Job Discussion Forums

[dragonpiwo]

1.) If you get a lum sum package, you need to know that getting a flat will require a year's rent up front, a deposit, most likely a commission, some other smaller deposits and furniture. If you rent a 1-bed not in TCN town, you're looking at 120,000 Dhrs all in ie about $30,000 to get started.

2.) Skype is hit and miss. The picture seems better on Google Hangouts.

3.) Sending money home with UAE exchange it better than using the bank for rates.

4.) It seems really safe. My wife didn't get hassled once when she came for a month.

5.) The beaches are lovely but you pay for a lot of them 10 Dhrs to get in and 25 for the lounger. On the family beaches western women wear bikins and it's pretty open.

6.) Food is cheap if you buy local stuff. Seafood is very reasonable.

7.) Clothes are much cheaper than Europe as are taxis and cigarettes.

8.) Beer from thr shop is about $1.50 a can/bottle. Beer from a 5* hotel ie bar is about $15 a pint.

9.) Fast food is really cheap.

10.) School fees are very high according to the people with kids here.

11.) It's easy to get credit and a lot of it.

12.) Emiratis seem very nice.

[Gulezar]

[rdobbs98]

Rent you are way off on. You can get a studio or 1 bedroom in Dubai from 36,000 AED and up.

Lump sum package, I haven't seen that at all here and I am in management of a school. Housing allowance is paid monthly and used to increase the salary, make it look better.

As far as sending money home that depends, banks can be easier and not cost that much if you send from account to account.

Most beaches are free, unless you go to Jumeriah Beach or some sort of private beach. Al Mamzar Beach in Dubai is free, has showers and changing area, and is very peaceful and quiet. Ras Al Khaimah has many free and open beach spaces, Ajman has private and free beaches, and beaches on the way to Abu Dhabi and Fujariah are free as well.

Fast food is no cheaper than in the west. Especially certain specialty fast food is more expensive. The cheaper food is in local owned restaurants. Shawarma is like $1.50 each and much better than McDonalds.

Emiratis are nice but depends on the area. In Ras Al Khaimah, Al Ain, and Fujairah they are the best because these areas are smaller cities and the people are more traditional. In Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi there is a huge difference in attitude.

Skype works but you need to use a VPN. Etisalat blocks Skype.

Alcohol. Best to stay away from this unless you are at a hotel. If you drive under the influence and are caught, it is a huge problem, fine, and jail time. In the UAE all non-muslims are required to have an alcohol license to purchase and consume alcohol regardless if you are a tourist or resident. For Muslims it is illegal to purchase, consume, or transport alcohol in the UAE. The police may not check on the hotels because of business but don't push this, once you are outside of a hotel or driving you are at the mercy of the police. The Dubai Police have regular checkpoints to catch drunk drivers later at night. People don't realize that you can purchase alcohol in Ajman but if you go to Dubai via Sharjah, which you have to, you can be arrested because Sharjah is dry. Sharjah does not allow the purchase, consuming, or transporting of alcohol.

[dragonpiwo]

I'm in Abu Dhabi and work for an oil company. Our salary is lump sum. 1-bed flats here that you'd want to put your wife in start at 80,000 a year. Of course, I could put her in a dump. The flat I'm looking at is 95,000 and then I need to pay 5,000 commission, 5000 deposit, buy the furniture and then there are a few other petty deposits totaling 5,000. So I think I'm way on the mark. I'm here and have looked at hundreds. This flat comes with a pool and private beach, so I'll spend nothing going out. 80k gets me no pool and no beach in an old building in the Tourist Club Area. Also, there's the issue of the tawtheek housing contract, which I need to sponsor my wife. If I rent a section of a converted villa, which is about 45,000, I won't get this contract and therefore can't sponsor her. Abu Dhabi is so costly I was thinking of living in Dubai as 1-beds go for 60,000 there. A studio is not for us.

And to the other guy? I was referring to shoarmas etc as fast food. You must be American as compared to European prices, AD is actually OK for most things.

I think the oil companies pay quite a bit more than the schools.

[peripatetic_soul]

Hello,
As far as I know (since 2014), no "spirits" license was required in Rak. Sharjah is dry, yes. Dubai is ultra expensive, and a married female ex-pat is required to obtain her husband's signature of approval for obtaining a license.
Of course, we know about those BMW and Lexus SUVs with tinted windows with an obscured, bespectacled driver honking his horn for the worker to deliver a case of Johnnie Walker purple label into his trunk (or whatever that high end blend is). One such "beverage shop" in Rak was closed, as the nearby hotel was purchased by an Emirati. There was only one I knew of near the electric company in little Rak, and one out on the way to Al Hamra (quite a selection) along the marina. Lots of ex-pats from Dubai and A.D. used to drive into Rak for their stash.

