st1978

Hello all,

I got a job offer for Dubai. I am single, and would be coming there alone.
My goal would be to live normaly (no special expences, no luxury but normal life + from time to time going out, dinner or theater or club, and some sport eventually but nothing to fancy) and try to save as much as possible.
I got an offer structured like this:
Basic Salary: AED 15,000
Housing Allowance: AED 5,500
Transport allowance: AED 2000
Private medical health insurance coverage
Incentive on annual basis
Annual air ticket

What to you think about it? Especially concerning housing allowance, is it doable, and what would be some extra costs (maintaniance, energy, some initial furnishing costs etc.)

Also, how much would be visa/work permit relating costs? They would be covered by the company, but it sais that if I resign within 1 year, they can charge me those costs. Of course, I don' intend to resign, but I just want to be informed about what would be amount of those costs.
Thanks a lot,

Patsy Stoned

22,000k a month is just about ok for a single person. It would be better for you to find an apartment share..that will save you money. You can find decent places for 3000/4000dhs a month. the problem is that Dubai is not a cheap place to live.
Even a night out in a "normal" bar will charge you 20/30+ dhs for a beer. But I am sure people will come on and tell you how you can survive here and only spend 500dhs a month ...but I am not able to do that :-)

Bahtatboy

It's do-able, and with the current exchange rate at about 5.5 15k pcm = 32k pa sterling. If that's pure take-home (ie no tax and no NI) then you'd have to be pulling in about 50k-ish in the UK to equal it.

As Patsy said, flat-share is the way to go but it might take you some time to find one you like, so I'd suggest that you try to negotiate at least a couple of weeks in a hotel till you get things sorted. If you pick your places you can entertain yourself reasonably cheaply, and foodstuffs are cheap IF you shop at the local markets.

Maintenance and utilties will be cheap, and with so many expats leaving Dubai at the moment you'll be able to pick up good second-hand furniture relatively cheaply.

Have your worked/lived abroad before? If not, you might struggle with only escaping once a year, but it depends very much on you and your view of life (and any responsibilities you have back home).

The salary sounds low, although of course it depends what you'll be doing. Have you had a look at recruitment agency websites here? They'll give you an indication (but only an indication) of salary ranges.

Good luck

spart

You might have to provide a bit more info. before anyone can offer much more advice than what Pats and Bahtatboy have already said.

Industry, experience, etc.

NorthernLad

A colleague just got a one bed place in Tecom (Barsha) for 57,000dh so it's doable.
Once rent is covered you should be fine.

mission

AED 22.5k a month sounds pretty low.

I guess it all depends on how much you end paying for your accomodation.

kittycat1

Hi St1978,

I am single and in Dubai- I earn 20K a month and live on that perfectly easily, I have an 800 sq foot apartment- 1 bedroom ( unfurnished) with a roof top pool and gym + parking, in 7 months I have managed to get all the essential furniture- still making it homely though, I've also been saving 6000-9000 a month, but I have bought a 42inch telly, internet, everything I need, everything is bought bran new and not just from Ikea. I go out a bit- don't have extravagant nights especially but a few drinks every once in a while.

I also get bonus although obviously isn't guaranteed- Ramadan Bonus and Annual bonus so I'd ask about those. Normally based on your basic monthly pay so take off the rent and travel allowances.

I was in London before and couldn't afford my own place so you get more for your money here.

Bare in mind when you move here you would want at least a month paid for in a hotel while you learn your way around and you will then need to put up at least 3 months rent in advance with deposit and maintenance. My company gave me a loan for this but worth asking before you agree to anything (and get it in writing don't just take someones word for it), I'd also ask if parking is paid for by your company. It might be worth going into a hotel apartment for the first few months which starts at about 8k a month or up to 12 for a really nice apartment, and obviously more if you want really swanky.

Also you may find you are not entitled to your annual flight until you have been here for 12 months and that they only pay for the cheapest flight- so maybe via the dog end of nowhere so read the small print!

