Dubai... Questions... so

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I have been offered a job in Dubai, 12000 derhams/month starting. Is it good money or average or ? And how much would it cost to rent a 1 bedroom house. I dont need exact figures, just rough estimates to have an idea if its worth moving there or not. I live in Pakistan by the way. Would this money be enough for a couple and 2 kids.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

Interesting thread. I'd like to know too.

What is the cost of living for a family of 4 in Dubai (2 adults and 2 kids). I know it depends heavily on lifestyle but on average, how much one should make (in derhams/month) to pay rent, food, etc etc (and savings of at least 800-1000 USD per month) given

  • 2 adults
  • 2 school going kids
  • 2 cars
  • 1-2 times a week dine out
  • Once a week outing movies etc
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Re: Dubai… Questions… so

Here are some links to apratments : you can check here if you have an idea where your work place is situated…

http://www.propertyfinder.ae/en/rent/dubai/apartment-for-rent.html

But I really don’t think AED12,000 is enough for 2 adults and 2 kids - they should at least offer you part of rent for a home…maybe then it will be ok..because Dubai is not a cheap place to live…as it was mentioned above it depends on your lifestyle too…

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

It largely depends on where in Dubai you decide to live. AED 12000 is a decent amount, but also depends on your kids, and their schooling.

Apartment rents for a 1 bed can range from 3,500 a month to 6,000 dirhams a month, depending on your location. Add another 500 - 1000 for utilities, as air conditioning in dubai is not cheap. So a 1 bed with utilities could cost you an average of 5,000 a month.

With 2 kids, a 1 bed might turn out to be small, so you may have to go for a 2 bed, which would probably add another 1000 or so a month.

Realistically, I think you can make do with 12,000 a month.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

So 12000 is like making 50,000 in Pakistan or is it ? Can anyone living in dubai reply please.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

Well 12,000 Dhs means you are making more than 2,50,000 Rs.It quite an decent amount to live in Dubai that too with two kids but this all depend on your lifestyle,which school your kids are going too etc.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

^ What I meant was ... I was trying to figure out the buying power. What we buy in Pakistan for 50,000 we can buy the same stuff for 12,000 in dubai or not ?

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

You can probably 'buy' a lot more with 12000 dirhams in Dubai than you could with Rs 50k in Pak. You could rent a decent luxury apartment for 5000 dirhams a month. You can buy half a decent car for 12,000 dirhams. You cant do that with 50k in Pak.

But at the end of the day, it depends on your lifestyle. In most peoples opinion, 12000 is a fairly decent amount in dubai.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

Unless you have that over the top luxury lifestyle, 12k per month should be fine. I am surprised they offered you even 12k. That's a good offer in my opinion.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

^ why are you surprised. I got in touch with a friend from college last night and he is already working at that company for 4 years now. He is getting 30k/m plus the benefits... kids tuition fees, travel expenses, free medical etc. He too started at 12k.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

silaaj, 5amra and aliya khan... thank you very much for the information you guys shared.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

She is right. Usually, for starters, companies hesitate to offer more than 8k or 10k, regardless of ones qualification. However, once you are in the system, new opportunities arise, and you are able to look around and build a reputation. That is when you can possibly think of big numbers and better benefits. For starters, 12k is very good.
Look at it this way. 12k a month will allow you to bring in your family right away which is the biggest plus. In most cases, people get less, and will need at least a few months to get settled, and be able to afford housing and schooling before they call their families.

Good luck

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

the only and only ideal thing to do with this salary is, you work here and keep your family back in Pakistan. it is not cheap to live in UAE, let alone Dubai. Life is not about khana peena and car chalana. Tuition fee are very high, books are costly, every thing is expensive, shopping is very attractive, you and your wife will keep buying without realizing that you are buying stuff unneccesarily and expensive.
If you want to bring ur family with you, and want to do guzara in 12k, then be mentally prepared that you and your family life standard will be lower than what you currently have in Pak.

Or my 2nd suggestion will be, that you come here, work here for a year, look at the situation, then decide if you can afford your family or not.

Decent6chora, you have to have minimum 25k-30k in order to afford all what you have listed in your post.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

I agree with FT 100%...I lived in UAE fr 5yrs before, AED12,000 is enough if u leave ur family in Pak...or if they are atleast willing to pay for your accommodation..

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

Id have to disagree. There are plenty of options.
For one, it depends on the lifestyle of the person and his family. Some people are low maintenance, some are high. For a low maintenance family, 12k can be a fairly decent amount.
Secondly, also consider the fact that one can choose to live in Sharjah or Ajman, where rents are much less (in many cases, half of those in Dubai), and schools are cheaper as well.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

^ I agree with silaaj. It depends on your lifestyle. I think Abu Dhabi is quite expensive as far as accomodation is concerened than Dubai but sharjah & ajman flat rents are quite cheap too & i have seen people living in Sharjah who have their jobs in Dubai.Flat rents came down alot after recession. I again would say that 12k is quite a decent amount for a family of 4 & its not that much expensive in UAE as compared to Pakistan.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

i think we can't look in absolutes here the situation has to be compared to current state or possible opportunities locally.

Drive, I am not asking you for personal details but asking you to do this

what are you making now, what are your expenses etc etc
what will you make in dubai and what will the expenses be a) with whole family there
b) with you there and family back home

after u have done the numbers- best and worse case for all
then look at things beyond numbers..

you will find your answer

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

i dont live in dubai hence wouldnot know if that amount is good or not...but just converted it into pak rupees and wohooooooo....way tooo good.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

I guess Rs 50,000 is $600 or something. 12,000 AED, on the other hand, is what, $3200? Since you don't have to pay tax on that, that's a decent amount of money. Of course it depends on how much you are earning at present and where you see yourself heading in the next 5 years or so. But I would imagine that Dubai/Middle East offers more opportunities for networking and career advancement than does Pakistan.

If I were living in Pakistan and earning less than at least 120,000 rupees and was offered a job that paid 12,000 AED as a starting salary with plenty of scope for career advancement then I would move at once. Perhaps, as others are suggesting, don't take your family immediately. But I think it can be doable. Like live in Sharjah or don't rent a luxurious apartment; don't opt for American/International school but send your kids to the good schools (something like "Ibn Seena" in Sharjah?) offering the British IGCSE and A Level system; limit visits to expensive fancy restaurants to special occasions only and instead indulge on the 2 (or has it increased to 3?) dirham shawarma, Pakistani or Indian food in hole in the walls, all the fast food restaurants, and even the fare in food courts on a weekly/bi-weekly basis; and resist the temptation to visit shops in malls like Ibn Batuta or gold souks even for window shopping...Make a game plan/budget and stick to it and I think you should be able to not only live relatively well but also save decent amount of money.

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Re: Dubai... Questions... so

Silaaj you do not know what is OP's life style. But even a flexible guzara cannot be done in 12k for a family that consist of four people. It can only get you a roof on head and 3 times meal, or okay a car to drive too. Thats it.

Do not tell something to the OP that has 100 of compromises attached. You do not know if he is ready to do those compromises or not. We all are not same isnt? I was never up for sharing, I just could not digest the fact that there will be other people living in same home as mine, so i end up paying higher for a place that was small but all mine.

in 12k the savings will be ZERO , rather i can gurantee that OP will end up in huge debt from the credit cards. Sorry i am not discourging him but this is the reality. thats why I also suggested that come here and have a look. if you like, go ahead bring ur family. For a single person 12k is decent.