Moving to Dubai from Kuwait

[wolfy1988]

Hi Guys,

Due to unforeseen circumstances we have decided to leave Kuwait, my wife has a job interview in Dubai in Mirdif.

When i posted last year that I was moving to Kuwait I got loads of very helpful advice, as well as warnings (We should have listened) hoping you guys can help me with Dubai also?

How does it compare to the UK or Kuwait? Rent appears very expensive, my wife's package would include a rental allowance of 48000AED (Yet to be negotiated)

What are the job prospects for some like me, no degree, 6 years in sale, 2 years in large Tech company etc

Living costing? Cars seem cheaper than here in Kuwait, a decent enough used car should set me back 20k AED?

[wolfy1988]

Rich_AR said:

48k isn't enough to rent a 1 bed studio I'd say. 1 bed's in the Marina are 90k+, I'm sure Mirdif is a lot cheaper.

20k AED won't get you anything in decent condition. 2/3 year old Toyota 86's are 50-70k for example.

I know 48 isn't enough for a nice place, she is yet to negotiate however. Seems to me that 70 is the minimum really.

I don't mind a 10 year old car and there seem to be plenty around that price. I must state that our move to the Middle East was not a lifestyle choice, more of a savings plan.

[wolfy1988]

Chilli said:

wolfy1988 said:

I know 48 isn't enough for a nice place, she is yet to negotiate however. Seems to me that 70 is the minimum really.

I don't mind a 10 year old car and there seem to be plenty around that price. I must state that our move to the Middle East was not a lifestyle choice, more of a savings plan.

You can rent somewhere for that money, but it won't be palacial. A place called Skycourt towers has apartments from 45k the last time I heard.
A car is a car, and if you are moving here purely for the cash, then I wouldn't bother with anything at the moment, rent for a few months.
The biggest thing for you is a job, obviously. I don't have a degree either and through contacts and a lot of luck, managed to secure a couple of senior roles, so it's not impossible. However, I spent a bloody fortune here getting set-up. Everything costs loads, visas, rent deposits, car rental...everytime I leave the house it seems to cost me loads....Just go through the sums again and again, is my advice.

Thanks for the feedback. You have identified my main concern with Dubai and that are the associated costs. Kuwait whilst backward in many ways, is an easy place to save money. There is little to do and our current jobs cover everything. Our pressing priority is to save as much as we can. I will be sure to go through the sums. We both are fanatical planners by nature, this decision is uncomfortably quick.

Thanks for your advice Chilli!

[wolfy1988]

Chilli said:

Anytime. Might be worth expanding on your skills/experience to see if anyone on here can help with a role for you.

Good luck.

Thanks Chilli, I will do that later in the thread but first I need to wait 1/2 weeks and see what the full outcome is.

e600 said:

My wife and I worked in Q8 for 3 years in the early eighties with the intention of saving to set us up financially in UK. It worked, allowing us to buy our first house outright. I remember the frustrations of daily life, the double standards, racism, and general monotony of the place. On occasion expats arriving and being cheated and duped by employers with all sorts of promises until of course they have ensconced their family and handed over their passports.

Out of interest why are you leaving?

Saving for a house is exactly our intention too, we are both late 20's and plan on starting a family in 3 or so years, just having a very small mortgage would be a very fortunate help.

Sounds to me that Kuwait hasn't changed much in the past 20 years e600, however, our leaving Kuwait is not necessarily a desire to do so more that its employment and profession licence related.

XB70 said:

Good luck too

If you don't mind older cars, then are a lot to choose from and all fine. In my experience so far, there is visible shock and horror when I say that I drive a 7 year old car. Means that I can deal with any dents, dings or the like in a much calmer manner than if driving a brand new car.

A few times I have come close to buying something a lot newer (and more expensive) but on reflection, decided to keep my smoker and put the money into school fees. And as of last week, Lego. For the kids of course :-)

I appreciate the luck! Older cars do not bother me, Of the 30 odd cars I've had, only one has been remotely new (2009 Golf GTD) and I hated having that much money quietly depreciating away and when a woman who was texting at the time, reversed her tow bar through my front bumper it was the final straw. As you say, I feel calmer with a car that's not worth much.

Besides Lego is a worthy investment for the 'kids' I still regret selling a huge chest of Lego that I had collected over 7 years for the equivalent of 20 pounds when I was a kid

shirt said:

i honestly think you're pushing it at 20k unless you're happy with something like a fiesta/yaris equivalent. anything else will mean regular bills if used daily. i guess you could look at something like the old shape honda crv / ford edge as many of those will have been fleet vehicles.

what concerns me is the paltry housing allowance unless the rest of the salary package is overly generous to compensate. otherwise you'll struggle just to make it to the end of the month.

has to be asked why the sudden rush to leave? story?!

Like I said already, I don't mind cheap cars. Would rather save the cash now and get a nice car when In settled in a few years. I agree on the housing allowance, does appear paltry but we will have to see how the interview negotiations go. Not sure what you class as a generous salary package but it will be between 120k AED (Base) and 240k AED (with low targets).

There is a story but I wont divulge anything just yet until I know whats going on and where we stand, Its not nearly as bad as some of the story's I have heard in Kuwait however.

Gaffer said:

My BMW Z3 is 17 years old and just needs a bit of TLC at service times but runs fine and is cheap on petrol. She cost me 16k to buy 3 years ago.

