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EWfood

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Cost of living - EK Wife

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379

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 20 March 2016 - 22:14

Hi Dally I have just replied in the other post on 'you are what you eat and use'. My sincere apologies as I said that you have been diagnosed with cancer and now you are recovering. That is so wonderful!! Again, I apologise profusely as I have started writing here. xx Thanks Gunpowder13, I am really doing very well.

87

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 20 March 2016 - 20:42

Hi Dally I have just replied in the other post on 'you are what you eat and use'. My sincere apologies as I said that you have been diagnosed with cancer and now you are recovering. That is so wonderful!! Again, I apologise profusely as I have started writing here. xx

379

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 20 March 2016 - 09:49

I am sorry to hear of your troubles Dally, I hope you make a full and speedy recovery. I'm doing great, thanks for asking. ?

62

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 14:43

I am sorry to hear of your troubles Dally, I hope you make a full and speedy recovery.

62

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 14:39

500g lurpak butter at Tesco UK is £3.25. This is 17.25 dirhams according to XE. 500g lurpak butter at Choitrams is 21 dirhams. This means it is 20% more expensive for an imported brand. Considering the salary here compared to what you will make flying EasyJet and the like I think it is a fair price to pay. You can't come here and compare apples and oranges because you are not earning in pounds anymore. You are earning in dirhams.

379

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 13:45

I'm out and about today but possibly start a new thread and we can all add what we've discovered. Take my email detail and I'll delete once you've got it - lizallman18 at yahoo dot co dot uk You might be interested in http://m.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=962 I heard Chris Woolams speak a few years ago and gave me plenty to think about, especially what you eat and use around the home.

135

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 12:54

I know this thread is going slightly off topic but regarding the price of food - as I am recovering from Cancer I am very much more aware of where my food comes from and try to source food from countries that I can trust doesn't use the pesticides that are banned in most Western communities. I choose to pay way over the odds for celery from USA rather than the cheaper variety from China, same goes with red onions (India) mandarins (Pakistan) These are just a few examples so buying my butter from France or UK rather than Eygpt, Saudi Arabia, India etc is not so much as sticking with brands I know and a life style choice it's a health choice, which obviously has financial implications but the health of me and my family comes first. Hey dally! further off topic but my husband just recovered from cancer. I'm also trying to source my food directly from the farm and as organic as possible. Would be interesting if we could exchange email id and share what we are buying from where ..let me know if ur interested.

353

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 11:24

I know this thread is going slightly off topic but regarding the price of food - as I am recovering from Cancer I am very much more aware of where my food comes from and try to source food from countries that I can trust doesn't use the pesticides that are banned in most Western communities. I choose to pay way over the odds for celery from USA rather than the cheaper variety from China, same goes with red onions (India) mandarins (Pakistan) These are just a few examples so buying my butter from France or UK rather than Eygpt, Saudi Arabia, India etc is not so much as sticking with brands I know and a life style choice it's a health choice, which obviously has financial implications but the health of me and my family comes first. Hi Dally - I hadn't even thought about the use of pesticides and the origin of supplies. Thank you. You may have been off topic but you've raised my awareness and who knows, maybe a few health problems for my family. I shall certainly be checking the labelling more carefully. I had no idea that some pesticides were banned in western countries.....thanks again ?

379

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 11:11

I know this thread is going slightly off topic but regarding the price of food - as I am recovering from Cancer I am very much more aware of where my food comes from and try to source food from countries that I can trust doesn't use the pesticides that are banned in most Western communities. I choose to pay way over the odds for celery from USA rather than the cheaper variety from China, same goes with red onions (India) mandarins (Pakistan) These are just a few examples so buying my butter from France or UK rather than Eygpt, Saudi Arabia, India etc is not so much as sticking with brands I know and a life style choice it's a health choice, which obviously has financial implications but the health of me and my family comes first.

Cherry ripe49050

970

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 10:57

I checked the lurpak butter yesterday too, lol. 21 dhs for 500 g at carrfeour, probably more at spinneys. Costs are creeping up, but salaries are not.

62

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 10:51

That's right Silvstet. There is also the Lurpak butter which is a reasonable price. The only butter I have ever seen that is 30 dirhams is a waitrose premium organic imported from the UK. There are always cheaper options. I would say the shop is approx 10 to 20% more than the UK and that's only if you do not change your shopping habits and select the same brands you would at home. Carrefour is very reasonable and I always stock up when the basics are on sale, which is very regularly. Most of the costs Trigg Beach mentioned excluding education (and even then a lot of the EK staff pay for a school reputation) are optional - eating out, entertainment. I would advise you to look at PPrune as an abstract reality- nothing is that bad! They refer to the housing as Labour Camps. Really?! The houses are pleasant enough and the area will develop over time like Silicon Oasis. We love it here and while the rosters are busy at the moment we find this is a worldwide trend. If life was so good in their home country airlines they would be there, but they're not. So emirates must have something going for it! The moaners and groaners are always the most vocal, but they are not the majority.

