Opinions please :) | ExpatWoman.com
 

Opinions please :)

1
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 August 2016 - 21:44

Hi everyone, I've just joined this forum as my husband has been given a contract by his company in Dubai to start in November 2016. The question I've got is we've been offered 40,000aed per month, this includes accommodation allowance and car. We also all get health insurance paid for and our visas, one off resettlement payment of about £6000 and flights home for all 4 of us once a year. We won't get any school fees paid for, (we will join my husband in July 2017) our daughter is going into year 11 so will start her A levels in Dubai (2 years of education left to pay for) our son will be starting in year 5 so we still have his education to pay for. Does this sound like a good package for us to live on or are we likely to struggle? We don't drink and aren't really into partying - prefer live music/gigs - I am a hairdresser by trade and in England I am a qualified college lecturer and assessor and deliver hairdressing qualifications so I'm hoping I will find work? I would really appreciate any feedback or thoughts, thank you:)

1913
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 13 August 2016 - 11:06
Try and get your husband to find out where his office is. Anyway you should be able to find reasonable accommodation easily within a 45 min commute. No one spends 1 1/2 hours commuting unless they work in Abu Dhabi or travel to Dubai from Sharjah. Have you looked on school websites and checked out fees? You could easily get accommodation for 180k School fees could be 130+K Food costs are a bit more than Europe. The more imported foods you eat the higher the bill. Petrol is cheap. I pay 90 dhs to fill my car. DEWA (power and water) could be up to 1500 to 5K a month depending on apartment/villa and time of the year. Phone/internet/tv can be anywhere from 300 dhs a month up.
1
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 August 2016 - 02:51
Thank you for replying. I'm not sure about accommodation I imagine an apartment, my husband will be working Dubai (I'm not sure where about a) he currently works in London and commutes 1.5hrs each way. Only one of the children will be in 6th form my son will still be in primary school and as my eldest leaves education my youngest begins secondary. Her plan is to study at a university back in the uk. I'm not sure about the loan that is something I'll have to get him to ask his employer. As he will be there for 10 months before we go we thinking he would rent a one bed apartment to start to save for when we arrive?
1913
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 13 August 2016 - 00:55
What sort of accommodation would you want? A villa or an apartment? Where would your husband be working? It is certainly doable with a reasonable lifestyle but you probably wouldn't be able to save anything much until you are working. 2 lots of secondary fees are a killer. Start up costs are quite high. Will your husbands employer give him a loan to cover the rent? This has to be paid up front typically in 2-4 cheques.
 
 

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