anyone worked in dubai before?

[slimboyfat]

I have been offered a job in Dubai and will be given the details of the package on Monday.

So heres the thing.....I have no idea how much it costs to live and play in Dubai so would like some guidance if anyone has experience in this area.

Yes I know I should go and ask in a Dubai forum but I dont trust them

[mrsquirrel]

Fucking expensive.

I was applying for jobs out there for a while. Had a couple that were ok and showed some interest but they didn;t include housing. Worked out the cost of living and I would have ended up out of pocket.

[ChiangMai noon]

How much more expensive could it ne than Singapore though?

[mrsquirrel]

Housing prices increased by 75% in the last three years

[Butterfly]

Horrible working conditions I have been told, unless it's an executive expat package

Apparently whoring is a must and pretty good: Chinese, Russians, Thais, Philipines etc...

Great place for shopping on a long week-end

[Marmite the Dog]

I have a mate working there at the moment. I'll send him an email.

[Spin]

loads of pinoys there on the batter. I got on a flight from there recently and it was full of 'em going home for some national holiday.

[barbaro]

I can't say about the cost and housing.

I forgot what SlimboyFat's profession is.

(It is a factor.)

My mate that worked in Dubai liked it: but this was 5 years ago.

Lifestyle (not Pounds/Dollars which were good for him) was good b/e he could go to hotels and drink (5-star hotels) and there were Russian ladies that offered....services....even though he wasn't heavily into tht scene, it still wasn't like living in KSA.

[NickA]

....no

[slimboyfat]

I forgot what SlimboyFat's profession is.

(It is a factor.)

actually the job is handling ship operations in a new office set up as a joint venture between Indonesian tanker owner BLT and oil company Tamoil.

I doubt they can pay me what I need, but will wait and see

[sabang]

^ Thats the issue.
Dubai itself is fun, and a fine place to live.
But to appreciate it, you need to be on something approaching a Western expat package.

[bjsanook]

I didn't live in Dubai but visited from Bahrain where I lived 2 years.

The best decription I could give it is an arabic Singapore. Cleaner than most, a little more free with the partying and P4P but expensive.

We got discounted hotels through the base but it still was about 100US per night for the Holiday Inn type places.

Lot sof freelancers working the city.

Taxis clean and not the rip off that the Bahrainee's tried to be.

All the name chains you expect.

Large asian mixture of workers and ladies looking for men to take care of them.

Decent housing is fairly expensive. We were given nearly 3000$ a month for housing expenses in Bahrain and I think Dubai was close to that for the few people in the military living there.

Pretty good fruits and vegetables-fresh and seafood reasonable.

Flights back to LOS were about 700$ at the time. About 7 hours from Dubai. And if you travel during Ramadan, no drinking!

They would have to give you a pretty substantial package to make it worth your headaches.

Have to put up with the "Anshallah" way of thinking....

And,
Gotta love those chants going on all day starting around 4ish in the AM.

BJ

[geoff]

I lived, and worked in Dubai, from 1977 to 2004. At first, it was fantastic, plenty of money, and great package deals. House, car, medical, kids school allowance, free air tickets to home country, etc etc.
As the years went by, the arabs realised that this was overdoing it a bit so things started to get cut down.
When I retired, things were pretty serious, like you have to pay for your own accommodation, your own car, kid's schooling. Unless, of course, the company that you work for is special, and generous. I am painting a very black picture here are'nt I?? What I mean is, that you should get your conditions of employment, and allowances, before you go.
Dubai itself is a fantastic place. Spotlessly clean. No rubbish on the streets. Very good standard of living. Nice big food and shopping malls,(like the states). Petrol Less than one dollar a gallon. Yes one dollar.
Pubs and clubs, like you can't imagine. Girls of all kinds.(look on the internet for Dubai) Any sport that you want to do.you can do it.
Of course, it is a Muslim country, so you have to have a little discretion.
I only left, because I was of retiring age, and they would not give me a visa, or work permit. Having said that, you can obtain a businesmans visa, if you invest in a small business, like a shop or other small outlet.
The roads are excellent, complete with radar speed cameras, and traffic police. The police are quite helpful. And the majority of them speak English
The local Dubaian's, are extremely nice and friendly people, and very generous. The other visiting races are a little bit, er, how can I put it ,without upsetting someone.
The rulers of Dubai, the Maktoum family, really look after Dubai, and are developing the whole area, for when the oil finally does run out
Well, thats a rough picture, of Dubai. I'm sure you have some questions, you'd like to ask. I'm only too pleased to help.

[Marmite the Dog]

I have a mate working there at the moment. I'll send him an email.

I just got a reply over the weekend. It seems he doesn't check his Hotmail account that often.

Well the major pluses are that its near Europe for those short holiday breaks,the food selection is pretty good and Dubai is one of the easier places to get a beer although you have to go into a hotel or a restaurant with a hotel somewhere close by.The wages are ok obviously the tax free situation helps a lot for those used to the UK situation.The clubs, bars and general night-life are not as good as Asia but its ok for a while.The cost of living is quite high as there is a shortage of rental accommodation available particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.Most work sectors are booming particularly in construction industry and IT.

