Re: Package advice
 

The lack of rain in Dubai will be a welcome change from London! I recommend buying a convertible... I think I'm going to head directly to the car dealership from the airport :-).

Re: Package advice
 

I think its raining Dubai now ..

Re: Package advice
 

OK ... then just put the top up this one day :-).

Re: Package advice
 

Yep, a convertible is the perfect car for Dubai. :rofl:

Re: Package advice
 

slightly more than 1 day.
Its like living in Manchester at the moment :(

Re: Package advice
 

If you're planning to commute from Sharjah to DIC and back during normal rush hours, you should allow 2 hours in each direction. Hopefully it'll be faster than that on most days, but on others it could easily take longer.

My personal take is that unless you're making a *major* saving - say, 40-50% or more - by living further away from DIC, the hassle of commuting cancels out what you save in rent.

As it is, though, you're really only going to be saving about 10k per year. I'd rather spend the money and have a nice easy 15-minute commute.

Re: Package advice
 

Thanks GarethR.

Can I get yours and anyones opinion on this offer that I have had:

A room in a two bed flat on the palm jumeirah for 8000 AED dir/month furnished, incl all bills facing the dubai marina. this includes access to a clubhouse with pool, gym, sauna, private beach. parking also included.

Can you let me know your thoughts? Is this a fair price? Its convenient for DIC.

Is anyone from here living on the Jumeirah?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Package advice
 

96k per year for 1 room sounds a bit steep to me even with the added bits in... check out the classifies and see what the prices are...

Re: Package advice
 

Yep for sure, i was made redundant last year and went through all the papers applying for as many jobs IT as i could.

The real sucess came when i used my contacts, all of a sudden i went from nothing to getting two job offers. So yes whilst a lot of people see the IT industry as a low paid job, you do get what you pay for and over the last 2 years here i have seen some pretty costly and stupid mistakes made by so called experts.

There are a number of european expats here in senior IT positions, but you will need contacts to get these positions and be in a company that is serious about IT and are willing to pay the right amount for a decent working system.

If you were brave enough you could start your own tech support company but do it properly (now that would be a niche!), i know a lot of western companies here and they are plain and simple sick of the mistakes and excuses that go on here.

Going back to the original point, I think the package you accepted is good, I am 28 with 7 years experience, and its ballpark to what i am earning (i wish i earned more of course :)) but i am happy and just looking at buying a property here with the savings i have made over the 2 years here (but i dont want to hijack and talk about property thats a different field all together).

Seems that a few people here have been posting about IT jobs... i dont think it is as rare as some people think you just need the right contacts. I would be interested to hear from any IT chaps as its always good to have contacts, you can PM me or drop me an email at g18c at hotmail dot com would be great to here from you. Contacts are a must in Dubai.

Cheers

Re: Package advice
 

96k for a furnished flat on the Palm with all bills covered *and* clubhouse access actually sounds like a bargain to me, given that you'll typically spend 90-100k for an unfurnished 1-bed flat elsewhere in New Dubai.

Re: Package advice
 

but it's only a room in a flat...not the whole thing...

Re: Package advice
 

Ah right - but still, it might be worth considering, given that the OP will have to pay more-or-less the same to get a 1-bed unfurnished place and will have the monthly bills on top. Guess it all depends on whether the OP's happy to share.

Re: Package advice
 

It does sound convenient, considering it is all inclusive. Though ideally i would want my own flat, it depends on the flatmate. Will I still need a car from here by the way to get to DIC?

Re: Package advice
 

you could use a taxi...it's not that far but as far a I know, but I haven't been there for a couple of months, there are no supermarkets or anything nearby...so that means you'd have to go shopping by taxi, if you want to go out for a coffee....taxi...if you want to buy a newspaper...taxi...
Anyway....the 2 bedroom Shoreline appartements that I have seen are not big....the bedroom is just big enough to fit in a proper double bed, and it then leaves you space to walk around, but nothing more.
The living room is just big enough to fit in 2 couches and a dining table.
So you would really need to be able to get on with your flatmate cause you'd be very close all the time, it's not like you can convert your bedroom into a sitting type room...The pool areas are ok, and you can access the beach easily.
I'd say check it out first...

Re: Package advice
 

Don't know how plentiful taxis are on the Palm though. Added to that, lots of people all over Dubai are reporting problems with pre-booked cabs simply not turning up, and if you take a chance and call the taxi companies during rush hour for immediate pickup it's not unusual to be told "No taxis available".

It could be easier getting a cab back from DIC to the Palm than vice-versa.

Ah, my early days in Dubai... car left at work due to alcoholic company party, taxi home, then trying to get through to a taxi company the next morning on my mobile (hadn't had the landline connected yet) with the near-nonexistent mobile coverage in the Springs...