Advice please - Dubai vs London salary & cost of living comparison
DH's company is transferring him to Dubai by the end of the year but offering a salary of AED25,000 per month including housing alowance (plus company car, medical & the usual) - with which we are not happy as it is considerably lower than his current package - but company is restructuring and not really open to negotiation - it is pretty much 'take it or leave it' :(
He also has a job offer with a company in London which would pay GBP 60,000 per year.
We are living in another GCC country at the moment (but no alternative job prospects here, so it looks like we will have to relocate). We have a 1 year old and another baby due in February so I cannot work right now to help financially and to be honest we are in a bit of a pickle. We know neither of these packages are fantastic but in order for us to move and get settled (and not be without an income!) by the time the new baby arrives we will have to take one of these two offers now and tighten our belts if necessary. But... we are not really up to date on the cost of living in Dubai or London (have lived in both cities years ago during our carefree single days...) so don't know which option will allow for the best quality of life for a young family on 1 income.
If we move to Dubai we will likely rent a small 3 bed villa in Mirdiff or an apartment in a new community like Motor City or Layan as those seem to be the most affordable options (DH will be working in DIP). So rent of about AED8,000 per month leaving us with AED17,000 per month for everything else. Is it do-able? If we move to the UK DH would be working in Docklands and commute and we would probably live in a town/village outside London where presumably rent would be cheaper than in inner London (if anyone could suggest specific areas that would be great as I haven't researched that part yet!).
If you had a young family of 3, soon 4, to support, and these were your only two immediate options, which would you take? We are not expecting to save any money during the next year or so, just want to be able to live comfortably! I am under the impression that the UK offer is a better option financially??? On the other hand, since we are already in the GCC and DH's employer would pay to ship our furniture etc (and we could export our car) the move to Dubai just seems less intimidating logistically. But I think pregnancy may be clouding my vision!!
This situation was so unexpected, we thought DH's job was secure and didn't plan to move for another year or two minimum - until suddenly it was taken out of our hands! - and since I was already nervous about soon having two children under two years before all this uncertainty came up - I am having a nervous breakdown right now and really, really need your advice!
- RATE IT
- 38
- RATE IT
- 44
- RATE IT
- 33
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 40
- RATE IT
- 36
- RATE IT
- 42
- RATE IT
- 47
- RATE IT
- 38
- RATE IT
- 40
- RATE IT
- 4
- RATE IT
- 36
- RATE IT
- 46
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 32
- RATE IT
- 41
- RATE IT
- 41
- RATE IT
- 34
- RATE IT
- 29
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 35
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 37
- RATE IT
- 41
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 40
- RATE IT
- 39
- RATE IT
- 32
- RATE IT
- 41
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
- last