Where to start?
#31
Re: Where to start?
In 5 years time, Abu Dhabi will be a very, very nice place to live... At the moment, it is much sleepier than Dubai, less choice of places to go. But the traffic is much lighter, cost of living a little cheaper, new places are starting to open..... and you can drive down to Dubai for week-ends when the allure of Sin City gets overpowering!
#32
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 7,028
Re: Where to start?
In 5 years time, Abu Dhabi will be a very, very nice place to live... At the moment, it is much sleepier than Dubai, less choice of places to go. But the traffic is much lighter, cost of living a little cheaper, new places are starting to open..... and you can drive down to Dubai for week-ends when the allure of Sin City gets overpowering!
#33
Re: Where to start?
Dago, a lot of people in upper middle to senior management in banks; oil&gas earn AED 50k and significantly higher - esp if you're in the DIFC.
MG- aren't the tax rates being brought down significantly in Australia?
#34
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 9
Re: Where to start?
At the momement we are paying 45% tax. 30-40% is minimum you would expect to pay. Childcare $500/week for two kids. Housing / renting is becoming too expensive, $400-800/ week depending on the area. Total cost of living is just very high.
#35
Re: Where to start?
My kids school fees : Primary : AED 31600 per year, plus bus - AED 5000.
Year 8 : AED 60,000 per year (excludes private music lessons, other extra curricular activities)
I have a maid/cook - whom I pay AED 2000 a month, currently.
#36
Banned
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Kuwait - Sringboard to Djibouti
Posts: 305
Re: Where to start?
I think that there is a lot of pectoral flexing here. Who cares how much you earn. Let us analyse where Melbourne girl is coming from. They have been on holiday and want to live here. On the face of it that is exactly what thousands of people do after their fortnight in Magaluf - but in fairness the Melbournes seem more sophisticated. There is an expressed desire to visit Europe, there is an implicit but unconnected desire to go to galleries. My suggestion is that they go and move to Europe and not to Dubai where the chances of success are better and it is directly related to their stated strategy.
Dubai is a vibrant ex-pat community, the majority of whose residents are not getting anywhere - and I mean numerically - including taxi drivers and so on. Even within the professions the employers can get sick of taking on expensive whites and go for equally competent indians except where there is a special need.
The economic reality is that not paying income tax is not a viable strategy for self improvement in the long run - but self improvement is - per se. By all means have good fun but do so by associating life goals with how you structure it. You can have fun in Dubai - even in Kuwait where I live - but that is being there. Having fun in Europe is not conventional wisdom for a Dubai inhabitant.
Why not get a job in The Smoke taking rich old bags round European galleries - there is enough of them? You can even avoid tax and get most of the benefits of a free system - health, teeth, education.
Madam - you don't know what you want except that you want us to tell you that there is a pot of gold with your name on it.
Dubai is a vibrant ex-pat community, the majority of whose residents are not getting anywhere - and I mean numerically - including taxi drivers and so on. Even within the professions the employers can get sick of taking on expensive whites and go for equally competent indians except where there is a special need.
The economic reality is that not paying income tax is not a viable strategy for self improvement in the long run - but self improvement is - per se. By all means have good fun but do so by associating life goals with how you structure it. You can have fun in Dubai - even in Kuwait where I live - but that is being there. Having fun in Europe is not conventional wisdom for a Dubai inhabitant.
Why not get a job in The Smoke taking rich old bags round European galleries - there is enough of them? You can even avoid tax and get most of the benefits of a free system - health, teeth, education.
Madam - you don't know what you want except that you want us to tell you that there is a pot of gold with your name on it.
#38
Banned
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Kuwait - Sringboard to Djibouti
Posts: 305
Re: Where to start?
........ she did ask what is a good salary, and anyway I wouldn't leave Melbourne for anything less than AED 40k a month (without kids as is the case with her).
Dago, a lot of people in upper middle to senior management in banks; oil&gas earn AED 50k and significantly higher - esp if you're in the DIFC.
MG- aren't the tax rates being brought down significantly in Australia?
Dago, a lot of people in upper middle to senior management in banks; oil&gas earn AED 50k and significantly higher - esp if you're in the DIFC.
MG- aren't the tax rates being brought down significantly in Australia?
I know the UK system fairly well - it is roughly the same there and there are moves to chase Citizens for foreign earnings which are untaxed - the offshore accounts are the thin edge. The point I make is that it may be difficult to be non-resident. It is in the UK (where the term non-domiciled applies).
I don't know if there are any Aussies on site who have practical experience - the issue is evading the tax rather than avoiding it.
#39
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 9
Re: Where to start?
I am just doing my research, asking you nice people to tell me your experience, from which we will know things, like so many great things you all told us and we did not know.
Melbourne is nice city if you are single. When you have family really you lose social life and just live to have enough strength to take care of kids and little bit yourself. Quality of life and lifestyle for us has been 0. That is because we have been alone, no family. Friends we accumulated over the years all went own ways, and some grew with you some not.
So we want change. The question is where? Hubby has PhD in Mechanical eng and is very decent and good bloke, I am versatile (As I have to be), but my passion is art and I have been successful as artist and selling my work, wining wards. Our kids are 5 and 3. Some web site suggests that international schools are very good. One can only hope. Our fiends kids go to state schools and are complaining of the system and education is not kicking in at all. Bit worrying about that, but.
Again, as I mentioned, Australia is far away from anything, and you need lots of money to get anywhere and nerves flying. 24 hours to get to Vienna is believe me nerve wrecking, specially with kids.
I ll check that about taxing Dago, as it is news to us. Thanks all We have learned so much through you kind advises. If we do end up coming, I ll invite you all to come to my opening…as I will kick in with that no matter what.
Melbourne is nice city if you are single. When you have family really you lose social life and just live to have enough strength to take care of kids and little bit yourself. Quality of life and lifestyle for us has been 0. That is because we have been alone, no family. Friends we accumulated over the years all went own ways, and some grew with you some not.
So we want change. The question is where? Hubby has PhD in Mechanical eng and is very decent and good bloke, I am versatile (As I have to be), but my passion is art and I have been successful as artist and selling my work, wining wards. Our kids are 5 and 3. Some web site suggests that international schools are very good. One can only hope. Our fiends kids go to state schools and are complaining of the system and education is not kicking in at all. Bit worrying about that, but.
Again, as I mentioned, Australia is far away from anything, and you need lots of money to get anywhere and nerves flying. 24 hours to get to Vienna is believe me nerve wrecking, specially with kids.
I ll check that about taxing Dago, as it is news to us. Thanks all We have learned so much through you kind advises. If we do end up coming, I ll invite you all to come to my opening…as I will kick in with that no matter what.
#40
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 7,028
Re: Where to start?
Dubai is really for singles too and its culture is artificial...I would suggest that Spain, France or Portugal would be better.