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podracer · Apr 13, 2008

Can someone quickly advise me if this is a good salary package for a Team Lead position at a software company in Dubai?

Note that I have a wife and 2 kids, of which at least one is of early school-going age. My family will be living with me so I will have to pay for appropriate accommodation and schooling fees:

Also, please guide me about the monthly expenditure that I would incur if living in Dubai or Sharjah.

bonk · Apr 13, 2008

podracer wrote:Also, please guide me about the monthly expenditure that I would incur if living in Dubai or Sharjah.

Try this - Dubai living costs

$40k should be enough to get you a good 2 bedroom apartment, maybe a 3 bdrm if you're lucky or not too fussy.

billystyle · Apr 14, 2008

I am guessing you are american but could be wrong. I am also american and in the same situation as you with a wife and two kids. We have been here for 8 months and I can safely tell you that the offer you have is not enough for you and your family to ENJOY being in Dubai much less saving some money. I am not sure what someone in your field makes in the states but I would not take anything less than a salary that would be competitive in your home country.

The housing is average to below average. You will find a place to live but you will end up dissapointed with a long commute or being a long drive to any activities. Looking on a map, Sharjah seems pretty close and it is. However, with traffic, that can be a 1 hour commute each way and often times is worse than an hour.

That transport allowance will get you ONE decent used car like a KIA Suv or a honda civic sedan etc. Nothing fancy. I would ask for a minimum of 8K USD for transport

You MUST get education included in your package or it will be painful to see the school rates here. Pre-K will start at roughly 7K USD per year and start going up as they progress through the grades. I would try to go for 10K to 12K USD for education per child.

Hope this helps, things are expensive here and only getting more so as time goes by.

sage & onion · Apr 14, 2008

billystyle wrote:I am guessing you are american but could be wrong. I am also american and in the same situation as you with a wife and two kids. We have been here for 8 months and I can safely tell you that the offer you have is not enough for you and your family to ENJOY being in Dubai much less saving some money. I am not sure what someone in your field makes in the states but I would not take anything less than a salary that would be competitive in your home country.

The housing is average to below average. You will find a place to live but you will end up dissapointed with a long commute or being a long drive to any activities. Looking on a map, Sharjah seems pretty close and it is. However, with traffic, that can be a 1 hour commute each way and often times is worse than an hour.

That transport allowance will get you ONE decent used car like a KIA Suv or a honda civic sedan etc. Nothing fancy. I would ask for a minimum of 8K USD for transport

You MUST get education included in your package or it will be painful to see the school rates here. Pre-K will start at roughly 7K USD per year and start going up as they progress through the grades. I would try to go for 10K to 12K USD for education per child.

Hope this helps, things are expensive here and only getting more so as time goes by.

I tend to agree

podracer · Apr 16, 2008

bonk, billystyle, sage & onion: Thanks for the valuable feedback

Here is how I did the maths. Let me know if I went wrong anywhere:

Annual expenses
Rental: 150,000 AED
School fees: 20,000 AED
Transportation: 24,000 AED
Food: 36,000 AED

TOTAL expenses: 230,000 AED = 62,710 USD

So an annual package of 86,000 USD should suffice for a starter in a new market? What do you think?

I agree with the education, I would try to negotiate coverage of that with the employer. Currently only one of my kids is of school-going age though.

Let me know what you guys think. Also, any other tips?

sage & onion · Apr 17, 2008

podracer wrote:bonk, billystyle, sage & onion: Thanks for the valuable feedback

Here is how I did the maths. Let me know if I went wrong anywhere:

Annual expenses
Rental: 150,000 AED - 180,000
School fees: 20,000 AED - 30,000 - 50,000
Transportation: 24,000 AED - 30,000
Food: 36,000 AED - 48000
Utilities Villa 24000
Medical Insurance - 36000
Air tickets - 20000

TOTAL expenses: 230,000 AED = 62,710 USD

So an annual package of 86,000 USD should suffice for a starter in a new market? What do you think?

I agree with the education, I would try to negotiate coverage of that with the employer. Currently only one of my kids is of school-going age though.

Let me know what you guys think. Also, any other tips?

podracer · Apr 26, 2008

What are your opinions regarding this salary package:

Breakdown (per month)
-----------------------------
Basic pay: 13,800 AED/month
Accommodation: 6,900 AED/month
Transportation: 2,300 AED/month

Additional perks: round trip air tickets and medical coverage

What options does one have with a wife and 2 kids in Dubai?

I have already heard of the horror stories about living in Sharjah and working in Dubai. So, do give me your opinion and let me know how bad it is. I would rather avoid living in Sharjah for obvious reasons... but I am keeping all options open, so please give me your sincere advice on this.

EhSteve · Apr 27, 2008

podracer wrote:What are your opinions regarding this salary package:

Breakdown (per month)
-----------------------------
Basic pay: 13,800 AED/month
Accommodation: 6,900 AED/month
Transportation: 2,300 AED/month

Additional perks: round trip air tickets and medical coverage

What options does one have with a wife and 2 kids in Dubai?

I have already heard of the horror stories about living in Sharjah and working in Dubai. So, do give me your opinion and let me know how bad it is. I would rather avoid living in Sharjah for obvious reasons... but I am keeping all options open, so please give me your sincere advice on this.

Is your wife also going to be working?

Also, you might like to consider living in Mirdiff where you will be able to get an average three bedroom villa for about 150,000DHS/year which might be much nicer if you're bringing kids with you. You'll get a large living room, large kitchen, three bedrooms with en-suite - there will probably be a shared pool with your neighbouring villas (which you may view as a good or a bad thing based on your preference) and the commute in to the city centre is really not bad, generally it's about a 20-30min drive during rush hour.

Another point about Sharja that you might want to consider is that your wife will face moderately severe restrictions on what she can wear (compared to the US) - IIRC she will not be able to wear a sleveless top and will have to cover her knees at the very least (please someone correct me if I'm wrong or this is out of date).

benwj · Apr 28, 2008

EhSteve wrote:
podracer wrote:What are your opinions regarding this salary package:

Breakdown (per month)
-----------------------------
Basic pay: 13,800 AED/month
Accommodation: 6,900 AED/month
Transportation: 2,300 AED/month

Additional perks: round trip air tickets and medical coverage

What options does one have with a wife and 2 kids in Dubai?

I have already heard of the horror stories about living in Sharjah and working in Dubai. So, do give me your opinion and let me know how bad it is. I would rather avoid living in Sharjah for obvious reasons... but I am keeping all options open, so please give me your sincere advice on this.

Is your wife also going to be working?

Also, you might like to consider living in Mirdiff where you will be able to get an average three bedroom villa for about 150,000DHS/year which might be much nicer if you're bringing kids with you. You'll get a large living room, large kitchen, three bedrooms with en-suite - there will probably be a shared pool with your neighbouring villas (which you may view as a good or a bad thing based on your preference) and the commute in to the city centre is really not bad, generally it's about a 20-30min drive during rush hour.

Another point about Sharja that you might want to consider is that your wife will face moderately severe restrictions on what she can wear (compared to the US) - IIRC she will not be able to wear a sleveless top and will have to cover her knees at the very least (please someone correct me if I'm wrong or this is out of date).

I thought that men could not wear shorts either which means that women definately couldn't.

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