My experience with Skype involved switching from one VPN to another as the former one got blocked; the purpose was to compel us to expend all our dhs with Etisalat to make international calls, but I heard they were going to reduce overseas rates. This is a serious concern for those who wish to contact elderly parents back home (who are not tech savvy).

Regards,
PS

[dragonpiwo]

Skype works much of the time as does Google Hangouts. Facebook videochat is also another option. It seems to be worse at the weekends re connecting. I've been here since March and have spent about 250 Dirhams total on phone cards. I chat to my wife most nights for several hours.

By far the biggest gripe is the rent. Paying so much up front in a place where your job is never secure is just really unethical. Even if you give notice, that period is often really long according to what I've read on the forums. If you come, be prepared to shell out $20,000 to $30,000 right up front. I'm not sure if teachers know this.

[nomad soul]

[dragonpiwo]

Agreed Nomad but they are the ones with lower salaries usually. I have my digs provided for free and all messing but once the wife comes I'm in the rental market. It's a huge, huge start up cost and 1 of a kind methinks.

[oilers]

does dobbs even live in the same country?

36 k for rent? are you from indistan? do you live in a one room roach motel?

never seen housing/salary paid lump sum? never talked to anyone outside your work?

Etislut blocks skype? so i don't vid call canada every week?

avoid booze except at hotels? so pay 10x price (especially by the flat-24 tall boys for the price of 3 hotel pints, youch!)? Oh, and never mind the FREE liquor permit (online application)that they never ask for and the police never stop you for...and No, there are absolutely NO muslims buying booze in liquor shops cuz they are sooooo afraid of cops?

WAKE UP! Dubai does not = UAE, the op lives in AD

[oilers]

hey dragon, i consider you lucky, if i didn't have kids and had housing paid direct i would buy a live-aboard boat, pay 20k year moorage, pocket the remainder plus get all them exclusive bennies that come with moorage membership (cf. Yas Marina), not sure how the elec. bill thingy would work, maybe you could get an account with ADDC for the slip elec. bill.

Once the kids are gone i'm hopin to do just that but I might be dead by then!

[dragonpiwo]

I think the wife will just come and visit for 2 weeks every month and I'll live on camp. 2 weeks plus flight is cheaper than rent and putting the motherload up front to a landlord.

[peripatetic_soul]

Dear oilers, et al.

I can only tell you that over the 5 years I was there, my VPNs were blocked over time on Skype from my flat. In fact, my internet was so erratic the last 2 years and because I wasn't a new subscriber, Etisalat refused to send a tech to identify the problem. Their tech advisor leaves a lot to be desired. I would get timed out in 2-3 minutes.

HOWEVER, Skype was easily available at the college campus with no blocks. I know b/c I had a few interviews from there in the evenings. So yes, Skype is not so reliable in certain areas at residences (only speaking of Rak).

As for Ras al Khaimah, there is no liquor license or spousal permission required, or at least wasn't since 2014. Dubai requires spousal permission. I don't know about Abu Dhabi or Fujeirah. The bev shop is closed during Ramadan. Operating hours differ from one shop to the next. You can transport alcohol to your home as long as it is UNopened, at least in Rak. I do know Sharjah is a NO imbibing zone but you can drive through it with UNopened goods. Just don't run a red light!

As is the case anywhere, we all know not to drink and drive and to do so in moderation. Wish the locals would abide by those policies! Whoops, double standards apply.

Regards,
PS

[helenl]

I'm not sure what the rules in Sharjah are now, but in the past if you wanted to purchase booze legally in RAK or Dubai you needed a license issued by the Sharjah Police Department if your RP was issued in Sharjah (note the use of the word legally).

[rdobbs98]

Oilers, I am not from Indistan, white American living for two years in the UAE. You can find decent 1 bd for 36,000 AED in good areas in Ajman, Sharjah, Umm Al Qwaim, or Ras Al Khaimah. There are studios in those areas from 18,000 to 25,000 as well. I know because we have to place teachers in housing at times in our school.

You can find good priced housing anywhere here, even Dubai but you have to physically look for it. Don't expect to always find it on Dubizzle or other boards.

You cannot purchase, transport, or consume alcohol in the Emirate of Sharjah. They will not issue a alcohol license either. Sharjah is dry.

http://gulfnews.com/xpress/bringing-liquor-from-ajman-beware-of-accidents-in-sharjah-warns-victim-1.1171910

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/local-laws-and-customs

[dragonpiwo]

I'm gonna live in Dubai as Abu Dhabi is almost double the price re flats. A studio in Khalidiyah (old and not plush) is around 90,000. Yes, that's 9 ZERO. Of course you can get cheaper in the room in a villa category but my wife would leave me and I couldn't sponsor her. I've seen some of the places teachers live and quite frankly, it's the teachers- they are so mean and it's like camping; 1 table, 1 spoon, 1 plate etc.....like being a student.

Some of the teachers live and work in the sticks, where flats are cheap as no-one wants to live there.