terryfidaheights

Hello everyone, I have been approched about a job in AD and was looking for some advice. I have limited detail at the minute but will be talking about the package with them in the coming days.
I will be leaving my wife and kid back home so this is really about me earning as much as I can in 2-3 years.
The salary is £50,000 (uk) tax free which sounds great. I really need to know what is realistic in terms of housing costs/allowances, flight allowances, medical cover, car allowances and monthly general cost of living before I go in to negotiate.
Anything Ive missed?
All help and advice is really appreciated.

Ethos83

I don't think you are going to get much positive feedback from the forum.

First of all, housing is very expensive in the UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi. Your salary offer works out to just under 300,000 AED for the year, or 24,500 AED per month.

For a single person this is a fine package and will cover all expenses with money left over.

But for a married person who has to support a wife and family, even back in the UK, it's not particularly great.

For a one-bedroom flat in Abu Dhabi you will need a 100,000 AED to cover the rent and the monthly utilities costs.

I would estimate a minimum of 750 AED a week for spending money, and this is on the frugal side. That works out to 39,000 AED for the year.

Car hire: 2,500 AED/month, or 30,000 AED for the year.

Four tickets a year back to the UK: 10,000 AED.

Throw in another 1,000 AED a month for hidden expenses (and there are many of those out here. Many): 12,000 AED.

Now we're up to 191,000 AED, and this is just to support you in Abu Dhabi. You're left with 100,000 AED in possible savings to send home. That's 16,000 pounds, approximately, or ~1,400 a month, to support your wife and kids.

If your salary offer is the base salary only with everything else on top and that's what you're going in to negotiate for, then it's a different story. But to live out here on only 50,000 GBP and support a family back in the UK it's not going to play out well.

Bahtatboy

If you get the company to pay for the following it may not be a bad deal, but does depend on your "economic rent" ie how much more you'll be earning over here compared with what you could earn in UK.

Accommodation (including power & water): 100k pa would find you something very modest, if you're having your family out to say than should be 150k min.
Flights: cheapest to buy from UK, say 500quid per head per person. If you're doing it on bachelor status the company's saving on school fees, so I'd try to negotiate a couple of trips out for your family, and 4 back for you.
Medical: company's obliged to provide minimum, but you want something proper (eg AXA)
Car: Better to get them to provide it, it WILL get damaged; if not, as Ethos says
General living: Best part of AED 5k pcm unless you want to be a hermit; see if you can negotiate a "local allowance" on top of your salary. Its not cheap here.

What industry are you in?

Good luck.

Cypselos

If this goes the normal way the cavalry will be along shortly to tell you how you can easily live for less than 3000 AED and what a fantastic life they have on 1000 AED a month. You can't.

terryfidaheights

Thanks for everything so far, it really is eye opening!
Some of you might know the business Im talking to (Al Futtaim) and may even be aware of their standard packages etc.
I want to live a decent life whilst overseas but the real aim of what I want to do is to be able to send as much money home as I can each month.
Is it normal to live in Dubai but work in AD as it seems much more reasonable there.
As I see it the salary is fine, its more about getting the company to cover as much as I can in terms of living expenses, would this be right???

Hello.Kitty

quite a few people live on the Abu Dhabi end of Dubai (Jebel Ali/ Disco Gardens/ marina) and commute in. Be aware though, that it's a long commute - 1h30 each way - and a horrid road with complete maniacs driving stupidly at very high speed and there are almost daily nasty accidents. You'll need to get your car serviced every 5000km, unless it's a rental car, where you just hand it back with a smile!

£50k is on the low side, if that includes all the various "allowances". I know it sounds daft to say that £50k is low, but you'll probably have to be sending at least £1k to the UK every month, not including mortgage, if you still have that to pay. Ethos and Bahtat have done a good run-down... on £50k you'll live, but not save... so is that worth being apart from your family for 2 years?

flares

don't forget you may be liable for some tax in UK if you don't stay out here for a certain length of time

terryfidaheights

£50k is the salary element.

The various allowances are on top of that...just to clarify!

They do offer company owned accomodation, what do you suggest on that front?

Meow

Just because there is no income tax in the UK, does not mean that you won't be laible to UK taxes on some of it. That depends on when you become non-resident for tax purposes and how long you remain so, as well as the number of days you spend in the UK each tax year.

Unless you housing is provided or a decent allowance that fully covers your rent, AED 25k or so per month is not a high salary for a Western expat. The cost of living is pretty high.

Bahtatboy

As any good PM or the like knows, the secret is to maximise your income and minimise your outgoings: so get as much salary and living allowance (if they do one) as you can, and off-load as many expenses (AND risks) as you can to the company.

I'll re-emphasise that: off-load risk to your employer. Get them to be responsible for accommodation (including the utilities)--you may not end up in quite as nice a place as if they gave you an allowance and then you choose, but (given that 50k quid isn't a huge salary) at least you won't start dipping into your own money. (Unless of course they'd give you a big housing allowance, and you could opt to get something cheaper--but bear in mind you'll have to fork out 1/4 or 1/3 or even 1/2 up front, and bear the risk of having to pay it all if you have to return to UK for some unforseen reason.)

Likewise with the car: it will get damaged. I had some twat run into the back of me the other week, and the bastards at VW ended up keeping mine in their workshop for 5 days just to try to get the twat's insurance assessor to look at it, which in the event they failed to do. Its still drivable, but because of the general inefficiency and high twat levels out here, my company had to hire a car for me for 5 days--and that's before it actually gets repaired. And don't even think of running up and down between Dubai and AD in your own car; long-term rental maybe, but most have maximum mileages.

On 50k you need to aim to keep your expenses (and risks) to a minimum: food, booze and entertainment. That means your employer needs to pay for accommodation + utilities, car, air fares, decent health insurance, mobile phone.

Also factor in that although your family will miss you, they probably won't save any money coz you're not there. Unless 'er indoors is Mrs Do It All, home expenses could increase coz you're not there to cut the grass, fix the garage door, top the oil up, paint the living room etc etc.

Hello.Kitty

I think most women would know how to wield a lawn-mower and mums especially can be surprisingly self-sufficient. The OP's main worry about being apart for so long should be just that - sometimes each side of the couple can become a bit too self-sufficient and lose sight of why they got married in the first place.

Unless you're making a serious wad of cash that goes straight into your savings, then I wouldn't do it... at what price happiness and all that.

Bahtatboy

Quite agree--and I'm not suggesting that most mums don't know how or couldn't, just that that sort of thing generally falls into dad's scope of work, and if mum's busy anyway then added jobs could be too much of a strain on top of being separated for long periods.

Conversely, your wife might apply the Japanese maxim that the ideal husband is healthy, wealthy and absent.

Coopersda

My first post on here and I just have to acknowledge this quote made me laugh out loud!