Meow

No spiders, just ants. Plus use of an outside tap and he can cook on the BBQ.

scrubbedexpat141

BBQ every day?

You're getting me excited.

norsk

is he allowed to bring his lady round? also please tell me you're not going to foot the coal/gas for the bbq. he could get used to the good life and all that.

norsk

I have a spare mattress if you want it mate. it's one of those really good ones, bought it for my maid in bahrain and think i paid around 45 dhs..

scrubbedexpat141

If it has been slept on by her it's probably ant repellant. Might work a trick in Meow's shed.

norsk

Are Filipinos naturally ant repelling or something? Could this be classified as a racist comment?

Patsy Stoned

darling, I have a spare room short term if you get desperate.

scrubbedexpat141

Thank you, very kind...but I do have the option to just go and live at my mrs' place for free...I'm just too stubborn to not have my own place...especialyl when I love my apartment.

commander

Plus living with her is illegal (I'm beating Busybee to it ;-))

busybee2

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah...and I won't be able to get a booze license.

mentalist

As if that really matters.

scrubbedexpat141

A bit of peace of mind...that's all.

Patsy Stoned

It was only a temporary solution darling.

Eeyore

Er, no. The idea that all companies either pay your rent or give you a full rent loan is one of the classic Dubai myths. If you work in certain sectors - oil, gas, aviation, the "traditional" expat industries, then yes, you're likely to get rent paid, often along with school fees, but otherwise, there are no guarantees. Most of the companies in "New Dubai" don't pay rent or school fees, it's all about the all-inclusive salary. Interesting that that's now extended to some construction companies too.

I remember when IndieGirl was still here, she confirmed that every week she'd see people earning 75k per month and upwards coming into the bank to get rent loans, because that was the only way they could cover it in one cheque, which pretty much all landlords were able to demand during the boom years.

And of course, if you have to take a rent loan, you're probably pretty much locked in to always having to get one, because otherwise you'd have to commit a year to paying your monthly loan instalment *and* saving the same again for next year's rent - which is likely to be unaffordable for many.

Maybe one day the government will see sense and give all tenants the legal right to pay rent monthly at no penalty in terms of the rent amount... but I'm not holding my breath.