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Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Old Dec 13th 2012, 5:20 pm
  #1  
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Talking Newbie expat with grenade in head!

36 hours ago I was a typical redundant fella, a victim of the current economic woes that seem to have last forever. Having applied for one job, the recruitment agency called back with the now worn out response that my skill set didn't meet the client's brief. But they said there was a job in Dubai that I'd be perfect for. I deliberated about it for a while and tentatively suggested it to she who must be obeyed last night. The result wasn't a categorical 'no' and indeed was a defi tie maybe.

I spoke with the agency today and suddenly I'm at the top of a short list, and I feel like someone has tossed a question grenade into my head. How will we get the dogs there? What are the schools like? Will my kids (aged 3, 5 & 7) cope with the move? How will we get the dogs there? How hot does it REALLY get? How much am I worth? Will she who must be obeyed find work there, or is that not considered the done thing? Have I set a new base level for ignorance? How will we get the dogs there? Do the schools there cope well with a child with special needs? (He has mild Aspergers so is not the full Rainman) Will we need to bring all of stuff, and we have a LOT of detritus, with us? Arghhh...I need a chill pill. Can I get chill pills in Dubai?

As you can see I'm a little all over the place and just need to know where to start. I found a book on Amazon Kindle by a guy called Chris Combe (A Year in Wonderland) but that's not exactly a sales pitch for Dubai. I doubt there's a good 'how to' book out there as everyone's circumstances will be different. This forum has so far proved fantastic. The stickied spreadsheet of costs is AWESOME.

I appreciate that I need to get a proper proposal first but at the same time I don't want this rapidly accelerating train get out of control if it means there's no way we can get on board.

In short, what are the key questions I should be asking in some form of priority? Any advice will be very gratefully received. And just how will I get the dogs over there?

Happy days
Hadders
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Old Dec 13th 2012, 6:11 pm
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

unfortunately uae is not really set up for kids with special needs, i cannot comment directly as i live in abu dhabi, but in dubai there are many more schools, and i think a few of them do cater for mild cases of aspergers and the like etc. blue cat should be able to help with schools. the younger ages are more difficult to get in, but if you are coming out mid year you stand a better shot. there are rules put in place that come middle of february only people from outside the country can fill any vacant school places. you need to say what line of work your wife would be doing, but if you have school aged kids its very difficult to get work around the school runs, unless of course you do what a lot do and get a maid but then that adds to your costs. chill pills are controlled so you would need to see a pyschiastrist to get the script lol. lots of people get the dogs here.
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Old Dec 13th 2012, 6:25 pm
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by busybee2
unfortunately uae is not really set up for kids with special needs, i cannot comment directly as i live in abu dhabi, but in dubai there are many more schools, and i think a few of them do cater for mild cases of aspergers and the like etc. blue cat should be able to help with schools. the younger ages are more difficult to get in, but if you are coming out mid year you stand a better shot. there are rules put in place that come middle of february only people from outside the country can fill any vacant school places. you need to say what line of work your wife would be doing, but if you have school aged kids its very difficult to get work around the school runs, unless of course you do what a lot do and get a maid but then that adds to your costs. chill pills are controlled so you would need to see a pyschiastrist to get the script lol. lots of people get the dogs here.
Yes a psychiatrist may well be my next port of call. Thanks for the feedback. The schooling problem,or the agonising of getting into a good school, sounds like it's no different than here in Blighty. The nugget re Feb intake rules is a cracker. Kudos!
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Old Dec 13th 2012, 8:45 pm
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Have you been inside my head Hadders? lol - I thought I was the only one with a million and one questions going on inside my head - our kids are not coming with us and we don't have kids so it will be an easier move in that respect however the questions keep on coming. I guess we will get the answers when we get there. Good luck with everything - I hope it works out for you and your family.
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Old Dec 13th 2012, 9:08 pm
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by IndigoGirl
Have you been inside my head Hadders? lol - I thought I was the only one with a million and one questions going on inside my head - our kids are not coming with us and we don't have kids so it will be an easier move in that respect however the questions keep on coming. I guess we will get the answers when we get there. Good luck with everything - I hope it works out for you and your family.
Yeh apologies for the mess I left while in your head. It was starting to look so organised as well. I've started a spreadsheet ("Not another bloody spreadsheet!" says SWMBO) to keep track of my questions which seem to strike in a completely random and tangential way. It really is a case of can open, worms everywhere.