Monthly bills - telly, internet and landline ( inluding full tv package) is 530dhm a month, DEWA I allow 500 a month ( with 1000 upfront deposit)but some rental properties include it, try to get a place where aircon is included in the rent at least, phone is pay as you go so costs what you use, for a decent car to rent your looking at 2k a month at least, carparking is 2dhm an hour, salik is 2dhm per use.

for furniture you can buy secondhand off Dubizzle.com or there are plenty of furnished places (if you like bachelor pads), there is an Ikea which will deliver for free if you spend over 2500, but plenty of other nice furniture shops that are nicer than Ikea and pretty cheap. If your buying off Dubizzle allow for delivery costs- I got shafted when I bought my washing machine and fridge and paid a third of the price again for delivery- maybe coz I'ma girl maybe because I'm white but worth baring in mind.

Oh and i have to pay back 5000 dhm if I leave before my contract of 3 years is up, again I'd check with your company though.

But I would say definitely doable!

Kittycat

x

st1978

Thank you all for your precious answers!

Well, I am still lost with all those maintainance/dewa/deposit/fees , and I guess it will stay that way.

As a job itself, it is a manager position (middle lets say) in automotive industry.
I have checked few job agencies adds to understand better salary range that is offered for similar jobs, but it is not easy to have a clear idea is my offer too low or not.
However, I would be happy with this basic salary if they would provide the accomodation, but with this 5500 AED/ month for housing...hm, I just don't like taking that risk, as I have never been to UAE before and don't know anyone, and especialy I don't know what to expect in terms of job and how the things will go.
I still don't know wheter to accept it or not. I am still not 100% sure if I am into it.

Roadking

PM me with employer details and I can give some insight into the company and package.

Madam Medusa

you will be absolutely fine on that salary...some of the girls i work with are on a bit less than that and both have their own apartment, go out every night (not sure how many drinks they get bought for them, mind, lol...) and generally have a good time...go for it, you have nothing to lose...

MM, xx

kittycat1

Hi ST,

I would strongly advise you visit here before moving, it is a bit of a weird country to live in and takes a HUGE ammount of getting used to. I moved here as the industry I am in has been hit by the recession quite badly, I was offered a job over here but had been consulting for the company so it came along at the right time for me, there is still little work for me in the UK so being here fits in for me at the moment. You would be mad to move here having not been heres so I would strongly advise you book yourself on a flight and do some hands on research.

I didn't know anyone out here either , other than the people I work with who are generally not people I socialize with, but there's lots of friendly people on this site and people in general are friendly here, plus there are plenty of sports things for men to meet etc although it is a very transient city so you meet people and they leave. You do need to make an effort to meet people so you need to be fairly outgoing.

Theres ups and downs to it here, so I guess it just comes down to whether you want to risk it or not.

If you do come to visit I'd be happy to give you a little tour although you may benefit from a single guy giving you a tour(I'm still pretty new so still finding my way round etc). Good luck and I would say trust your gut instinct with your decision.

Kittycat
x

Bahtatboy

You need to weigh it up against what you're leaving. Do you have a good, secure job now? If not, I would suggest that the automotive industry isn't going to provide too many offers just now--this offer may not be brilliant, but it'll get your feet under the table in a new part of the industry, and the UAE is a pretty good place to live.

If you're young-ish (or at least young at heart) and free to make the move, just go for it! Better to try something than look back in 20 years and think "I should have tried that when I had the chance, now I'll never know".

spart

Spot on...or at least 6/8 weeks temp accom. to determine if you like the place. If you are working for a local company, and you have to pay your 12 months rent up front, it could be a recipe for disaster. There are dozens of posts and links on this site to point that out.

GingerWizard

the "average white collar" job here now pays between 20-30k month - salaries have dropped quite a bit but so has living expenses - have a look on "Dubizzle.com" to check out rents etc. what part of Dubai is the job based?
you can get studio flat in Downtown area in brand new flat for 50k - you'll see these on site which is central and plenty to do

DEWA Bill average 190dhs / mth air con included

GingerWizard

PS> the company cannot charge you for the visa costs if you leave - thats in the Labor law, doesnt even matter if you sign a contract stating that
they can however add that you pay for Recruitment Agency fees, shipping costs if they have provided them in your move to Dubai etc.

ask them to add a "pro-rata" of costs ammendment, so each month you work decreases costs by 1/12th to you - if you do leave in 1yr