Job Discussion Forums

[charisma_classic]

Hello,

My husband has just received an offer from HCT. We have been doing a lot of research, but I was hoping I could get more information from those of you who already living and working in the area.

The offer is for one of their schools in Dubai. The salary is 18715 AED per month, with the standard accomodations, medical insurance, flights home, vacation, 30000 AED relocation, etc. that I have seen discussed everywhere.

We would attempt to keep our lives back in the US somewhat intact. We have monthly expenses of about 11485 AED (including paying our mortgage, student loans, our car, life insurance, etc), leaving us with 7230 AED to cover our remaining expenses in the UAE (food, utilities, personal care, etc).

Is this salary (18715 AED) enough to live on AND maintain our home, etc. in the US?

Also, while my husband's job is not a teaching job, I am a TESOL instructor with and MA and 8 years of experience. How is the job market in Dubai right now for our field? Would I be able to easily find a job (in my field or outside of it) to supplement our income?

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

[Tom Le Seelleur]

Will you have kids with you? If not then 7,000 is fine and remember you could get work as an Adjunct with an extra 12,000 per month but no extra benefits - work with HCT/ZU for example.
Use the 30,000 wisely - ie buy second hand if you can and keep 10,000 in savings. Need to think about a car - again second hand won't kill you and there are lots of deals around at the moment.
Tom

[charisma_classic]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. We are newlyweds without any kids right now, but would hope to start a family while there.

We are actually planning to import our car. Unfortunately, it was a new purchase last summer and we would take quite a loss if we had to sell it now. Is it just not worth importing? Can a car purchased on bank loan even be imported, or can you only import a car that you own out right?

We were also planning to send a container with our furniture, etc, and the car. Again, is this not really a viable option?

[olivertwisted]

I encourage you very much to relocate to Dubai. HCT is one of the best places to work for all over the UAE. I firmly believe that you (with the qualifications you mentioned) will easily find yourself a decent ESL/EFL job in one of the many tertiary institutions here. Try HCT website. Apply for a teaching job. As far as I know, they need teachers. EFL/ESL is a big thing here.

Cars here are comparatively cheap. You will like Dubai very much. It is a lot safer than manu US cities.

Go ahead. You will love the experience.

[helenl]

I know there are those who will disagree but here goes,

Don't bring the car - first of all, you'll have to pay some kind of duty on it because it is relatively new (not sure how much)

Secondly, it's not built for the hot climate here (this is where there will be discussion). I know one fellow from HCT who brought his car from the US (maybe 3 or 4 years ago) and within months had to replace all seals/gaskets/hoses. I also remember him praising it to the skies when he left citing that the replacement of all these bits and pieces made it more valuable to prospective buyers

I have heard too, that the computer systems on vehicles sold in the US /Canada are not the same as those here and may not work with the computer diagnostic systems.

Thirdly. What about the warranty? Does it cover another country?

If it is a US make - be aware that they are not as popular here as Toyota and Nissan products and you may have difficulty with repairs or spare parts.

Can you survive on the 7000/month. Sure. Depends on your lifestyle and your other out of pocket expenses, namely utilitites. Shouldn't encroach too much though if you avoid going out to 5* hotels, don't drink (much), aren't into exotic vacations every holiday and aren't into recreational shopping.

[veiledsentiments]

Carefully check the costs for shipping that container... getting everything through customs can be a major headache, so you need to pay "portal to portal" so the shipping company handles everything. Personally I wouldn't bring a car or furniture... cars are cheaper than in the US... and in Dubai your 30,000 will go far since you normally don't have to buy appliances. (remember the power is 220 rather than 110, so you don't want to bring large appliances other than perhaps your dryer... which is already 220, but with the wrong plug.

I see helen1 and I are posting basically the same information, so I can stop here.

VS

[charisma_classic]

Thank you for the responses. It is certainly a relief to hear that teachers are still needed!

We had originally thought to take the new car and leave my older Jeep here in the US, but after discussing it more, were more recently considering the opposite - bringing the Jeep and leaving the new car. It is not covered under warranty, as it is 10 years old. The duties would also be lower for it, I imagine. I hadn't thought about the difference in weather conditions, though. I'm not sure that a Jeep is any more suited for that climate than the other car...

My husband is spending part of today looking into the costs associated with the container. I had read about the horrors of customs, so he is geting quotes for that. We would plan to just bring furniture, linens, my teaching books, personal items - all of our appliances will be staying put in the US.

An additional question - has anyone ever brought their cat over, too?

Again - thank you for all of the advice. Though we've been researching the possiblity for some time, we've been asked to make the decision very quickly and I am desperately trying to get a lot more information very quickly!

[Sheikh N Bake]

Bringing a 10-year-old Jeep over is WAY not worth it. I owned 3 or 4 different cars over 9 years in the UAE.

