Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

I agree with what everyone else has said so far; you need to ask for more money. The company like yourself sounds without being rude "as green as grass". It is up to them to do their homework before sending employees to a new project.

Al Ain is a small place in the Emirates and as such a lot of socialising is left to the individual, I must admit having children is a bonus as friends are made through school etc both for the grown ups and for the little peeps. Average housing is roughly AED80,000 for a very small place but prices are going up very rapidly, apartments are just about invisible. It is very common to join something like the Hiltonia or similar in the main hotels in town which for a family yearly membership will be about AED2500 upwards which entitles you to the use of the pool, gym etc.

Do you get medical cover, family flights home to point of recruit, schooling etc. Yes it is cheaper to live in Al Ain but things are most definitely on the move with lots of major projects in the pipeline ie hotel resorts, shopping malls, hospitals.

As a well travelled expat (over 30 years) Your employer and not you is responsible to get all the facts and figures for a cost of living analysis before you sign any contract of employment. Having said all that I really hope you get everything sorted and Al Ain is a lovely place to live with Dubai and Abu Dhabi only an hour or so drive straight down the motorway.

Good luck:thumbup:

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Yes, I receive a salary with bonus in addition to the house, car, utilities, and per diem. The per diem of about $2,700 dollars (9900 dirhams) per month is to cover cost of food and gas. Is this enough to cover food and gas for a family of 2 adults and 2 young children?
Thanks

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Just some recent prices, all approximate.

I kg chic breast 30dhs
1 kg apples 8dhs
1 pack huggies diapers(50) 45 dhs
1 10kg rice 30dhs
3 liters milk 15 dhs
1/2 kg minced beef 19 dhs
1/2 kg sirloin 32 dhs
1 kg pork chop 65dhs
1 8oz. Kraft cheese 18dhs

1 McD's happy meal 10dhs
1 Chicken Tikka 20dhs
1 McD's ice cream 1 dhs.
Starbucks Grande coffee 18 dhs

Petrol currently around $1.27US. ( I think)

If you are getting $90 US per day per diem plus your salary, you and your family will be absolutely fine. If you need any more basic prices, let me know and I will try to help. Al Ain really is a very nice place to live.

Minetoo

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

you would be fine ..

think of the experince you will have than the amount of money ...
some salaires here are between the 15K to 20K in the education department..

again..it's all vary from diffrenet way of living..or the life style

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

thanks for the information ..

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Thans very much to all for your responses and info. Sorry for the miscommunication regarding salary vs. per diem. We are very much looking forward to the experience of living in a place as different and exciting as Al Ain and the UAE.
We had hoped to live solely off of my 9900 dhs per month and save my entire salary and bonus but its no problem to spend of my own money to live a bit better.
I am coming in two months for a systems test before our move and I'll be checking out accomodations then as well. I believe we'll be set up at the Hilton. Any further advice/prices/do's and don'ts are greatly appreciated!

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

The Hilton is lovely especially if you are all coming out, it has got so much grass for the children to run around on and is totally safe with the lovely new play area near the family pool.:thumbup:

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

I see you are from Reading. I grew up in Philadelphia. It is very much different here from Reading. Be open to new things, and challenges, and you will do fine. It is a great life experience.

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Al Ain is great! I live there and it is so wonderful even though it is hot. You have to check out Hafeet Mountain's top everything will look so beautiful from up there especially if you go at night. What is great about it is that everything is close to you because it is a small place. We don't have a sea though :( but that's ok we love it without the humidity.

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

"We pay 65k for a 4 bed villa, per year, and all expenses. Car, utilities, etc... "

Hello all.. another American family here ( husband and wife) moving to Al Ain and wondering how nice the villa is that you're getting for that price that is including car, utilitites etc. My husband has been offered a free apartment of which he is there now and has taken pics and sent to me. I am not that thrilled about it. I definitely need something bigger and want our own pool and a yard if possible. Is that 65k an average price ? He can give up the apartment and take a housing allowance but it won't pay for all of that. I too have been interviewing and offered a housing allowance but the company i'm talking to ( American Hospital in Dubai) wants me to live in Dubai so i can be on call part of the month. I appreciate any feedback. Hubby's job there is about 90k USD a year tax free. Mine will pay approximately 30k USD a year tax free. We want affordable housing so we can attempt to buy a boat and keep it in Dubai. Our kids are staying in the US, they are both in college, so no child expenses ( except when they come to visit)

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Sorry to be confusing. We pay for everything else out of our own pocket. 65k is for house only. Car, Util, gas, etc.... we pay. The villa we have is older, definately not new construction. And no, it is very typical of pricing here. We have lived here for about 18 months, we got very lucky having no rent increase this year. the low end of a 4 bed villa would be around 110,00 dhs a year. High end 170,000 or there about.
Affordable, nice housing.....hhhmmm. Going fast. But they are building at an enormous rate here in al ain.
My advice would be stay with the apt. till you get here. Then do some legwork, look around, see what there is in your price range, and go from there. Good Luck my fellow American Oh yeah, most houses do not come with pools. If you did find one, it would seriously increase your rent. And many "yards" consist of sand here. And more sand. Not saying grass can't be done, but it takes a lot of work, especilly in summer. Despite my best efforts, my little veg garden bit the dust in July.

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

keeping a boat in Dubai is a very expensive and there are hardly any berths available. 78,000 dhs a year is what I have heard :eek:

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Thank you all for the information. I will join Mike in the apartment when I get there and he will be looking in the meantime. I am hoping we will get lucky and find something nice. A couple of other pilots are interested in sharing a villa with us so that will save on cost and yes, we know to be very quiet about it. I figured as such about the dubai boat situation, hence the reason we don't want to spend 200k on rent of a house. We shall see what happens. Does Abu Dhabi have a marina ? any other areas there have one ?

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

lol

Re: Moving to Al Ain... Help!!
 

Abu Dhabi does have several marinas. One in particular is Al Bateen. I know slips rented there a year ago for 40,000- 60,000 dhs a year depending on the size of the boat. And there was a waiting list. Sorry if you said before, but when do you arrive?