I have received an offer with my company to work in Dubai for the next 2-3 years. I am currently in the process of negociating the contract and had a few questions. I have done some research on my own but the none of the sources seem to be consistent with the other. If any of you have spent some time their recently I would appreciate your input.

How much is the avg 2 bdr furnished apt?

How much is the avg car lease for a camry/accord or something in that price range?

How much more expensive is food?

How much is child care (day camp/sports camp) for an 8 year old?

10/22/2008 5:14:58 PM

talk to 0EPII1

[Edited on October 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM. Reason : a]

10/22/2008 5:17:26 PM

You should talk to 0EPII1

10/22/2008 5:18:08 PM

jesus Nate, you shouldnt take a whole 7 months off from posting on TWW.
Dubai would be pretty baller

10/22/2008 5:23:22 PM

Damn, best of luck to you.

10/22/2008 6:40:48 PM

bypassing the original question...

it's in the middle east

why would you want to live there?

10/22/2008 7:26:54 PM

seems like these would be good questions to ask, umm..... your employer

10/22/2008 7:38:13 PM

Dubai is a big party dude. Why WOULDN'T you want to live there.

10/23/2008 1:53:37 AM

dubai sounds like a fun place to be for a few years

10/23/2008 1:53:52 AM

Dubai sounds like it would be a fun word to randomly shout at people.

Kind of like Jihad only without the negative connotations.

10/23/2008 5:12:05 AM

i would love to live/work there for like 6 mos to a year or something, but it doesnt seem to be a place I would want to live for a long period of time.

10/23/2008 7:21:22 AM

Quote :

"Dubai is a big party dude. Why WOULDN'T you want to live there. "

just as long as you dont get caught banging on the beach or doing anything else that the local
religious zealots find unsatisfactory. your ass could end up LOCKED UP ABROAD.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/16/dubai.sex.couple.prison/index.html

10/23/2008 10:09:13 AM

Ihatespida pm'ed me but I thought I would reply here for everybody's benefit. My information is neither complete nor perfect (as I have never lived there), but I will answer to the best of knowledge, and maybe point you to better sources.

1) Rents for 2 bdr apartments range from $35,000 to $80,000, depending on the location. Because of such high rents, a lot of people working in Dubai live in other neighbouring emirates, such as Sharjah or Ajman and commute daily (about 45 min to an hour each way). A 2 bdr apartment in Sharjah will run you $25,000, and in Ajman, just $15,000. A good place to search is http://www.gnads4u.com/properties

2) Car prices in the Guld countries are on par with US prices. After 20% down, a 4-cyl Camry/Accord will run you about $400/month. A 6-cyl model would of course be more.

3) About food, I can't say for sure, but a lot of things (milk, bread, eggs, fruits/veggies, etc) are much cheaper in the Gulf countries than in the West.

4) No clue about child care... but, you have an 8-yo child?

I have a friend currently there. He is Turkish and works for Microsoft. I can get more details from him in the next few days.



^ That's stupid. Banging on the beach would give you jail time in almost all countries of the world, including maybe the US.

Sure, they have a lot of stupid laws, but jail time for sex on the beach is not one of them. And is that something to be complaining about? OMFG I CAN'T HAVE SEX ON TEH BEACH... I CAN'T LIVE THERE... DUBAI SUX


[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 10:21 AM. Reason : ]

10/23/2008 10:18:49 AM

Quote :

"^ That's stupid. Banging on the beach would give you jail time in almost all countries of the world, including maybe the US. Sure, they have a lot of stupid laws, but jail time for sex on the beach is not one of them. And is that something to be complaining about? OMFG I CAN'T HAVE SEX ON TEH BEACH... I CAN'T LIVE THERE... DUBAI SUX "

are you trying to tell me you would get 3 months in prison in the US for that? give me a fucking break dude.

nowhere did I say "dubai sux" but anyone there should def. watch their ass for the religious police who will not hesitate to punish you for not following their religious requirements. that should be a concern for any westerner traveling there.

[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 10:25 AM. Reason : .]

10/23/2008 10:24:04 AM

I understand your point, but the example you gave was piss poor. Sex on the beach? Really?

And, AFAIK, there is NO 'religious police' in Dubai. I mean, for God's sakes, Russian and Eastern European prostitutes are all over the place in Dubai. (in PUBLIC, not underground)

Do YOU have any proof that such police exists there? We are talking about Dubai, not Saudi Arabia.

10/23/2008 10:55:30 AM

ha...that example was not piss poor. it was a perfect. it shows the conflict of a progressive muslim nation.

the conflict between the religious sector of the country and the pro-western sector has been well-documented. sometimes the pro-western sector can suppress the religious sector and other times, like in the case of this couple who shouldve been fined and deported at the most (not imprisoned), the religous forces win out.

