Potentially moving to Dubai on March

First, the salary - I don't know that industry's salary levels, so whether it's good or bad I can't say. You can certainly live on it here. But you have to decide how it compares with your present salary and prospects to decide whether the move is justified.
The big cost is accommodation, Sharjah is cheaper than Dubai but rents are rising each year as we have inflation and more demand than supply of accommodation. As for cost of living, I said this on another website:
"Whether Dubai's cost of living is expensive or not depends on where you come from. What do things cost in your home country, what are your living standard expectations? I think taxis are very cheap, Brits think they're incredibly cheap, Indians think they're expensive.
People from some countries will share accommodation or rooms, even beds, people from other cultures won't.
The big expense is rent, which is rocketing higher. School fees, water, electricity, internet are also expensive as is alcohol and clubbing.  Food, petrol, cars, clothing, are all cheap."

There are many dental practices here with dentists from all over the world, so your girlfriend should be able to find a job. However, here's something I wrote on the other website, about Dubai:

"My boyfriend's been offered a job in Dubai & I'm planning to go with him. Can we live together."

The answer is in two parts and the second is the most difficult to solve.

Firstly, it is illegal for an unmarried couple to live together in Dubai. Having said that, many couples do and they have no problem. However, you need to be sensible about it; for example don't attract the attention of the authorities by having noisy late-night parties that cause the neighbours to call the police!

The second thing is much more difficult. To live in the UAE you must have a Residence Visa. To get a Residence Visa you must have a sponsor - for example, your boyfriend's employer will be his sponsor. But your boyfriend will not be able to sponsor you. Only legally married people can sponsor their spouse, and the paperwork to prove you're married is daunting.

To live here you have to get around this problem, for example by finding a job yourself so that the employer will be your sponsor. Or of course, you could get married which would solve all the problems :-) "

I only have Dubai rent figures. To check on Sharjah I suggest you look at the Gulf News classified ads, which you'll find HERE


PS. Dubai and Sharjah are just a few kilometres apart.

seabee, thank you so much for your reply. Right after i posted mine i took my time and :went through all of your altruistic replies and got a lot of info.

i m wondering. even though it seems many couples live together despite it is forbidden, would you consider it high risk?

I mean, i wouldn't even think of moving there if i had to live apart from my gf.

considering the salary. well, i am currently living in Shanghai and I have a comfortable living for as low as 500 usd a month and I make 1700. Shanghai is the most expensive city in China but still a bargain.
So if i move to the UAE it's not only for the job but also I also expect a higher living standard and considerably more savings but i m suspiscious now because what i thought it would be a great salary it's not that much since i ve been reading life is very expensive there..... so if i finally get an offer i ll ask for extra housing allowance i guess.

another question seabee. What's the internet situation there? I've given up any hope after a year here in China, it's the worst ever. Censorship, slow etc.

I came accross an article that all of the VOIP systems are banned in the UAE. Is this true? Chinese didnt go as far yet. 
What about blogspot? it's banned here and a pain in the butt to access.

Do people ever go to the beach there? are the open ones that are not private resorts?

anyway....sorry to ask so much. this is happening just too fast !

thanks for  your great advice

Hey,

About living together and not to be married is not to recomend in Sharja since it is a very strict Emirate and as well it is a total white zone(no bosing). Rent money you mentioned is low if you want a resonable place to live in and to save money on that salary will be hard.  a good apartment(1 bedroom) at least 45000.Your girlfriend on the otherhand could make money since that is a well paid job out here. Though she need to pass a a English test with all the medical terms involved in her job to be able to get the cert.

UAE is not at all sheap to live in as back in 2000 when I came here, now I stay and work in Dubai but have friends ín Sharja and the traffic is terrible to move arround there. But please understand you will get differnt answers from different people and all is about what you expect and the way you are used to live, and while you are here you can try to find something different if you get the right contract.

Good Luck to ya

nico3dames wrote:

seabee, thank you so much for your reply. Right after i posted mine i took my time and :went through all of your altruistic replies and got a lot of info.

i m wondering. even though it seems many couples live together despite it is forbidden, would you consider it high risk?

