples only because they think that avoids the problem, but it doesn't.

In Apartment areas it is not if done direct from the landlord but subletting is currently not legal. (I think)

Re: Making the move
 

Thanks guys.

I have read the tax thing several times, what I don't understand is that if I go to Dubai half way through the tax year and stay for one year do I have to pay tax on the money I earn in Dubai, or just the money that I earn in the UK?

Shiva - I don't understand your point? Are they hard to get into because they are social clubs around boats or are they hard to get into because you need to be hugely commited to sailing?

I am very strongly leaning towards doing this, if I do I will do a post with all the information on it to stop others logging on and asking, you are all very patient for answering the same questions all the time!

Re: Making the move
 

i would imagine that shiva is meaning that it is somewhat of a cliquey 'old boys' club feel to it?

Regardless of your sailing experience or skills, its probably your social standing..

If you have a double barrelled name, then your in..

Mr Hedley Smedley-Smythe

Re: Making the move
 

exactly. more experience is actually seen as a bad thing.

"couldnt possibly have anyone who actually knows how to sail join us...what what...might show us up"....etc etc
actually its not as bad as some clubs in the UK but then again its not good either

Re: Making the move
 

Amongst other things, you need a complete UK tax year out of the country to be considered Non-Resident, and hence no tax on overseas income. As we are already into the 2008/09 tax year, this means until April 2010 to get the complete 2009/10 tax year. It's a bad time of year to be coming out in this respect, if you are not looking at being out for the long term.

You can take split year treatment on the years of departure/ return to the UK, in which you only pay tax on income whilst you are in the UK. This is termed an extra statutory concession - ie it is not a legal entitlement, but provided you are not using the concession as part of some grander tax evasion exercise, there are no objections by HMRC.

Your budgeting figures look OK. Utilities are bit high for the type of accommodation you are looking at. Flights very high, unless you are returning frequently, or business/first class. KLM are currently cheaper than Emirates for Economy (2500 AED return DXB-MAN), and although travel time to Manchester for me via Amsterdam is longer than direct with Emirates, flight timings mean I get more time in the UK both outbound and inbound.