Kix

I don't want to rival another thread so I started a new one.

How much, all in for say a family of 4 with both kids in school, would you say a "Featherbed package"is?

Now iI'm thinking around 40k base, 20k housing, 20k schools, 1 return business class for all the family per year and 5k transportation allowance.

What does everyone else think?

And more to the point, does anyone on here get near AED100,000/month?

I know I don't.

Desert Dubliner

20k school per month?

mikewot

Do you mean only 100k?

Kix

For two kids, yes. I pay 9,000 for one! And that's without the Nepal trip in 3 weeks....

britexpat76

I know a few on much more than that. I have just left a house party at what can only be described as being held in an embassy. (It is next to 3 embassy's and huge)

mentalist

Wow, that's Dhs27,000 per school term. We pay Dhs 6,250 per term and my daughter loves it, but then I am Mr. Scrooge as everybody on here knows.

flares

14,720 per kid per term - Brit Jr school Abu Dhabi. under 4k pm per kid if spread over year so 20k pm is high even if you do pay more as they get older

OriginalSunshine

most featherbeds where I am get school fees paid, for the amount of the fees, not necessarily an allowance; same with housing - often the house is provided, and the houses are rented on 10yr leases so you could be lucky or unlucky. my first hideous box house cost the company 15k per month (and utilities on top) because that was the market price. when a friend moved and I moved into their lovely (but older) villa with garden (that's rare here) and large maids quarters, the 10yr lease was only costing the company 6k per month, because the lease price is out of sync with the market.

others get an allowance that can be great (25k) or difficult (10k) - it's company dependant.

my kids school fees cost 90k per year, and that is reimbursed on receipt of bills; housing and utilities are simply taken care of.

the base depends on job level - I know folks on featherbeds for 35k through to 60k. everybody in the same company that is on the featherbed, whatever job level gets 1 business class return flight or cash equivalent for each member of family that lives with the staff. So... you could have an extremely senior manager on 60k per month, but he's single so he only gets one flight; or an engineer on 35k per month with wife and 3 kids, so he gets 5 flights.

transport is a tricky one - some folks get a 4WD provided; others get the cash as an allowance; others get a higher base but no transport.

what I find sad though is how the expat wives judge each other based on their houses - and it can be inverse snobbery - there's a lovely lady who's the wife of a CEO of a major international company, and the other mums at the school ignore her for the most part because they are intimidated by her house and contents of house.

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah, but is she fit?

OriginalSunshine

What are you doing up so early? Aren't you meant to be nursing a hangover?

scrubbedexpat141

I am.

I've got a three year old kids birthday party at the beach. Leaving in 30 mins.

Head (hair covered) is pounding.

Millhouse

I would say that about half of my office are on around that. Sadly, I'm in the wrong half.

flares

Scamp moonlights as a Clown didn't you know.

Millhouse

I had him down as Mr Blobby.

scrubbedexpat141

You could be my sidekick - Chicken Little.