Can i afford to move to Dubai?

[Domminn]

I see lots of high paid people with questions about can they afford it so this is properly a bit of a silly question, my company have offered me 35,000 GBP or 251,544.44 AED a year, plus 3 months paid accommodation to move over to Dubai, would this be enough to live on, i like to dive and to have a bit of a night life... I dont drive, at the moment, so is there basic public transport/ taxi's... and oh and what is the rule on smoking nowadays i take it not at all on Ramadan, but what about the rest of the time... i have a meeting about this on Wednesday so please any help would be greatful.

So in summary:
38 year old English male, Graphic designer.
35,000 GBP or 251,544.44 AED a year, with 3months free accommodation on a permenant contract
Enjoys a drink and a smoke.
Single, and moving out alone but not A- sexual.
Enjoys diving, but dosent like to drive.

Could i get by Comfortably.

[MGYoung]

Depends on your financial commitments back in the UK. Remember that a 1 bedroom apartment will cost around AED100k for a year (= approx. £14K). I believ the public transport isn't as good as the UK so not driving may limit how easy it is for you to get around.

In short you could probably survive on your quoted salary as long as your financial commitments back in the UK are reasonably low but to be honest I wouldn't move to Dubai for that money. Most employers provide an accommodation allowance as this wil be your largest expense by far.

Your choice of course and I wish you luck.

Martin.

[Domminn]

I have been give a counter offer of:
45,000.00 GBP = 323,073.87 AED per year

I have no cost in the UK

[MGYoung]

If you have no outgoings in the UK then you should be able to live very comfortably on that salary. I have to pay for a mortgage, council tax, gardener, etc for my house in the UK and it's suprising how much this adds up to even although I'm not living there!

All the best.

Martin.

[qwert97]

What is comfortable is subjective. As far as I know, the accommodation is pretty pricey nowadays. I have heard that even a 1 bed room apartment can end up to be something close to 100K. You will definately need a car due to heat. Having said that 323k should be okay to survive.

[wadiman]

Hi -

I've just done this exercise myself - so, taking your numbers here's a rough assessment:

Annual costs (dirhams)
accomm = 120,000 (1br + 10% for agents costs and bond)
living costs = 63,700 (about 170 pounds/week; food and general costs)
bills = 12,000 (power/water, phone, internet - about 1670 pounds/annum)
car pmts = 15,092 (monthly repayments on 4 year loan for a cheap 50,000 dirham car)
subtotal = 210,792

Salary = 323,000
Annual balance = 112,208 (15,585 pounds)
Monthly balance (dirhams) = 9351 = 1299 pounds

Looks like you'd have enough balance for some savings and fun!

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by Domminn

I have been give a counter offer of:
45,000.00 GBP = 323,073.87 AED per year

I have no cost in the UK

For a single person with no debts or commitments you will manage on that just fine. Contrary to some comments here, not all employers provide housing allowances & certainly not in your industry.

There is little in the way of general public transport (no trains, Metro not due until next year, buses generally not pleasant) but taxis aren't expensive, although you may have problems getting one in rush hours.

Smoking rules are still more lenient than in the UK, although much tighter than they were 6 months ago. You can smoke during Ramadan, but not in public during the day. Don't worry, lots of people smoke here as it is very cheap.

_

-