Job Discussion Forums

mishmumkin · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929

I know that HCT places their new teachers in accommodation the first year, but how much is the allowance should someone decide to seek out their own flat? Just trying to compare it to my own offer. Thanks!

veralynn · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 113 Location: Abu Dhabi

Just to add my two penny's worth:
Agree that there's no point worrying about which area to move to as you will just have to see what is available once you are here.
Disagree that you shouldn't take a job if you have to find your own accommodation. Yes, it can be tough, but I honestly don't think it's so bad that you shouldn't come at all!
120k will get you a decent 1-bed, poss a 2-bed.
Assuming your two offers are similar roles I'd go for the job with the bigger salary. If the salary's better, chances are that the whole package/job etc will be too.

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

Iedit

mishmumkin · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

Iedit

housecat · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 104 Location: usa

Holey Moley! Just doing a little conversion showes that 120,000 is the same as the starting salary of a new teacher in Arkansas! Anyway, I obviously can't help you Mismumkin, but wanted to say contrats on you offers. I've still got a year before I'm ready to go and I can only hope that things will be a little easier by then.

tmac-100 · Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 137

housecat · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 104 Location: usa

[quote="tmac-100"][quote="housecat"]Holey Moley! Just doing a little conversion showes that 120,000 is the same as the starting salary of a new teacher in Arkansas! ....[/quote]
Does the Arkansas pay include medical insurance, airfare to place of hiring, and rental of "suitable" accommodation??

Or is that figure you mentioned equal to the gross pay and not take home (aka taxes and everything else are NOT included).

Just wondering...[/quote]

That figure includes nothing. That's gross anual pay--health insurance, rent or house payment, taxes, any airfare (which might be odd in Arkansas anyway), would come out of that pay. And so I was just kinda freaking out that in AD that only just pays the rent on a fairly nice one bedroom flat. Wow!

tmac-100 · Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 137

adorabilly · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 430 Location: Ras Al Khaimah

So it was mentioned earlier about the runaway inflation that is currently gripping the UAE.

Khalleej Times just ran a full page set of articles on the inflation. As of last year inflation was at 9%, and the UAE government is expecting it to rise up to about 15% in this coming year.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/May/theuae_May34.xml&section=theuae&col=

The set of articles looked at food prices, housing increases (in some places up to 40% higher than last year) and the rising education costs.

My favorite quote so far
"Dh1,500 meant comfortable grocery shopping for a month for a medium-sized family." I'm not sure when this is supposed to be talking about. Since we arrived, i have managed to hold our grocery shopping to about 2250 to 2400 durham a month (there are 5 of us, I would count that as a "medium-sized" family). I go to the local fresh fruit and veggie markets, I buy what is on sale. So I'm not sure when they are talking about 1,500 a month being comfortable... maybe in 2003?

egyptfan · Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 105 Location: Middle East

But surely with all the building that is going on, prices should come down in a year or two, as more accommodation comes online. I'm not in AD, but it looks as though it's a demand / supply thing which should sort itself out once many of the big projects are finished. How long this will take is another question!

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

The odd thing was that in the mid-late 90's in Abu Dhabi, they were so overbuilt - and still building frantically - that the occupancy rate in flats was dropping from 70% down to about 60%.

Of course in the reality of the way the rental system was run by the Al-Khalifa foundation, the oil company was 'renting' all the empty flats so that the landlords didn't lose any money. It makes me wonder how many flats are 'rented' but sitting empty. There used to be many apartment blocks that if you paid attention... very few flats ever had lights at night.

I hate to be cynical, but I suspect that Abu Dhabi has a fictional shortage intended to jack up the rents to Dubai standards because the AD landlords were jealous. Not that there is anything we can do about it... but merely have to suffer the consequences.

VS