Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi,

I just got an offer to work in Dubai and would like to ask for your help to figure out if it is good or not.

It is an IT Manager position located in Media City and the package is:

17000/month base salary + 11000/month all allowances + yearly flights for family + healthcare for family

Is this package enough to support a decent living for me and my wife in some place not far from Media City? We don't have an expensive standard of living (just used go out on weekends, travel a couple of times a year, etc.) and are looking to save some money.

BTW, I am an EU citizen with 8 years of work experience.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks !

"Search"

We seem to be covering this topic pretty often of late.

Oh, X that is a stroppy reply!!
I'd say yes. The 11 000 per month I assume is to cover accom.rental, car, electricity etc. I'd start searching on accommodation in the area you want to live in-considering there are just the two of you it sounds good. Check out the med. policy tho' and see what it actually covers-if you are thinking about kids down the track it may not be included and quite often dental is not included or has a threshold.

GAB, thanks, I'll take that as a compliment

Its just we seem to get people who join and put up 1/2 posts about the same things. All of which could be very easily answered just by searching the forums.

Also, the questions like "I get XXX amount of money, is this good/enough?" are retarded. How do you expect a complete stranger to know what your choice of lifestyle is, your spending habits or what your standard of living is currently to be able to give you a decent reply? I know when I considered previous moves I did a heck of a lot more than tell people what I was offered monetarily.

Afterall, its your life/future you're deciding on here, so best to ask the right questions and be educated and well informed..

Also, the questions like "I get XXX amount of money, is this good/enough?" are retarded

Who got out of the wrong side of bed this morning??

Thanks for you answer GAB. I appreciate it.

Boss, thanks for the warm welcome and sorry for disturbing you.

I hope that my next posts can be approved by Central Scrutinizer.

http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4582
Try this-I should really update it or add to it.
XRW-147 is just worn out from answering the inundation of similar questions in the last few days. He really is very nice!!
I understand where he is coming from. To put it bluntly this is a p#ss easy posting and this is no third world-medical is not a problem, finding everyday needs is as easy as going to a supermarket where your biggest fear will be becoming confused by the vast array of choice. This is as good as it gets hence it is not unusual to find expats that have been here 20 years-I find this amazingly different from where I've been where the turn over is 2 to 3 years and you learn to make friends quickly and you learn to do without and self medicate because you get food poisoning with regularity!! Having said all that you have to look at your objectives for being here. Most of us would have no shame in saying we are here to save. For us the funny thing is that this has been the hardest place to do so. Maybe because the expat packages don't come with all the bells and tassels because you are not in some under developed country, or because the cost of living here is pretty low. However there are more distractions here, so to speak-there are more ways to spend your money and more than enough places to do so. We also don't know where you are from and what type of lifestyle you consider acceptable-for us, our accom. is a bit of a down grade-for some friends they have moved into virtual palaces and will never have the same again, some people have swapped apartment living for a house and vice versa and some friends share accomodation to get the lifestyle they want. I guess it comes down to those things that make us all different- some people have no problem buying an imported chook (chicken) for AED85, or fillet beef at AED75 or having their morning cup of java at Starbucks every morning, wearing AED1900 sunglasses or AED20 copies from Karama, some people like to eat out every night, some get takeaway, some people drink wine from casks or bottles with screw tops and some people like their wine to at least have corks.....you get my drift. Ask more specifics and I'll see if I can help!!

where exactly can i buy AED 1900 sunglasses, and even more importantly where can i get the AED 20 copy.

joking aside, i've been surprised by the expectations of a lavish lifestyle that many on this forum seem to have. in particular the assumption that in the "home" country, everyone lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and to have to share a room here would be hell on earth.

i dunno, but i was rooming in undergrad, and rooming when i lived in manhattan. didn't take anything away from me.

in addition, it's pretty cheap eating out here if you don't go to scarletts or noodle house every night. i just bought a whole rotisserie chicken with all the trimmings for AED 20 and have enough left over for lunch AND dinner tomorrow

It depends though on what you can cope with. Expectations vary- mine have changed dramatically with kids. I totaly agree with you terranova, but some people go "troppo" if they can't find the SAME brand of margarine they are used to!! It is hard to give advice unless you really know someone. Having said that your view helps balance things out.

terranova wrote:where exactly can i buy AED 1900 sunglasses, and even more importantly where can i get the AED 20 copy.

Check out your nearest Gucci store for the authentic spring line up or the backstreets in Karama for latest in last season's trends.

T, I think that expectation comes from the fact that a lot of people have worked hard to get to where they are today, which in this case is here. So naturally one wouldn't settle to what they endured along the path of their life, not that there was anything wrong with it at the time. You'd want to live comfortably and within your means and if you can afford to be lavish, then what is wrong with that?

This is what I like about Dubai. You can live life at your own pace and to your own tastes. Who gives a rats arse what others are doing, live how you are content with.