A couple of the minus points are you get fed up with it being 40-47DegC everyday and sunny but the winters are good and probably the best time to arrive for a newcomer,public holidays are almost non existent consisting generally of four actual work days a year the rest seem to always occur on a weekend here so its important to make sure you get a decent annual leave allowance not the usual 30 calendar days contract which works out about 21 working days.The other thing is if there is a wife/girlfriend moving as well they usually either love or hate the place if they are used to having a good job they will find it very difficult to find something either at the same level or with reasonable pay unfortunately they are not expected to want to work,some ladies in upper management are ok here running their own companies or have been transferred from elsewhere with their company but it can be boring for them if they cant find something suitable.

Obviously the best way to give it a go is if you can come out on a trial run for a couple of months if that's possible first.

[slimboyfat]

thanks to you and your friend Marmite.
I won't be going now though

[Marmite the Dog]

I know it's late, but I thought others may benefit from it.

[aqua4]

So how far can one get on say 12,000 AED per month?

[geoff]

Aqua 4, When you say twelve thousand Dirhams a month. Is that twelve thousand including accom, a car, etc,. or is that seperate. What kind of a deal are we talking about here??

[kingwilly]

a mate of mine has just gone there, she's enjoying it!

[aqua4]

12K including / 18K excluding.

[Rigger]

So how far can one get on say 12,000 AED per month?

I probably couldnt live on double or triple that amount in Dubai

[aqua4]

Be specific, as it is very difficult to judge when you make a blanket statement like that. What is the costs of apartments a range from the bottom end to the top end. Transport costs average commuting to work. Fuel I know is cheap so what about taxi costs per kilometer. Costs of food, not expensive restaurants but normal Big C type eateries if any.

[Rigger]

What is the costs of apartments a range from the bottom end to the top end

Well that would depend on how low you would want to go I am sure you can get a some old tin hut for next to nothing. I work across in Oman the average monthly rent for a decent house is 5,000 to 7,500 AED a month and they are the poor brothers of Dubia. Beer is expensive and so are the hoes unless you go for the cheap and nasty chinese ones. Also the cost of normal shoping in the super market is also more expensive. Eating out would not be to bad once you find out where to eat. My mates that live here spend money like it is nothing and they say Dubia is expensive so I guess it is. I havent been into the city for about 7 years so I dont really know how expensive it really is now

[aqua4]

Thanks mate!

[geoff]

I lived in a villa which cost me 70,000 Dirhams per year. Three bedrooms, very big "L" shaped lounge. Very big kitchen. Two and a half bathrooms. Very large garden. Seperate servants accom'. One car garage, but frontage, enough for three more cars. This was not a new property, but it was very nice. District called "Jumeirah". Five hundred metres from the beach.(Deserted). Near Dubai offshore sailing club. Jumeirah beach hotel, and the now famous Burj-al-Arab.(tallest in the world, offshore).
There are plenty of KFC, Dairy Queen, Burger Queen, Pizza and the like. Average price for a quick meal, ie, Chicken/Burger and chips Pepsi. around 40-50 Dirhams. Many local restaurants, around same price. If you want alcohol, then you must go to a hotel restaurant, where you can pay a little bit more for your meal, but, of course the drinks add to the price. In most of the hotels there are bars/pubs, where, if you like, you can become alcoholic if you wish. They all have "Happy Hours", where you get reduced prices, or "two for one" and the like. Also there are the pubs where the prostitutes hang out. Nobody likes to talk about it, but they are there. (Check Dubai on the Internet).
You can buy a car for very cheap, or very new, just like anywhere else. Petrol is just less than 5 Dirhams a gallon.60pence UK
There are supermarkets all over the place. Carrefour, Spinney's, Co-op, Choiterham's, Safeway's. Also shopping malls like youv'e never seen. Where you can buy anything, from French letters, to Holy pictures.
Taxis are all metered, and controlled by the local authotity (Municipality). There are buses around the town, some of which, are free. Kind of ring road/circle line around the town. Police and police cars are everywhere, Uniformed, and plain clothes (armed). Plain clothes, are usually in and around the pubs, and clubs, mostly looking for drugs, but keeping an eye out for other things.
There is virtually no muggings, and the like. Just a few locals who get a bit boistrous, after a drink, or after watching a John Wayne movie.
The traffic in and arond the town, can be just like Bangkok, at times.
There are various shopping districts also. Cheap or/and expensive.
Hospitals are very good, but expensive.American, English,Arabic, Indian. As are Dentists, Opticians, Etc,. It pays to have insurance.
I retired from Dubai 2 years ago, and these prices are as I left, so maybe, they will have changed. Dubai is a really great place to live and work. I only retired because I was to old to get a work permit. I beleive now ex-pats can buy property, but not the land, and if you do buy, then a residence permit, goes with the deal. After 27 years there I was sad to leave.
Anything else you can think of. Give me a shout. Good luck.