TBird

....maybe when we all pack up and leave

arbroath_abroad

cant see that happening though as in certain industries, the margins are so great that these rental costs are factored into the project/costings and either passed on over to the customer or simply accepted as a running cost of operations in a very lucrative part of the world

jia

so realisticaly how much a 2 bdr aprtment will cost in AD ?

Norm_uk

1600 grand a week? It's quite disgusting the more I think about it...we talk about it being tax free here but if your company doesn't pay for your housing you will be paying 25-50% of your salary just to live in a flat or villa which keeps the landlord on top of his central London mortgage payments because he's not stupid enough to buy the crap we are buying over here!

N.

Desert Dweller

And people say Hong Kong is expensive!!

We moved into the net.com building when it was first built and had a 2 bedroom place for 45k! That was 7 years ago and we thought it was pricey then!
I don't understand how you can factor in those rents to salary- you must be in HR every 8 months telling them that your rent has gone up 115% and you need more money!

twinkle-star

Once you have a place the rent can only go up 5% each year as its capped! We got in last year and thought that was expensive but this year even with the 5% increase its really cheap compared to other places. We went for something slightly more expensive as the availability was poor at the time and we needed to get out of the hotel room. Now we are so glad that we did!

busybee2

it doesnt always follow 5% we had to cough up 25% extra...! and the rent cap is changed each year, you never know what the next one will be, it could be market rates!

Desert Dweller

I have heard of much bigger increases than that, though the 115% comment was a bit extreme!

Even still, a 5% increase each year is still more than any boss would deem acceptable if it were a salary.

killinghall

I am considering options on moving to Dubai with my current company in the UK (I work in IT) however speaking to my colleagues who have already settled over there, none of them seem to have gotten any housing allowance, they are expected just to cough up, move and pay for it themselves. I queried this with a few and their reply is "Yes but everything you earn is tax-free" - Even so, I wont want to end up spening 50%+ on a flat!

My situation is I'll be earning around 21k per month, I know thats not a brilliant salary - we have 2 kids aged 4 & 2 and will be looking for a 3bed, although judging from the posts I wont have much luck (Midrif)? The office is in Internet City but will move to Burj square sometime soon so I have to consider moving somewhere close to there.

At the moment I'm tilting towards scrapping the whole idea, as it just wont be managable in my salary unless they contribute towards housing - Am I missing something major here?

Blue Cat

scrap it, you could never live on that, no chance

arbroath_abroad

21K and out of that you have to pay everything...

sorry but forget it.

typical

Unless your other half can get a job with a housing allowance - agreed with the others, it'd be very very tight.

Blue Cat

it's a no goer for sure

killinghall

Thanks for the emphatic dont-do-its!
My other half doesnt work (kids too young) - She might do sometime in the future, but at the moment we are just counting on just the one salary.
We dont have major expenses, no debts, we dont drink so arent looking for the party lifestyle. but on the other hand, we want to have a comfortable life and sounds like 21k wont do it.
i'll just have to ask them to consider housing or leave it.

Blue Cat

21 k

less 15k for housing