Job Discussion Forums

[Water Baby]

This is a query for teachers in Muscat and I'll be thankful of your replies.

Is a salary of 900-100 OMR adequate to live and save? (accommodation not provided and no extra accom allowance)

What are the rents for a small apartment or villa? (furnished or unfurnished)

Are apartment services expensive, esp. running air-con all the time?
Fees for gym or pool memberships?

thanks!

[veiledsentiments]

If it were a year ago, I could confidently have said that it would be enough for a single person to get a decent place and save (although the first year to set up a place can cost a bit depending on your definition of what is a necessity and what is a luxury.) It would be tight for someone that is married... and impossible if you have a couple of kids to educate in an international school.

But, because of the cyclone damage, there are likely quite a few places that are off the market... lesser supply means higher rents. How much higher? I doubt that anyone knows right now. What will be the hangover effect by August? Even more unpredictable...

This sounds like Bayan College? Is it? Have you asked where they are located?

VS

[Water Baby]

Hi Veiled Sentiments

Quick response! I'm sending you a pm.

Water Baby.

[stoth1972]

Bayan is offering the 'all allowances included' salary...very unfair to teachers who might end up spending loads more on housing this coming September.

[Water Baby]

Stoth and VS ..... thanks. Can you give me a website for appt /villa rentals? I'd like to see the prices in Muscat?

Gym fees? Pool? Anyone got any idea about memberships?
Electricity? What do you pay a month, summer vs winter?

All data good, will help me do the maths. Thanks for your advice!

[veiledsentiments]

There probably aren't any decent websites for rents in Oman (or really anywhere in the Gulf except for very high end renters - which doesn't include anyone teaching English). Villas are way out of your price range unless you are thinking of sharing with another teacher or two. But you could try a google and see what comes up. Rents are a big question mark right now anyway with the aftermath of the cyclone. Almost all flats are unfurnished - you will probably even have to buy ACs and kitchen appliances. I would think that you are looking at around 200 OR per month minimum.

I never did the gym/pool thing so I can't help you there. Electricity is naturally very cheap in the winter, and one learns how to use the AC intelligently in the summer. I only turned mine on when I was there and only the room I was in. It really wasn't all that expensive.

I fear everyone is traveling now, but hopefully someone will pass by with their current electric or gym costs.

VS
(BTW Stoth... almost all of the private employers are going this route... gets rid of big headaches for them and passes the problem to the teachers. This has been the trend in Oman for awhile now...)

[stoth1972]

[stoth1972]

Water baby, I'll ask about Gym fees. Like Vs said, I don't think you'll find any real deals online for flats.

[veiledsentiments]

Yes, I have heard from MHM and have told her the same. There is no predicting what the rates will be. Since Bayan is close to Al-Khuwair and Madinet Qaboos, where there was little damage, there are plenty of flats in a range of prices. But, they are between areas of heavy damage which will put pressure on their inventory. One wonders if the government will step in and take control of rents if they skyrocket. Oman very much has a 'nanny' government, so they may very well do so. They will certainly help out the Omanis, but I suspect that it will be up to the employers to help out their expat workers - and naturally some will be very generous and some won't.

As to the all-inclusive salary rather than providing flats, I really don't blame the employers at all. They have to have a department to deal with the flats/landlords... and also to deal with constantly whinging teachers who complain endlessly because X's flat is bigger than theirs or Y has a nicer sofa... and on and on and on. It is we teachers who have caused the employers to throw up their hands and just hand us the cash and let us deal with it ourselves. But, the biggest criticism that I make towards employers who do this is - that in a place like Oman, the flats usually come totally empty - just plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, and kitchen cabinets. It is criminal if they don't provide a furniture/set-up allowance in addition. And so far, none of them do.

VS

[Tazmin]

Actually nowadays it is easier to get a furnished flat than an unfurnished one as landlords realise that they can charge so much more. When we arrived we had all our own furnishings from our previous posting and it took us months to find an unfurnished place. The one main problem with most flats in Oman is lack of plumbing for a washing machine - we were lucky because our landlord let us get builders and plumbers in to redesign the kitchen in order to have an automatic washing machine.
If you are in Muscat Cluttons is very helpful, or try and get hold of a copy of Oman Today - it has a full list of letting agents.

[stoth1972]

Tazmin, any word on rental increases? What's the official damage to available housing?

[veiledsentiments]

Interesting Tazmin that such an extreme change like this in such a short time. Only five years ago I only knew of three places that rented furnished - one was very small and cheap and the others were way high end - closer to my monthly salary. I looked at dozens of flats in Madinet Qaboos, Al Khuwair, and Qurum - the only thing I found was a few with AC.

I have never used agents in the Gulf. I just drove the neighborhoods and looked for signs.

VS

[helenl]

Villa rentals have literally doubled in one area near the PDO refinery in Qurum this year. Will this have a knock on effect for other rental accomodation? One would suspect yes, especially in the immediate area. How it will affect other areas, taken into consideration with the cyclone damage to housing near the shore is yet to be seen.

[madhouseminx]

Hey Vs, hey stoth!

I was just reading the posts. I'm back in school 10 hours a day right now, so not much time for anything else. I haven't heard back from Al Bayan since last week. Maybe I asked too many questions!

Oh, well. We'll see what turns up.

-Mad

[stoth1972]

Hey MHM! My friend suggested you might be talking to the recruiter-did he identify himself as a member of staff? No harm in pestering them, I think.