More potential arrival questions!
Discussion
XB70 said:
I laugh when people here, when told where I am going, say "tax free! you will make a fortune". I wish!
Funny isn't it. I am in the same position, trying to explain to friends, family, and even my prospective new employer that I will actually be financially a lot worse off moving to Dubai. It is not the golden goose it once was (or certainly how I perceived it over the years). The irony is that the delay I have caused in improving the original offer, is likely to all be swallowed in the cost of rent going up by the same amount I have negotiated............Going to have to really tighten our belts to take this opportunity, purely because of the increase in living costs for rental, and bills - oh and beer and golf!
Fortunately we are not restricted by kids on where to live, and my wife drives as well. However if we do decide to have kids, and are on the local package we are going out on, we will need to also find these fees at some point as well.
Keep having to remind myself, that sometimes you need to take a step back, to take a couple forward, and that it will all be an experience. Hoping to head out over May Bank holiday to take a look before I put pen to paper on the opportunity - but will start another thread on this if anyone is about and fancies a beer.
Generally you will have a better lifestyle in terms of material things - cars, holidays, meals out and activities etc. It is possible to save money if you budget but without such distractions Dubai is not a great place to live. The spend on your kids will go up drastically as there just aren't the variety of free things to keep them occupied.
Personally I've had enough of Dub and looking for a change of scenery. Recently tried making myself feel at home/settled here by furnishing the flat properly etc. but returning yesterday after a couple of weeks away just made me feel miserable. I'm one taxi ride away from going postal.
Of course, a whacking great salary would tempt me to stay for another year or two...
Personally I've had enough of Dub and looking for a change of scenery. Recently tried making myself feel at home/settled here by furnishing the flat properly etc. but returning yesterday after a couple of weeks away just made me feel miserable. I'm one taxi ride away from going postal.
Of course, a whacking great salary would tempt me to stay for another year or two...
dxbtiger said:
Be interested to hear your thoughts looking back as and when you do leave Phil.
I'd be interested - and this is not a sarcastic quetion - what are your thoughts on why you would stay?Remember I (and I think I speak for OP!) are coming out due to job offers, rather than a dream to live in Dubai. What are the top 5 reasons for wanting to live in Dubai? What are the reasons you have heard from people who have thought they have made the wrong decision to leave (ir grass greener)?
Fats25 said:
I'd be interested - and this is not a sarcastic quetion - what are your thoughts on why you would stay?
Remember I (and I think I speak for OP!) are coming out due to job offers, rather than a dream to live in Dubai. What are the top 5 reasons for wanting to live in Dubai? What are the reasons you have heard from people who have thought they have made the wrong decision to leave (ir grass greener)?
I grew up here (mid 80's to mid 90's) so biased but I love it here.
I can play golf every day off the year, the sunshine really suits me, I don't even mind summers now. Various other outdoor activities like sailing (watching someone else do the hard bit with a beer in my hand), the missus rides horses at least twice a week etc etc
Lifestyle is excellent, be it just relaxing at home or going out for a nice meal and/or complete lash up.
Great group of mates, you don't ever seem to meet
s here like you do in UK, I run a car I couldn't justify running most other places in the world.I'm paid well (enough) for what I do.
A lot of the above is direct comparison to the UK I know but that's all I have to compare to.
I do think the key to appreciating Dubai is getting away from it regularly, even just a long weekend here and there, makes you appreciate what we have on our doorstep.
As above I am biased, this year marks the year I'll have lived here for half my life but here just suits me.
Can't see myself moving back to UK for at least 20 years, got quite close to going to Oz 2 years ago but timing wasn't great and turned it down.
i came here as i was offered a job at a time where i just wanted to escape. the first year or so i loved the job and the travel it afforded, but my relationship suffered and ultimately collapsed because i thought i could have it all and could not see the wood for the trees.
latter half of last year was ste, head wrecker. still feeling terrible at times.
have come to realise that there are limited career options with this mob and sacrificing relationships and basic happiness for more money and dreams of something better is just chasing rainbows.
i've had a good run, have a really great bunch of mates and my career has had a welcome boost but there is no real temptation to stay as things are currently. i am just about to pay my next 6mths rent and hoping it will be my last. unless there's something here that would be a genuine career move or springboard i just can't see me staying on.
singa and oz don't appeal as the former would be dubai with added humidity and the latter just doesn't do it for me. i'm ideally hoping to snag something in the states, or else head to europe. even an offshore rotation would suit.
