The_Citizen

I have a better quality of life than I would do in the UK. I enjoy my job and I can save more money living here than I could in the UK.

I haven't reached my savings goals yet but I have them staggered and I should hit the first one by Christmas which was the plan.

Nellie1584

arrhhh ok need to clarify this because i hear different things all the time and i know its not clear cut however........ would this be end of financial year 2014 (i came out in Jan 13) or financial year 2015?

scrubbedexpat141

Meow will tell you better, but in short you need to do a full tax year overseas + meet a bunch of other criteria depending on your ties to the UK and how many days you've been there visiting etc.

Jan 2013 in theory means April 2014 is the earliest you could leave....depending on the other shizzle.

Nellie1584

perfect- thats what i had in my head. Im trying to be super open minded about it. I love living here, just the job that sucks.
Plus things like missing friends weddings, not being able to meet my new niece or nephew make it hard

al dente

Our goals have definitely changed since moving here. We came to pay off a house, but sold it and bought another, which we now have to pay off. We have savings and don't spend all that we earn but our goal posts moved.

Victor Meldrew

As far as having reached goals are concerned, particularly financial ones, I find I keep moving the goalposts (pun intended). This started in 2001 as paying off debts in UK and paying a chunk off the mortgage. Then, like another poster, I bought a more expensive house - and a bigger mortgage - planning to pay a big chunk. Now it has become paying all of it off. Now it is saving for retirement.

It's a continual case of "well, another year would give £xxxxx extra cash - so lets sign on again"

Unlike other people, I love being back in UK (usually 2 to 3 months each year), and will never see anywhere other than UK as 'home'. I have gradually got used to seeing the ME as a good 'home from home' - there are far worse places. However it would never be my preference.

I think that, once I do return, I won't regret it. In fact I might even think - 'why didn't I do this sooner?'

Tockalosh

we hit our initial saving goal in Bahrain

Then lost it in Australia

Hated the UK and couldnt get back out here fast enough and loaded with regrets (never should have left for Oz etc)

Now back and loving it

On less cash than we were in Bahrain and start up costs have been significantly higher in DXB than BAH so savings plan is bolloxed for a while

Dont go back KK

Ethos83

Hello Kitty,

To answer your questions:

Meet my savings objectives? No, but I set the bar very high and still came close.

Regrets going home? No. I came home to a good job, bought a flat in central London and got married.

Most of my friends from the Dubai days have since left as well, almost always to their home countries. We all complain about the taxes and the UK ones the weather as well, but I don't get a sense that people really want to return to Dubai. It may have something to do about the industries we worked in or the ages we were in Dubai (party time dude!) versus UK (settling down, buying houses)

While I'm not opposed to returning to Dubai for a stint if the right position at the right package came up and I do think about it when packed into a cramped tube train instead of cruising easily to work in my old 4x4, or when the sky is a dull grey and it's damp for days on ends, but the facts are:

Family is in the UK. Mrs Ethos and I have scads of little nieces/nephews that we genuinely like and we anticipate having our own children a few years down the road. To live so far away from the grandparents would be hard.

Culture is in the UK. We are emotionally connected to the environments we're surrounded by in the UK. I want to raise my children in the UK, not Dubai.

There's no question that for many people the life they had in Dubai is much better than in the UK. Greater disposable incomes, larger cars, nicer houses, better schools, tax free, travel and all that. And I don't blame them for wanting to stay there. But I'm fortunate enough that I've been able to organise my life in the UK such that it's pretty good and no, I'm not just looking at it from a materialistic perspective but the things we like to do and our family and friends are here, not in the UAE.

Kitty - I think Dubai is reaching the sell-by date for you. Your heart is clearly in London and your family/friends at home. I'll say this: leave. You won't regret it. You've saved some money and while more money is useful, lost time with family/friends can't be bought back. Alternatively if you decide you do need to stay a bit longer, then book a flight to London once a month or every six weeks for a long weekend to get your UK fix.

