fionahall5

Hi,
I'm new to the furum and am not too sure what I'm doing....

My husband is moving to Sharjah in November and I'm not sure whether to come out with him straight away or to wait until the 3 month probation time is up. Also, my almost 16 year old son will need to get into a school. Can anyone recommend one? We will be living in Dubai. My head is throbbing with all the thoughts about the move..... HELP........

Also, is getting meds from a GP ok? I am registered disabled and require a multitude of tablets a day and am worried I'll have trouble getting what I require.
Anyone who can help, I would be most grateful...

F

Victor Meldrew

I'm guessing you will live in Sharjah not main area Dubai.

For your 16 year old - Sharjah English School (not sure if it has 6th form).

If you are going to live in Dubai - Dubai English Speaking College. Great academic teaching and hardworking staff. They definitely have a 6th form.

Dubai College will be difficult to get into.

Victor Meldrew

Regards the meds, you need to check if your husbands medical insurance company will cover the cost of these.

You may/may not be able to purchase over the counter, but they will be relatively expensive.

fionahall5

Thank you Victor for your help. I am completely confused and don't know where to start before the big move. Should I sell the house or keep it on in Scotland, should I rent it out in case things don't work out for us? It's all buzzing around in my head 24/7...... Aaaarrrghhh!!!!

Thanks for your comments.

F

Victor Meldrew

Keep your house. Part/whole rent it.

If you whole rent it involves you having to find somewhere to stay when you come back on holiday. However you will probably pay for all your mortgage and they will pay bills .

If you part rent (using spareroom.co.uk for example) then you can still stay in it when you come back but have to shaer your house and do not get as much income. We now use this option as a happy medium.

DO NOT SELL YOUR HOUSE

fionahall5

Hi Victor... I'm so glad I can get info from you... you should hire yourself out. I so want to keep our house but my husband wants to sell. My idea is, if we don't like life in UAE we would have something to come back to. I love my house(cottage actually) and we've only lived in it for a year, so there's so much I'd like to do to it.

Thanks again for your help.

Now then, can you please advise me where the bast areas are for living, close to Sharjah border but in Dubai and are cars expensive to buy or lease?

Thanks

F Hall

Victor Meldrew

Don't really know about accommodation near the Sharjah border. Mirdiff? cheapish villas, near to the big new City Centre, lots of expats, accessibale to most places/schools (including DESC).

Cars - most have 4 x 4 for protection. They're easy to get used to. 40,000 Dirhams will buy a decent one. Jeep, Nissan, Toyota.

Lease? you can rent a little Yaris for around 1600 Dirhams pcm if you shop around. Better to buy your own 4 x 4 if you want to feel you are protected properly.

Next question?

Victor Meldrew

Oh yes forgot to say - DON'T SELL YOUR HOUSE!

you could end up overseas longer than you think (I started o/seas in 2001 with a 3 year plan - unlikely to be back in UK before 2013).

House prices (even in Scotland) are low at the moment.

You maight sell your cottage for say 150k and when you get back (5 years?) it could be 190k. Rental will pay your mortgage so why not keep it?

Bad idea to sell it. Ask any expat who has sold their UK house.

hnd

We've never regretted selling our home in the UK. We're now totally non-resident for tax purposes (apart from the tax hnd has to pay on his pension) which is pretty small as long as the authorities get his code right which is rarely. But it gets sorted out in the end thanks to s k y p e.

Victor Meldrew

It depends what your scenario is of course. If, like the OP you are thinking it may be a short term fix, then a house in the UK (basically FOC if someone else is paying the mortgage) is a good fallback position.

If you are never planning to return or are retiring to another country then releasing the equity/capital to use in retirement or other similar venture may be a better decision.

I don't get what you mean when you say 'We've never regretted selling our home in the UK. We're now totally non-resident for tax purposes' surely you can be totally non-resident for tax purposes if you still own a house in UK.

Blue Cat

most meds are available here except the odd ones that contain Codeine. Good luck with everything, it will all fall into place

al dente

No need to sell your house in the UK to be non tax resident.

Salary here is untaxed by both Aussie and UK authorities (we;re dual and have properties in both places).

Millhouse

Under the current rules. Let's see what April brings.

I sold mine in 2007 - and was very happy to see the back of it. I'm now considering buying again in the UK but will probably wait to see what happens in April.

mission

i agree with VICTOR, NEVER SELL YOUR HOME, this place is all fair and dandy but as expats this isnt HOME and we will never have the same rights as the locals, so best to keep your house, for any eventuality, peace of mind, trust me on that.

And even if you do end up staying here for yrs on end, at least you know you have HOME to go back too, coz you will NEVER get citzeanship rights out here.

mission

VICTOR , owning a home in the UK and being a 'non resident' in the uk makes no difference to being a non resident and not owning a home in the UK. I know im an accountant. SO the person who posted the above comment is kinda talking BS.