Initial package has now been disclosed with my starting gambit being £150k plus all relocation expenses, etc. They didn't blink which makes me think I'm too low. Athough Autonmy's 'Is it worth it' calculator shows that to be a decent result. I think this works out to be circa AED75k PCM.
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Old Dec 14th 2012, 3:10 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by Hadders
Yeh apologies for the mess I left while in your head. It was starting to look so organised as well. I've started a spreadsheet ("Not another bloody spreadsheet!" says SWMBO) to keep track of my questions which seem to strike in a completely random and tangential way. It really is a case of can open, worms everywhere.

Initial package has now been disclosed with my starting gambit being £150k plus all relocation expenses, etc. They didn't blink which makes me think I'm too low. Athough Autonmy's 'Is it worth it' calculator shows that to be a decent result. I think this works out to be circa AED75k PCM.
£150k plus exes isn't too low - whatever line of work you're in, that will be fine, tax-free - but Meow will be the one to tell you about how/when you actually become tax-free-eligible.
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Old Dec 14th 2012, 4:25 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by Hadders
36 hours ago I was a typical redundant fella, a victim of the current economic woes that seem to have last forever. Having applied for one job, the recruitment agency called back with the now worn out response that my skill set didn't meet the client's brief. But they said there was a job in Dubai that I'd be perfect for. I deliberated about it for a while and tentatively suggested it to she who must be obeyed last night. The result wasn't a categorical 'no' and indeed was a defi tie maybe.

I spoke with the agency today and suddenly I'm at the top of a short list, and I feel like someone has tossed a question grenade into my head. How will we get the dogs there? What are the schools like? Will my kids (aged 3, 5 & 7) cope with the move? How will we get the dogs there? How hot does it REALLY get? How much am I worth? Will she who must be obeyed find work there, or is that not considered the done thing? Have I set a new base level for ignorance? How will we get the dogs there? Do the schools there cope well with a child with special needs? (He has mild Aspergers so is not the full Rainman) Will we need to bring all of stuff, and we have a LOT of detritus, with us? Arghhh...I need a chill pill. Can I get chill pills in Dubai?

As you can see I'm a little all over the place and just need to know where to start. I found a book on Amazon Kindle by a guy called Chris Combe (A Year in Wonderland) but that's not exactly a sales pitch for Dubai. I doubt there's a good 'how to' book out there as everyone's circumstances will be different. This forum has so far proved fantastic. The stickied spreadsheet of costs is AWESOME.

I appreciate that I need to get a proper proposal first but at the same time I don't want this rapidly accelerating train get out of control if it means there's no way we can get on board.

In short, what are the key questions I should be asking in some form of priority? Any advice will be very gratefully received. And just how will I get the dogs over there?

Happy days
Hadders
welcome to BE it will all take time but will eventually fit into place, it's Friday here and the forum is pretty quiet, everyone is of work today. Chris Coombe is a member of the forum and was extremely unlucky in his job choices sadly. You need to work out the money side of things and get the job before going into panic mode there are companies that will relocate the dogs. School isn't cheap and the wee chappy with the mild Aspergers may cause a prob. My daughter is in Regent International School which is bit more lenient in taking children with *issues* if you get my drift, the majority of schools here want genuises so that they get good results and hence good grading to ensure they can put their fees up every year.
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Old Dec 14th 2012, 5:22 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Hadders-welcome to the board, take a deep breath.

As much as you feel it may all be a whirlwind don't forget you can do things at a slower pace, you could move out here leave the missus and co at home for 3-6 months, work through your trial period, make some friends, put the word out to the people you meet about your wife and you'll find some job openings once shes here (what does she do?) see how you feel get the family out for holidays, do your research and then make the big move. No point turning the world upside down, do it at your own pace and do your research.