Mrs Bukit

We are very happy back in Blighty. Spent 10 years away ( 5yrs Malaysia, 5 yrs Mid East). Had no real savings plan but Managed to put kids through uni debt free and boosted the old pension fund a bit. Really, really enjoyed our time away and feel very lucky to have experienced such a fantastic life style ( we had the full 'package!) but for us the flash house with pool, brunches, fancy cars, maids, drivers and exotic holidays just didn't make up for time lost with loved ones. We are in our 50's now so time with elderly parents more precious than ever and for us nothing can beat baby sitting our baby grand daughter or for me, having girly weekends with my sister. Also missed all the culture and countryside uk has, took it all for granted till we didn't have it.
You do have to be careful when you come back not to make your expat life seem the norm in a conversation, even if it was. People soon glaze over and just think you are an out of touch bore! And don't come back and immediately go out and buy new range rover, not good way to make friends! It is good to find fellow ex expats and chat about the old life though.
If I'm honest all the trappings of being an expat didn't sit comfortably with us, we were treated like royalty at times while others lived miserable hard, lives just because of their nationality. Never really felt 'at home', always felt aware of not offending someone with what I wore or said and especially in Asia just being perceived as a walking money dispenser. We know a lot of people who enjoy the 'power' they have acquired over people and places and could never come back and be invisible again. We also know people who go with a savings plan but never think its going to be enough. Years later they are just obsessed with zeros on the bank statement and forgotten for what and why they went away in the first place.
Reset the priorities now and again and you'll be fine.

co durham boy

Just apply the bucket theory , it's quite simple . If you came for the money and you've hit your goal then get out , never make yourself miserable in this part of the world , it will drive you mad .

These places are only a means to an end for most , one of the most important points of working overseas is realising why you're here . There's a lot of people nowadays just want to be " Expats " as it's the new in thing .

People who stay the course overseas for long periods of time usually know why they're doing it and are also well aware that there's no perfect place or Utopia .

You can find yourself being stagnant or just treading water here if you don't change companies or move to other countries .

Knowing when to pull the pin is always a tough one but i think you might already know the answer .

mentalist

Although I don't know you, I wish there were more people like you living here in Dubai. You seem so genuine and well balanced.

Maxima

That is because she was not the type who would read the DM first thing in the morning and lament how the UK has gone to the dogs with the crime and the migrants and the welfare cheaters.

Arcadia

I agree with the last two posts.

We didn't get pushed out of our jobs, we decided after 12 years in Abu Dhabi it was time to leave.

We arrived in 1999 before the days of shopping malls, brunch culture etc and saved, saved, saved.

We ran a Dodge Durango into the ground even though we were tempted at times to buy the big shiny landcruiser, navigator, escalade.

We worked hard all week, and weekends still went for meals, sightseeing and just meeting up with mates for bbq's.

We always had a goal which was a house mortgage free, a nice static caravan, he got his Merc and we have a six figure sum stashed away..Job done, targets met..go home...simple.

I am the only worker now, he " thinks" he's retired, I work for an Emiratee family, but I'm still based in the North East, and only have to travel South to deal with the families private buisness here.

End of the day, I think you get a gut feeling when you know you done, it's not just the usual..(some dickhead pissed you off today) feeling..It' s a more calm, controlled, enough is enough I want to go home feeling.

Millsyisland

I find this happens virtually every day though.

scrubbedexpat141

Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't.

The driving really grinds me down. SItting in the JLT traffic every night now to get to SZR traffic, to get to Business Bay traffic. It's soul destroying sometimes but I flick between a few attitudes:

I'm not letting you push in you ****. I'm going to make sure you can't get in front of me. ANGRY NOISES.

**** it, go in front of me, I'm about to go full beam and flashy to bug you for being an impatient prick.

**** it, go in front of me, you're clearly so much more important than the rest of the world. I hope you have a non fatal accident you ****tard.

**** it. I can't be arsed, just go. I'll go back to smoking and looking cool.

**** it, wave you through...oh, no thank you? WELL **** YOU ARSEHOLE.

**** it, in you go, awww you said thanks, this is a good day.