If you have to pay four sets of school fees and rent then AED50k a month won't leave you very much.
Say AED70 a year for older kids and AED40 for younger kids..that is 220 a year ie close to 20 a month and will increase every year with rises and next one going secondary and then GCSE costs etc.
Rent and DEWA likely to be close to another AED 20k.
You then have cost of a maid and school buses.
you could find a lot of your salary is being used for practical stuff rather than savings.
Factor in flights as well..A lot of companies may not pay for six.
I would def say the min your husband needs to be looking at is AED50 per month OR less if fees and housing paid.
Exiles or hurricanes have rugby clubs..you pay annually. It is prob around AED2k per year as no doubt has increased since I lived there. Training is then free.
Other activities range from AED60 to AED100 upwards.
Secondary school fees can be almost double those of primary and A levels even more.
If your kids are taking GCSE's they will need to pay for every GCSE that they sit...this can also be very costly.
Please be aware that school fees and rents tend to increase every year, sometimes by up to 10%. Salaries tend not to rise.
If you are both planning to work you will require a maid for when school finishes and your kids will prob need to bus to school. Again, cost of bus etc can be quite high.
Electricity and water bills tend to be higher than UK...the bigger the villa the more they will rise. You also pay 5% of your annual housing rent as a housing fee..this is included in your electricity and water bill which is called your DEWA.
Mobile phone contracts are way higher than UK.
JESS, DESC etc all have school rugby, basketball, netball, swim teams etc.
These schools can be tough to gain places at...they are non profit and often over subscribed.
Unless you shop locally and buy local,produce and use several,supermarkets then food can be very expensive.
Best if your husband can find a package which pays housing and school fees although these sorts of packages are harder to come by these days and often only cover two kids.
Thanks for your replies, Mirdif looks good as I currently live under a flight path. I'd miss it!!
We can't get over the cost of after school activities and rugby clubs. 4 even 5 times the price of home.
Yes the activities really adds up.
Mist schools have free of charge after school clubs, so we always pick some of them and if your child manage to get in the school team, those teaining sessions will also be free.
Thanks for your replies, Mirdif looks good as I currently live under a flight path. I'd miss it!!
We can't get over the cost of after school activities and rugby clubs. 4 even 5 times the price of home.
Mirdif is a slightly cheaper housing area as it is a bit further away from new Dubai I suppose. Some parts of it can also be under the flight path for planes coming in to land at Dubai airport so can be noisy, but people say you get used to it.
You do get a lot more house for your money in Mirdif.
Thanks so much for the replies.
Hi AAL, do you mean he will need 50k a month with or without a family package?
Hi Lady Lavender, yes we realise we would need 4 X 60K plus 200k+ for a house. Why would Mirdif be less expensive, you're not the first person to mention that it may be more affordable.
Hi Silvstet, would you mind giving me some examples of cost of after school activities? Our boys are currently in rugby schools and are obsessed with it. They play basketball and gaelic football too. Our 8 yr old goes to drama classes (LAMDA) and tennis lessons. Our 3 yr old will need his too in time esp swimming lessons.
I saw online that JESS won the schools rugby league but I can't find a mention of it on their website? Would any of you have boys who play?
My 8 yr old has a half hour session of resource per day at school for mild dyspraxia, reading and maths. She's very bubbly and socially bright but is behind her peers. Has anyone experience of this type of thing? When reading through some of the websites of potential schools they sound rather exclusive though my friend feels The Ranches Primary School isn't.
Are there any Irish expat moms on this forum? Or teachers who would know of children who have switched from the Irish Curriculum to the British equivalent?
Thanks peeps, great advice so far!:cool:
Sport lessons are generally 75 - 100 dhs a lessons, drama worked out a bit over 100 dhs per lesson. One of my children did it Ductac Mall of the Emirates with a company called Dramascen and they also had the exams at the end of the year.
Thanks so much for the replies.
Hi AAL, do you mean he will need 50k a month with or without a family package?
Hi Lady Lavender, yes we realise we would need 4 X 60K plus 200k+ for a house. Why would Mirdif be less expensive, you're not the first person to mention that it may be more affordable.
Hi Silvstet, would you mind giving me some examples of cost of after school activities? Our boys are currently in rugby schools and are obsessed with it. They play basketball and gaelic football too. Our 8 yr old goes to drama classes (LAMDA) and tennis lessons. Our 3 yr old will need his too in time esp swimming lessons.
I saw online that JESS won the schools rugby league but I can't find a mention of it on their website? Would any of you have boys who play?
My 8 yr old has a half hour session of resource per day at school for mild dyspraxia, reading and maths. She's very bubbly and socially bright but is behind her peers. Has anyone experience of this type of thing? When reading through some of the websites of potential schools they sound rather exclusive though my friend feels The Ranches Primary School isn't.
Are there any Irish expat moms on this forum? Or teachers who would know of children who have switched from the Irish Curriculum to the British equivalent?
Thanks peeps, great advice so far!:cool:
Hi
your salary is ok, however you have to remember and contact good schools they are costly around 50-65K per year. so that makes your husband to get a package that includes kids schools they usually give maximum 3 kids. So he will need 50K a month and thats not easy
usually both work to get a good life
We have 4 children aged 3,8,12&14. We are Irish and both professionals. We are giving serious thought to leaving for Dubai for 3-4 yrs. I was offered 25k+p/m and a studio flat. This I discovered to be known as a 'bachelor package, not a family one.
My husband is pitching his porfolio to some of the multi-national ad agencies at the moment. This is something we will do only if we can live a modest but comfortable life there. I feel I should wait to start work until the kids are started school (if one can be found).
My question is how much would my husband need to earn p/m in order to support the family allowing me to be a housewife for a few weeks to help the kids adjust? When I do go to work that will cover childcare and after school activities and savings. any advice greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
Hello,
It appears that your husband would need a really good package to even consider moving here.
Without the kids being covered by the company you would need at least 50,000aed per year, per child just to cover tuition. (Example: Our child's tuition is almost 80,000aed but she goes to one of the more expensive schools here).
You would need at the very least close to 200,000aed per year housing allowance to get a place large enough for a family with 4 kids unless you live far out of the city or in Mirdif possibly.
Health insurance would be cost prohibitive here without all of the family covered by the company. Western prices for policies and usually paid in full upfront
There are not after-school childcare places that I am aware of for children in the ages you speak of. You would have to get a nanny which requires sponsorship.
So.... how much your husband would need would have a lot to do with what benefits he is offered. The benefits may have more value than the salary in your husband's case.
Every family is different, but check school fee costs in a possible school, rent on propertfinder and then from there you can work out spending money what you usually spend where you live should be ok here as well as some things are cheaper and somethings are a bit more, but I think in average it work out similar to Europe, just bear in mind after school activities here are expensive apart from the one that are free within the school or if they are in a school team.
We have 4 children aged 3,8,12&14. We are Irish and both professionals. We are giving serious thought to leaving for Dubai for 3-4 yrs. I was offered 25k+p/m and a studio flat. This I discovered to be known as a 'bachelor package, not a family one.
My husband is pitching his porfolio to some of the multi-national ad agencies at the moment. This is something we will do only if we can live a modest but comfortable life there. I feel I should wait to start work until the kids are started school (if one can be found).
My question is how much would my husband need to earn p/m in order to support the family allowing me to be a housewife for a few weeks to help the kids adjust? When I do go to work that will cover childcare and after school activities and savings. any advice greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.