Job Discussion Forums

SaharaDesert · Joined: 05 Nov 2008 Posts: 260

I know this may be a crazy question but can one live on
6000 AED per month in Al Ain ?

(Housing , flights, medical, and utilities already included...)

Neil McBeath · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 277 Location: Saudi Arabia

Yes - IF you are single and you are prepared to live like a hermit.

6000 is barely $1600 or one thousand pounds a month. It would be possible to survive on that amount, but at the same time you would have to eat in (very) cheap restaurants; replace clothes from the bargain basement lines, travel only by cheap public transport, weight up the necessity of every purchase and regard going to Kentucky Fried Chicken as a major extravagence.

There are SOME people who do this. I remember one man in Oman who used to allow himself 50 Rials (500 Adh) a month. He spent three years living in misery, asnd made everybody else miserable at the same time.

Now, if you are being paid 12000 Adh and are planning to save half, but live on the other half, that is another matter. That way you have the cushion of knowing there is an emergency reserve.

Zoot · Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 408

Are you saying that airflights, medical, accommodation are in addition to 6000Dhs or included in that? Whatever, where would you work that you'd accept 6000Dhs? NO YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT LIVE ON 6000DHS per month! Go to Asia!

Longton · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 148

You can easily live off Dhs 6,000 a month. If you eat 2 big Mac meals a day the cost will be Dhs 900 a month. Buying food from a supermarket and eating at home will be considerably cheaper and healthier! I don't think there will be any posters on this forum who spend more than Dhs 6,000 a month on food, transportation and clothes.

chanchanhae · Joined: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 72 Location: Kenya

D. Merit · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 203

Longton · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 148

I agree that not many people will choose to live in Al Ain for Dhs6,000 a month. We don't know the working hours. Dhs6,000 for a few hours a month would be attractive!

chanchanhae · Joined: 10 Jun 2009 Posts: 72 Location: Kenya

meggiebea · Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 25

This thread has scared me a bit, I was planning on living on about 4000 AED per month and putting the rest aside for travelling and debt. In Korea I can easily live off of about $800 CAD a month and was planning on about $1000 a month in Dubai. Of course this is just spending money for food, clothes, entertainment and transportation. Anyone else able to live off this amount or am I fooling myself?

D. Merit · Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 203

You'll have initial expenses (car, furnishings, white goods etc) which will make it impossible to live on 4,000 dirham a month for the first year, imo maggie.

After 12 months it will be possible if you really, really economise. Even then you will find it difficult to afford to do things like join a sports club, go diving, whatever you like to do in your free time.

All I was saying was that there is simply no point in going to work in Al Ain for 6,000 dirham - a rather different point.

You can make that in Thailand!

Zoot · Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 408

You can exist on 4000Dhs per month - nothing more!

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

Splitting Hairs · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 99

Yes
Of course you can survive on 4,000 - thousands of teachers, professionals and the like get paid between 3000 - 6000 per month, have families and survive and enjoy themselves. Many of the posters on this board either have expensive tastes or forget about how 80% of the population here live. You spend how much you want. The choices you make affect the amount you pay.
There are many in the UAE - labourers and the unskilled who are paid 500- 750 per month. Yes they get basic food and lodging but many of them save from this amount in order to send money back to their families.
It is very easy to spend money here on crap- clubs, restaurants, trips, booze, entertainment, pointless shopping but if you want to come here to save money and pay off debts the 4-6,000 is easily enough.

Sunburnt Individual · Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 91

I was offered 6,500 from an international school in Abu Dhabi last year! Whoever thinks that her offer is disgustingly out of the ballpark hasn't been job hunting anytime recently or got lucky in their search.

I agree that 6,000 is more than livable for Al Ain. Expenses here are WAY lower than Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and if your employer is covering housing costs and your flight ticket, the only expenses you have are... food and entertainment.

I save well over half of my salary (probably approaching 2/3) in Al Ain, but I know quite a few people who make MORE than me but are "broke" after 2-3 weeks every month because they spent every waking minute at Paco's or Luce and spent all their money every weekend on new shoes, clothes, state of the art cell phones, etc. in Dubai.

Now, a separate but equally important issue: if you are a native speaker, this IS a low offer for an international school. You should be offered at LEAST 7,000 or 7,500. Most schools start you with an offer of 6,000-6,500 to see if you'll bite for a lesser cost. Some international schools in Al Ain start at a much higher rate than that. It's just business.

If you're NOT a native speaker, this is a standard to high offer for an English teacher at an international school in Al Ain.

Bottom line is, that is a very livable salary. How much you will save depends on your lifestyle.

trapezius · Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:52 pm Post subject:

The 3 posts above this one are the only ones that make sense. Millions of expats in the Arabian Peninsula earn between SR/AED 300 and 1,000 per month. Not only do they live/exist on it, they also send enough back home to support several dependents and make a big house in a decade or so.

Those saying one can't live on 6,000, or that it is just enough to 'exist' on are living in a dream world.

I wonder how veiledsentiments, a Western woman, "easily lived on 1000 DHs a month", but other think that 4,000-6,000 will all be gone by the end of the month.

However, I must say here, typical salaries for Western teachers at Western-managed schools in the Gulf are SR/AED 12,000 - 15,000, so if you are being offered 6,000, either you are not Western, or you have applied to a local school, or both.

Either way, good luck.