I am not saying they are roaming the streets looking to stone people to death, I am just saying that it has to be a concern if you are thinking of moving there.

[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 11:01 AM. Reason : ..]

10/23/2008 10:59:11 AM

Please tell me that those prices are not in American dollars.

10/23/2008 11:13:46 AM

is the 25k- 35k rent per month?? or what? damn thats alot!!

10/23/2008 11:17:01 AM

I know that a lot of places collect rent upfront for a year . I had a chance to move there (InternetCity?) but I would have spent more than I would have made, and I would be leaving my house/family to live in a 2 bed apartment.

10/23/2008 11:26:36 AM

I dont care how many towers and junk they have, its still the Middle East

10/23/2008 11:35:30 AM

Dubai is gonna be hurting over the next couple years with oil prices plummeting.

And don't give me that shit about UAE not being a major oil producer. Their economy is highly tied into the oil boom, and when oil drops below $50 a barrel they are gonna be fucked, just like Iran and Venezuela.

10/23/2008 1:02:24 PM

The rents are USD and per annum (duh!). Yes, they are very high.

10/23/2008 1:04:28 PM

I had a chance to move there about two years ago. For a two bedroom apt. within walking distance to work, the best I found was $60,000 per year. Most of the places wanted the full year up front. My employer was going to front the $60k and take it out of my check monthly. There's no income tax, but housing costs would have been 50% of my pay. I'd be in the Middle East with no friends, it'd be pretty easy to blow the rest. I can work in the US, pay a mortgage, and still save more than I could've there.

10/23/2008 1:23:10 PM

The middle east isn't bad, but having spent some time over there, there's no way I could live there for more than 6 months.

10/23/2008 1:25:47 PM

^ The Middle East varies a lot with respect to freedom, liberalness, segregation of sexes, entertainment avenues, etc.

One one end you have Yemen (excluding Yemen, it would be Saudi), and on the other end, UAE (specifically, Dubai).

10/23/2008 5:26:53 PM

Quote :

"nowhere did I say "dubai sux" but anyone there should def. watch their ass for the religious police who will not hesitate to punish you for not following their religious requirements. that should be a concern for any westerner traveling there."

lol...i love how people think Saudi Arabia is the entire middle east. American education -111111

Quote :

"Dubai is gonna be hurting over the next couple years with oil prices plummeting. And don't give me that shit about UAE not being a major oil producer. Their economy is highly tied into the oil boom, and when oil drops below $50 a barrel they are gonna be fucked, just like Iran and Venezuela."

sigh...Dubai != Abu Dhabi. look it up.

[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

10/23/2008 6:05:21 PM

Quote :

"^ The Middle East varies a lot with respect to freedom, liberalness, segregation of sexes, entertainment avenues, etc. One one end you have Yemen (excluding Yemen, it would be Saudi), and on the other end, UAE (specifically, Dubai)."

Yeah, but it's still a terrible climate. Dubai would be awesome to visit/vacation. But the climate just sucks. The UAE, correct me if I am wrong, is still pretty harsh in terms of censorship, personal liberties, etc. I mean, it's light years ahead of most countries in the region, but it still lags behind most developed countries.

10/23/2008 6:10:47 PM

Quote :

"sigh...Dubai != Abu Dhabi. look it up."

What's your point? All that crazy shit going on out there is built on 2 highly-related bubbles: The oil bubble and the housing bubble. The oil bubble is bursting as we speak, and the housing bubble will pop over there just like it did over here. People are investing ridiculous amounts of money for tiny rooms in all those mega-resorts, thinking that prices will continue to rise forever. It's not sustainable, and they'll be fucked in the next few years.

10/23/2008 6:34:24 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, but it's still a terrible climate."

I will agree with you there. Funnily enough, that climate IS the reason tens of thousands of Brits are buying/have bought homes there. And I don't know how many thousands have retired there!

Quote :

"I mean, it's light years ahead of most countries in the region, but it still lags behind most developed countries."

It is called social evolution. It takes time. And social evolution is probably happening the fastest in Arab countries anywhere in the world.

10/23/2008 6:49:23 PM

its simply a cultural thing with me. plus, i get sick of Hummus after about 2 weeks. lol.

10/23/2008 6:56:50 PM

Quote :

"its simply a cultural thing with me. "

yea thats what it would be for me too. I would love to visit it sometime though,

10/23/2008 10:29:04 PM

You have an 8 year old? Wow, I never would have thought of you as a parent. No offense intended... just a thought.

10/23/2008 11:43:03 PM