For your doggies I believe they will need all their injections done and a little doggy passport so you have time to get that done before they can travel. There are some pet relocatin companies listed here along with info on what is needed- permissions etc; http://dwc.hct.ac.ae/expatinfo/animals.htm

Dubai Explorer is the book you want- gives you load of info on living out here etc.

Now breath

Last edited by kittycat1; Dec 14th 2012 at 5:25 am.
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Old Dec 14th 2012, 7:45 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by Hadders
AED75k PCM.
That's quite a lot of change and so you should be OK. Is this, 'all in' i.e. you have to pay for everything?

If you think you have lowballed it then you can always say 'of course, that assumes the school fees are covered' 3 kids will set you back 120-150k AED a year (ish)

A 5 bed house to store the kids in could cost you up to 300k ish per year with utilities being somewhere around 2k in the winter, 7k in the summer. Depending where you live of course.

Getting the package right is the main thing - sounds like you are there - most problems in Dubai can be solved with money... as you will learn when you arrive by all the people queuing up to take it from you.

As for the dogs... humm, it is hot here. Personally, I don't this is a good place for them - but I'll be shot for saying that.
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Old Dec 16th 2012, 3:46 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

As has been said, most of your questions can't be answered until you have a package / salary figure. That's when you can work out if it is truly worth it.

Dogs - probably won't enjoy being housebound in the summer (50 degrees).

If your kid (who isn't quite the Rainman, yet) is in a normal school now then should be fine. My mrs is a teacher and some of the kids who apparently don't have any special needs are truly ****ing special by all accounts of the stories she tells me.

Chill Pills - Yeah, of course, you just go to the pub and leave the kids with the master and get battered. Although, I did get offered hash by a bloke in Karama the other night.
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Old Dec 16th 2012, 3:59 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Don't know about packages etc. Dogs will be fine, you'll just have to get used to getting up before the sun does and having walkies then. You can't wait for the winter and a lie in!
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Old Dec 16th 2012, 7:11 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

If and when you do arrive, the Explorer residents guides are a good first stop to help you get your head around the particular ways of doing things here.
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Old Dec 16th 2012, 7:45 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

If your kid (who isn't quite the Rainman, yet) is in a normal school now then should be fine. My mrs is a teacher and some of the kids who apparently don't have any special needs are truly ****ing special by all accounts of the stories she tells me.
Lol - so true. My kid is high functioning Aspergers, but we needed to get an official statement so that his school would give him some time during classwork as he was getting stressed out not being able to complete tasks in time. School's reaction was classic: "kidsname?! But kidsname is fine, and seems much more capable than some other kids in his class - he seems average to us".... Um. Ok.
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Old Dec 19th 2012, 6:47 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by The Dean
£150k plus exes isn't too low - whatever line of work you're in, that will be fine, tax-free - but Meow will be the one to tell you about how/when you actually become tax-free-eligible.
Hello Hadders,

For your information to be classed as not resident in the UK so that your UAE employment earnings will not be subject to UK tax you need to satisfy the following rules:

- you are leaving to work abroad under a contract of employment for at least a whole tax year

- you will be absent from the UK for at least a whole tax year

- your visits to the UK after you have left to begin your overseas employment will total less than 183 days in any tax year and average less than 91 days a tax year. This average is taken over the period of absence up to a maximum of four years.

With regards to relocating your dogs I can highly recommend Dubai Kennels & Cattery

http://www.dkc.ae/

Good luck!
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Old Dec 19th 2012, 7:19 am
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Default Re: Newbie expat with grenade in head!

Originally Posted by TopNik
Hello Hadders,

For your information to be classed as not resident in the UK so that your UAE employment earnings will not be subject to UK tax you need to satisfy the following rules:

- you are leaving to work abroad under a contract of employment for at least a whole tax year

- you will be absent from the UK for at least a whole tax year

- your visits to the UK after you have left to begin your overseas employment will total less than 183 days in any tax year and average less than 91 days a tax year. This average is taken over the period of absence up to a maximum of four years.

With regards to relocating your dogs I can highly recommend Dubai Kennels & Cattery

http://www.dkc.ae/

Good luck!

But the tax rules are changing with effect from 06/04/13 with the Statutory Residency Test. 91 days will not be a set figure.
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