is this do-able | ExpatWoman.com
 

is this do-able

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 July 2011 - 15:04

Having lived apart for the past few years we may now be in a position to be together but is this an alright contract, salary 27,000 mth, education 42,000 per child (we have two), accomodation 160,000, we will need to top up education and we are prepared to find something within our accomodation allowance, a little savings would also be nice - probably spent on holidays etc. Thanks in advance

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 July 2011 - 02:57
thanks again busybee2 and eli19 - we would be coming from NZ so seriously could not imagine being happy living in a apartment building, goes against the Kiwi way of life lol. Yes, it has gotten seriously expensive living in NZ also over the last two to three years and more so when you are running two households, I reckon we will feel rich when are finally in the same city! Will know for certain in the first few days of next week, I have everything crossed - once again thanks :)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 July 2011 - 09:13
accommodation in the majority of places has come down, at least now you have a choice. in some areas things have not changed, in al reef prices seem to be going up/steady as there is nothing there and it was cheaper than the rest of abu dhabi. in areas such as the established popular compounds things havent come down as much and they are still putting up the prices by 5% each year which is allowable by law. but if you have 160 then you will find a villa in khalifa city defo. prices for accommodation have come down, but the cost of living has gone up, schools prices and food prices have gone up. I agree with busybee. Food prices have gone quite a bit. Cost of living as well. Of course it all depends on your lifestyle. Aed 27k salary means your severance pay is based on this figure, excluding housing allowance/ education, and transport. You should have some money for savings, so long as you are careful. Living in the Emirates means that the heat forces you to seek shelter in shopping centres (boredom shopping warning) and most indoor activities for children can quickly add up and create havoc with your carefully planned budget. Are you sure you want to live in a villa? If you want to save money remember villa living comes at a price. You have to water the garden and a/c to cool a larger property. Prices of flats on the island have come down quite a lot. I just saw a huge 4 bedroom flat in a brand-new building on Airport road and about 2 blocks from Al Wahda mall for aed 160k (yes, it had a maid's room and all). If you have secured places at Brighton you can go ahead and enroll them there. It might be easier to transfer them to another school if that is what you want, once you are "inside" (wink). Also the good news is that school places for Year 7 and 9 are easier to find than say year 1.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 28 July 2011 - 02:15
accommodation in the majority of places has come down, at least now you have a choice. in some areas things have not changed, in al reef prices seem to be going up/steady as there is nothing there and it was cheaper than the rest of abu dhabi. in areas such as the established popular compounds things havent come down as much and they are still putting up the prices by 5% each year which is allowable by law. but if you have 160 then you will find a villa in khalifa city defo. prices for accommodation have come down, but the cost of living has gone up, schools prices and food prices have gone up.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 July 2011 - 01:12
thanks eli19, children will be yr 7 and yr 9 in Sept and we know we can get them into Brighton, we will also have a go for BSAK and Al Yasmina although realise that they will have wait lists. Do you think 27 000 is enough to live a modest life with a little savings for travel or is that pretty tight? I realise that there are people on huge amounts more but also a lot less, have been there before and think we would manage OK presuming things haven't changed massively over the past couple of years, thanks
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 July 2011 - 22:01
Accomodation allowance is fine. I know lots of expat who are doing just fine with less money. Education allowance seems a bit low. Schools in the UAE are really expensive. Check the websites. Brighton College is about aed 60k per year per child and this does not cover transport, books, uniforms, meals and field trips (and all school have plenty of these). The BSAK is less money but the entrance fee is aed 9,200 and of course, all the above items. Also, competition for places is fierce. To this moment I am still on their waitling lists and this is the end of July. Try to find places for the children before coming. and be prepared to pay the difference between what the company gives you and the real fees out of your own pocket.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 July 2011 - 06:30
Busybee2 thanks for your reply, have read several of your posts and you seem to be 'up with the play', great to hear that the accommodation allowance is alright, market must have really dropped then as I was looking a year or two back when temp working in AD and that would have been no where near - one again thanks, should have realised lots will be away
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 27 July 2011 - 05:42
yeh thats seems ok, but as its the summer people do not necessarily log into this site when on holiday. you should be ok. rent has come down so 160 is good.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 July 2011 - 02:12
OK then, clearly either the wrong place to post this or the completely wrong site - anyone? I have searched thoroughly but can't quite find a similar question re AD - a few to do with Dubai, I apologise if everyone is sick of the same posts