767

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 19 March 2016 - 06:34

I have read the pprune thread, and one person on there gave a break down of costs, but something about the numbers doesn't add up - $11 AUD for 500g butter? I looked on trolley.ae and even the fancy butter wasn't that expensive. Am I missing something? I bought a packet of butter just today at carrefour (one of the cheaper supermarkets): 500g for AED30 which is exactly $11AUS. Just because it's a cheap supermarket, doesn't mean they dont have expensive or importef brands. I have never paid 30 dhs for 500 g butter in Carrefour, 13 dhs maximum for Almarai butter that they store in the freezer.

yellowledbetter

50

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 18 March 2016 - 20:51

I have read the pprune thread, and one person on there gave a break down of costs, but something about the numbers doesn't add up - $11 AUD for 500g butter? I looked on trolley.ae and even the fancy butter wasn't that expensive. Am I missing something? I bought a packet of butter just today at carrefour (one of the cheaper supermarkets): 500g for AED30 which is exactly $11AUS.

1

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 March 2016 - 14:52

Hi, We have just moved over, husband works for Emirates but not as a pilot as an engineer. We are finding that we have a lot of money left over. I find the food costs about the same as the uk and our furnishing allowance is very generous. One thing I would agree with you on though is the cost of the schools, both my children are under 4 at the moment so not a problem yet for us but I can see it coming. However there are a couple of schools which seem very good and arent extortionate money. Horizon school for example and Raffles. I would say you have to weigh it up against the situation you are in now as to whether its with it for you. Good luck making a decision x

37

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 March 2016 - 01:44

I have read the pprune thread, and one person on there gave a break down of costs, but something about the numbers doesn't add up - $11 AUD for 500g butter? I looked on trolley.ae and even the fancy butter wasn't that expensive. Am I missing something?

367

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 16 March 2016 - 13:14

Although it's probably not what you want to hear, but take the negativity on Pprune serious. Emirates is not the company it used to be. Things have going down for the past 2-3 years, and the end to this is not in sight. All the information you need can be found online, just make an informed choice. If you're coming from a stable, war free country, and your husband has a job: stay there. That's my advice.

767

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 16 March 2016 - 12:43

The EK pilots stay because it might not be like in the promotion video, but they are still better off than most places. The most moaning you will get from staff that has been here years, but they are not moving, be careful about what you hear and work out your own numbers.

Cherry ripe49050

970

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 16 March 2016 - 12:39

You may feel pprune is negative but there is a very good thread current at the moment with a listing of costs incurred living here. It would make a good starting point for outlining expenses.

161

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 16 March 2016 - 12:17

Hi Tabathatoo, I am the wife of an EK FO and we have 2 teenage children. I am happy for you to PM me and I can provide you with a list of our outgoings....if I put it here the thread may get lost with discussion about the cost of this and that. That said, I can tell you, we have nothing much left over from month to month and we are not extravagant. Apart from the school fee top up and sports fees we also have to deal with spending money (pocket money) for our teenagers (very difficult to get a part time job here for kids, unlike home) and nothing much is free here for the kids. In the summer there aren't any outdoor free activities so you need to factor in money for movies, mall, they go to lunch with their friends etc. but perhaps you have small children. Other costs include your TV and Internet package, loan on a car, school trips (generally overseas) excursions, gym membership, or membership to one of the EK clubs so that you can get some discount if you do decide to eat out. anyway, more than happy to provide more detail if you would like. Good luck.

Tabathatoo105556

11

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 16 March 2016 - 11:22

Hi, My husband is considering a job with Emirates, he is a First Officer and we are trying to figure out if his wage will give us a decent life or if things will be tight every month. I've read various posts on pprune, however there seems to be an agenda on there and it's mostly very negative. From research I can see that most things are a bit more expensive than in the uk, we would also need to top up school fees for two kids and pay for sports and activities so I can see where a big chunk of money would go, but with housing and bills paid and no council tax and other bills like in the uk I'm struggling to see where all the money goes?! I'd be very interested to hear from any EK wife's about how you get by and if life is generally good? - I know he will be away a lot! Please feel free to pm me if you'd rather not post reply here. Very many thanks!

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