Hello people,

I am very excited about being offered a teaching job in Dubai in the Festival city area. I have been offered (what I think to be) a standard package which includes; annual return flight home, free ulilities, free shared accommodation (with another female teacher...after a year I get a £500 allowance to live anywhere-or I can stay in teacher accom free), free medical insurance, I get free transport to and from school.....ohhhh I am very excited.

Does this sound a reasonable package? I have other interviews, but to be honest, I like this school and am tempted not to go to the upcoming interviews (one is for GEMs schools-any ideas?) ....any advice?

Are there any teachers reading this?? please get in touch if so...I'd love to hear about your experiences!

BettyCrockerxx

sounds standard...though £500 allowance to live anywhere must be a joke?

MM, xx

enough for a tent in some grot camp?

Anyway, welcome to BE

There's some school info in the wiki, so perhaps you could check that for some info on schools...

From what I understand GEMS are offering in the region of 14k a month with a 1 bed apartment including utilities, return airfare and medical insurance. 500 quid is a complete and utter joke! think you could be making a mistake accepting this package

Hello chaps,

Thank you for your responses! I had an interview with another school today funnily enough! Their package seems good about 70,000 annual housing allowance, single accommodation, medical, flights etc, 10, 200 starting salary but no utilities, and would have to buy a car...does this look like a better package?

The schools both look fabulous! But I think its just a case of weighing up the packages, and looking at the schools in more detail...

Blue Cat, do you work for GEMs? Are you a teacher?

BettyCrocker xx

Good luck- whichever one you go with eventually!!!

70,000!!!!!!!!!! no way they are trying to shaft you! No I am not a teacher but I do live in the GEMS education building - all the GEMS teachers get an apartment as part of their package, not an allowance, an actual apartment.

Oh dear! Yes they did say it would be a single apartment (my interview was with GEMs yesterday)...but after a year I can opt to take the housing allowance (which I will so that I can buy/rent with my boyfriend), he said it is 70,000...I worked it out to be about £800 is that really not good enough?

Are the Gems apartments nice?

I am waiting on the contract from the 1st interview and I'll hear back from GEMs next week...got allorra lorra UMMMing and AHHHing!!!

what they do is they give you an apartment, chances are it will be in my building, your boyfriend can live with you, no problem. Take an apartment not the cash

Ohh right, I was under the impression that the employer and me would get into trouble if I lived with my boyfriend? The principle at the last interview said unmarried couples can live together 'we just don't talk about it' ...and another head teacher told me that they would not allow this and they would get into trouble? Do you know many unmarried couples living together in Dubai?
Which district of Dubai is the GEms educational building? what are they like?

B

I lived with my husband for three years before we got married. Maybe the school has a policy about it but how are they going to find out ?? Just keep quiet and they won't know. Girl over the corridor is living with someone but I am not 100% sure if they are married or not.

They have a few different apartment blocks. Mine which is near the Greens, Al Barsha, and they have one near Mall of the Emirates, and one opposite the American Academy. They are all new and all have their own merits. The one at the American Academy doesn't have a pool, but mine does. The finish in mine is way nicer than the other one. BUT it is noisy! be warned. I was speaking to one of the other teachers in here the other night and she has asked to me moved out because of the noise. It can be bad when the construction is hammering

Thank you so much for your replies and advice! Living together would be much nicer, then we could save together for a place at some point in the future. I would only have looked to moving out and taking the housing allowance to live with him....

Having a swimming pool sounds fabulous!! I heard that they can be noisy, but I guess its a bit of a gamble if there is so much development all the time!

Do you love living in Dubai?

yes I do love living here, not as much as I used to and I would move to another Emirate but not actually out of the UAE. The pool aint that fab but handy for topping up the tan. What line of work is the boyfriend in? maybe he could get a better housing allowance?

He is a property consultant here in UK. He has got 3 or 4 interviews lined up for March, which is great, although the property consultant jobs don't seem to include a 'package'....I guess we will know more when he has his interviews...

mmmm you could be right there, I don't think you get housing allowance. Anyway see how it goes. Good luck !