I took a cat back to the States with me without a problem, just a little paperwork from the vet and so on. Cats are fine in the UAE and as far as I know do not need to be quarantined, but I'm not sure about that.

[bluecatbabe]

That pay scale is not bad.

What I suggest you do though is also apply to work at HCT as an English language instructor in your own right (not as an adjunct unless you have no other choice - no job security more than a semester at a time).

You'd likely get 13,000 AED or upwards depending on your MA (some people have had trouble getting their MAs recognised, though that may be clerical problems rather than policy), which would build the family budget up.

Or, apply to teach at one of the numerous institutions which pay a higher salary but provide no benefits or housing beyond the visa (VETI I believe is one) - that would be the best deal all around.

About cats - yes, people ship cats and indeed dogs. A friend of mine rescued a street cat here, shipped it back to England when she left, and then shipped it back again with her when she returned a few years later.

Feline Friends UAE (they are online and on Facebook) may be able to give you advice or put you in touch with someone who can.

Dubai is probably the nicest it's been for years!

[veiledsentiments]

BTW... I think there is age limit on car imports... as I recall, 10 years would be too old.

VS

[charisma_classic]

We have, in fact, learned that 10 years is too old for an import cat. Sad. Well, I guess the Jeep will just have to look forward to summer visits.

We're just waiting to hear back about some housing details before making a final decision. We were told we would get a 2 BR apartment. Are these generally in a certain part of town, a certain size (sq ft/m), etc?

Thanks again for all of your help.

[helenl]

One note about bringing bed linens - it may not be worth it. Although beds here can be found in most of the standard sizes found in North America, some really odd ones exist (I have a friend with 5 beds in 4 bedrooms and none of them are the same size but they're all supposed to be either doubles or queens)

That said, I have bought linens in North America AFTER i bought my bed in UAE, measured it and then got them when I went home again (and measured the sheets there).

HCT housing is almost always very good. The rooms will be large and spacious, much more so than a standard 2 bed in North America - it may also have a maid's room (usually a large closet like space with no windows - I always use mine for storage).

One thing to ask is if the apt has built in closets. 90% don't in my experience - which means you have to buy wardrobes.

HCT has an active buy and sell forum on their intranet - if you're coming in February you may be able to find some deals. If you're coming in August, the pickings will be slim. Lots of HCT'rs sell vehicles this way too.

My advice, visit IKEA (one of my favourite stores anyways). While not glitzy, it's practical and cheaper than a lot of other options. Also, check the notice boards at Spinney's (one of the larger supermarkets) you may be able to get some decent stuff secondhand.

I've brought my cat with me twice. The visa officer at HCT can assist you - you will need Govt vet inspection cert within 2 weeks of travel, copies of all vaccination records and I believe the rabies one must have been administered within the last 6 months. The visa officer can then go to the Dept of Agriculture in UAE and get an import permit for you (last time it cost 200AED and I paid him when I arrived in UAE) and will fax/email a copy of it to you to give to the air carrier (they will not transport your cat without it).

Highly recommend you use KLM for the cat transport (ask the transportation officer if this is a viable option for you and hubby as well - HCT buys your tickets and sends them to you via courier - if the price is similar to others, they MAY accomodate you). I like KLM because when your flight goes through Amsterdam, they take the cat off the plane, clean the crate (if needed) provide litter facilities and water and also a vet inspection to make sure the animal isn't under too much stress.

The flight crew were very helpful in checking to make sure that my cat was loaded on board. The information desk in Amsterdam allowed me to call the dog/cat hotel and inquire as to the cat's well being - overall a good experience.

[D. Merit]

[homeless vet]

Simply put, no. The offer is a decent one, but not if 2/3 of your money will be going back to the US to pay ongoing bills. Living here isn't worth the sacrifice if you're not getting ahead financially.

[homeless vet]

Re pets and car.

I concur with others - leave the cars in the states. We had a similar situation - we sold the older car and have left the new car with family for the time being. There are tons of used cars with Gulf specs on the market here, with departing expats desperate to sell.

As for the pet - we brought our dog. It cost about $3000 in all. Lots of paperwork. About $1600 was for the one way cargo transport, the rest was physicals, shots, license fees, assorted quasi-bribes. The UAE doesn't allow pets to be transported into the country by plane except in cargo, regardless of size. Be aware that the idiots working the cargo and customs area don't give a flip about your pet - be sure that someone is actually there when the plane lands (and I don't mean inside the same plane, but in the customs area already) to collect your pet. Either one of you can fly ahead or you can have a service do this. I recommend you get with a UAE vet ASAP and have them coordinate with your vet to get stuff lined up - there is a sequence that must be followed or else your pet will be denied entry and destroyed. We used the American Veterinary Clinic of Abu Dhabi, www.avcclinic.com/