I pay 65k for a large 1 bed with a big terrace in Remraam.

Claire

Thanks Claire, your Z3 and apartment sound perfect, we would be most content with that. I'm glad its possible.

[wolfy1988]

dxbtiger said:

Is the housing allowance separate to the salary?

240 is 20 a month, 120 is 10, 2 of you will struggle to live on the top end although living somewhere like Remraan (a long way out) will help, it's a decent cab ride anywhere from there.

Don't see how you can save on those figures, Dubai must be expensive compared to Kuwait I'd imagine, no one wants to live in Kuwait, half the world wants to live in Dubai.

Who has your wife been offered a job with, can you say? It's a small place chances are someone will know them as an employer

Degree isn't essential here, I'm the second person after chilli in this thread that doesn't have one although I had/have a lot of connections here ( I grew up in Dubai).

ETA if you can't name the employer, what industry? 10k pcm base is literally fk all in dubai

Hi

Housing would be separate from the basic, she is going through interviews at the moment, wildly different figures are discussed, She wants minimum 240k salary and 80 Housing.

I wish to keep specifics of industry and names out of it until she has accepted a job offer, besides Kuwait is not 100% over... just 99%

We are good at saving, well my wife is anyway. We will be looking into the figures and try and figure it out, :/

OT: We are right this second booking a hotel for a couple of days next month to have a look around the place, I will hire a car too

Whats the consensus on the 'Hyatt Regency Creek Heights'?

[wolfy1988]

Right then, the salary is 10k pcm with an additional 4k for rent, OTE is going to be over 20k pcm. From what I can see, we can get by OK on that money but we are not going to save so I really need to see if I can find work over there now.

With that in mind, is anyone looking for a 27 year old chap, excellent people skills, technically minded, honest and discreet. Due to travelling a lot my whole life, I have jumped jobs more often than I'd like and subsequently have varied job experience without specialising in anything.

My own career plan was to stay with the job I have in Kuwait for 5+ years whilst studying (this will be the Dubai plan also), I am currently doing an Advanced Diploma in Management (Distance Learning), once I have completed that I plan on doing an MBA. Instead of going to collage when I was 17, I went to work for Mercedes Benz for 3 years and since then have held various sales and customer service roles. Most recently with Apple Inc where I worked from home dealing with IOS, Fraud and Cloud issues. Currently I have a IT/Admin role, I really enjoy this job, lots of hats to wear.

I kind of waffled on there a bit didn't I? Being honest,I'm a bit demotivated at the prospect of job hunting again. I just want a job I can work hard at and work my way up, I want to learn,I want to do well.

Edited by wolfy1988 on Tuesday 29th September 20:37

[wolfy1988]

shirt said:

i was going to write something similar but deleted as it sounds harsh. but then i guess you need to hear that. the salary is a pisstake. it may be fine for a 'bachelor' in a roomshare but 10k a month is not going to support 2 people outside of very basic needs.

i'd question your need to leave kuwait quite so urgently. ok you want to leave, but this seems to be leave at any cost.

10k basic but there's something very wrong though if she doesn't earn over 20k per month with commission. don't know how much you guys earn but that equivalent too 5k euro to us, we would save 4 of that a month in Kuwait, its pretty clear if we just had that income that we wouldn't save as much in Dubai but we would haldly be collecting milk tokens would we??

Or do i have Dubai completely wrong?

[wolfy1988]

GT03ROB said:

Sorry to hear it's not worked out for you. Reading between the lines I think I can work out why, I know they are on bit of a clampdown on various professions.

I've been out of country for most of the last 6 weeks but if you want to grab a metaphoric beer let me know.

Hey Rob,

Your quite right, that's exactly what it is. Although still not final so everything is still in air.

That metaphoric beer is over due, send me your number and we'll arrange something

[wolfy1988]

dxbtiger said:

Is the 4k just paid monthly or will they give you a lump sum of 48k upfront to rent?

If the former then do you have circa 100k aed tucked away from your accomodation year 1?

Landlords will ask for anywhere between 1 and 3 cheques for rent, 1 cheque should get you a better deal. Also 5% agency fee, 5k deposit, DEWA (water and electric) deposit is 1k on a apartment iirc, so it adds up quickly.

They can pay upfront, after which they will deduct it from the salary. I was looking last night on Dubizzle and it does seem possible to get a acceptable apartment for 50k, sure they are small but its a roof etc.

Thanks for all the examples for rates, its handy for us to get an idea.

I get what you are all saying, we are (potentially) moving an expensive city, with what turns out to be a low wage in relation to living costs. Nothing is set in stone yet. More interviews will be had, I will start seriously looking for work and our options will be examined.

[wolfy1988]

After_Shock said:

Anything commission related at the moment beware, I know most of my salary is based on it and I know many others in the same game, its been a tough year here nothing like the last few years and no ones earning the money this year, especially anything linked to retail or real estate.

My wife is a Healthcare professional, so its not sales commission etc its performance bonus. It is directly tied to number of patients seen a day. The quoted 20k salary is given when seeing X number of people a day (Very Minimal, half of what she is seeing now)

I must state also, that we would not make the move unless I got a good job with at least the same wage, PH is kindly pointed out that it would be less than comfortable to share

Edited by wolfy1988 on Wednesday 30th September 10:39

[wolfy1988]

I have created a GulfTalent profile, let the hunt begin!