all the above written after a throughly st day and jetlagged to hell. i seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere in a field in california. to say i've got the post holiday blues is an understatement. if anyone fancies a few pints thursday eve feel free to join me in nell gwynn's.
latter half of last year was s
te, head wrecker. still feeling terrible at times. have come to realise that there are limited career options with this mob and sacrificing relationships and basic happiness for more money and dreams of something better is just chasing rainbows.
i've had a good run, have a really great bunch of mates and my career has had a welcome boost but there is no real temptation to stay as things are currently. i am just about to pay my next 6mths rent and hoping it will be my last. unless there's something here that would be a genuine career move or springboard i just can't see me staying on.
singa and oz don't appeal as the former would be dubai with added humidity and the latter just doesn't do it for me. i'm ideally hoping to snag something in the states, or else head to europe. even an offshore rotation would suit.
all the above written after a throughly s
t day and jetlagged to hell. i seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere in a field in california. to say i've got the post holiday blues is an understatement. if anyone fancies a few pints thursday eve feel free to join me in nell gwynn's. dxbtiger said:
I grew up here (mid 80's to mid 90's) so biased but I love it here.
don't get me wrong, i really don't want to go home. the negativity of the uk is more than a deterrent for that [he says after the most negative post ever].
we're all different. dubai does have its upsides but the downs are there as well. coming back here from mauritania or senegal is always welcome but when i've been somewhere better it's always hard to get back into the swing of things.
really really loved the US after thinking it wouldn't be my bag. holiday rose tints perhaps but thought LA was perfect.
shirt said:
Really really loved the US after thinking it wouldn't be my bag. holiday rose tints perhaps but thought LA was perfect.
You see Dubai could be my stepping stone to a permanent move to the US. I also love the US - and wanted to hate it when I first went! I got married in Vegas, honeymooned in California, I golf in Arizona and North Carolina, and have worked as a visitor in Connecticut and New York a lot. Hate LA in the city and tourist bits, but some fantastic tucked away hidden gems. Very difficult to get a permit to work in what I do though, however this Dubai role could be a big help.
Some other great info above as well from DXBTiger. Appreciated.
Our plan is to use Dubai as a hub to visit other places that are closer by for short breaks so we should be ok. We love travelling. We love SEA, and my Dad lives in Aus so can get to Dubai easier (or we can get to Aus).
Will find out soon.
dxbtiger said:
Coachella?
yep. far out, man.Fats25 said:
You see Dubai could be my stepping stone to a permanent move to the US. I also love the US - and wanted to hate it when I first went!
I got married in Vegas, honeymooned in California, I golf in Arizona and North Carolina, and have worked as a visitor in Connecticut and New York a lot. Hate LA in the city and tourist bits, but some fantastic tucked away hidden gems. Very difficult to get a permit to work in what I do though, however this Dubai role could be a big help.
didn't gel with vegas. it was like a car crash between blackpool and dubai with a fI got married in Vegas, honeymooned in California, I golf in Arizona and North Carolina, and have worked as a visitor in Connecticut and New York a lot. Hate LA in the city and tourist bits, but some fantastic tucked away hidden gems. Very difficult to get a permit to work in what I do though, however this Dubai role could be a big help.
kload of added commercialism. the bars between atomic liquor and the griffin on fremont were good, as were the double down and frankies tiki lounge. people in the office seem to dislike LA for the reasons you mention and the sprawl/pocketed nature of it. TBH that's what did it for me.
downtown around the arts district reminded me of manchester northern quarter in the late 90s. great feel. venice had a faded elegant americana vibe with a big foodie scene. went hiking around the observatory and took a drive through the canyons. reckon topanga canyon would be my ideal. edge of the city, easy access to all the twisty roads heading north. even hollywood had great bars and hideaways.
when i mentioned springboard, any new job here would need to be a lead in to the US. applied for a job with our houston office but those guys are a bit, erm, special.
Fats25 said:
Our plan is to use Dubai as a hub to visit other places that are closer by for short breaks so we should be ok. We love travelling. We love SEA, and my Dad lives in Aus so can get to Dubai easier (or we can get to Aus).
dub is handy for that. sri lanka is paradise and should be at the top of your list. shirt said:
dub is handy for that. sri lanka is paradise and should be at the top of your list.
Would like to Sri Lanka one day, but first stop top of the list will be Sapa in Vietnam. We managed to travel from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, but had to miss out Sapa as we ran out of time. So a quick flight there, and a probably tie in Cambodia on the same trip, and that will do for starters.
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