I mean, i wouldn't even think of moving there if i had to live apart from my gf.

considering the salary. well, i am currently living in Shanghai and I have a comfortable living for as low as 500 usd a month and I make 1700. Shanghai is the most expensive city in China but still a bargain.
So if i move to the UAE it's not only for the job but also I also expect a higher living standard and considerably more savings but i m suspiscious now because what i thought it would be a great salary it's not that much since i ve been reading life is very expensive there..... so if i finally get an offer i ll ask for extra housing allowance i guess.

another question seabee. What's the internet situation there? I've given up any hope after a year here in China, it's the worst ever. Censorship, slow etc.

I came accross an article that all of the VOIP systems are banned in the UAE. Is this true? Chinese didnt go as far yet. 
What about blogspot? it's banned here and a pain in the butt to access.

Do people ever go to the beach there? are the open ones that are not private resorts?

anyway....sorry to ask so much. this is happening just too fast !

thanks for  your great advice

That's good advice from Swe - especially the "different answers from different people" - we all have such different standards.

Sharjah is certainly more conservative than Dubai - it banned alcohol twenty years or so ago for example. But I do know unmarried couples who live there.

You really do need to ask for either accommodation provided or an accommodation allowance on top of your salary.

Internet is censored - no pronographic sites, no dating sites for example. We have broadband, the speed is not the best in the world but it's OK.

Outgoing VoIP is banned except in the Tecom free Zone but incoming is allowed.

Blogger is not banned, although individual blogs may be, just like the internet in general. I have a blog that I write on just about every day for example and we have a UAE Community Blog.

There are many kilometres of free beaches which people use every day. Bikinis are normal wear on the beaches.

If you want to read about the daily life, the beaches, the problems we face etc etc etc, my blog is HERE

swe and seabee, thank you very much for your very kind and dedicated replies.
I have a lot to think about now.

okay for all peaple potentially moving to dubai or sharjah. Lucky you!! you'll love it.

I've been to the UAE many times and its definately worth the move.

first off all, anyone with european or noth american passports get a "visa on arrival" they issue it in the airport when you land. so you don't really have to have a sponsor.

Living with a partner is really not that high risk. it is illegal but if you are not to obvious about it you really get away with it and no one will bother you.

as for anyone who is a construction engineer, architect, or working with autocad. you can get great jobs in sharjah. because its developing so rapidly. sharjah is really more like a large construction site than a city! everyone is building.

I would advice anyone who gets a job in sharjah or dubai to go ahead! you can also easily switch jobs there if your salary is not enough. sure life is a bit more expensive. but with any proffessional salary you will be living a life of luxury. (especially if you're from europe or north america). if you get a job in dubai i would advice you to get accomodation in sharjah, as it will only be a daily 20 min drive. and you'll save loadz! schools are a bit expensive for expats though (around30,000 dirhams for a high school student) but i think most of you guys dont have kids. there is an 80% expat population in the UAE. mostly from asia. but you'll have plenty of ppl to get to know and make loadz of money too..

you should buy a car though. coz using a taxi all the time is not practical. though a 20 minute trip is maximum 10 dirhams. cars are soo cheap in the gulf anyway. its great. and they have extremely convenient payment plans.

good for you ppl! have fun.

hi... i've been reading and googling so much for the past months about Dubai... thinking to move there.
My husband is at sharjah, working for a friend and the earning is definately not enough if my son and I would like to stay there too.
I have been sending my resume to agencies online trying to get a job, but there is no news so far. 
Any suggestions on what I should do? 
Btw this is the best sites and most helpful sites so far that i have come across on information at dubai. Thx..

Hi

I found the Gulf News website www.gulfnews.com very useful.  You should be able to find most of what you are searching for by going to this link:

Good luck!!

Dee

http://archive.gulfnews.com/uaessential … index.html

PS - If the above link fails, just type http://www.gulfnews.com/home/ in your url and go to the RESIDENTS GUIDE listed on the left side of the web page.

move2dubai wrote:

hi... i've been reading and googling so much for the past months about Dubai... thinking to move there.
My husband is at sharjah, working for a friend and the earning is definately not enough if my son and I would like to stay there too.
I have been sending my resume to agencies online trying to get a job, but there is no news so far. 
Any suggestions on what I should do? 
Btw this is the best sites and most helpful sites so far that i have come across on information at dubai. Thx..

move2dubai, the best way to find a job is to be here on a visit so that you can contact companies personally and be available for an interview. Thousands of people send their resumes to the employment agencies, thousands apply for every job that's advertised.

Hi all,
I am so impress with all the helpful information and replies everyone here provides, it is definitely the best site I've come across about living in UAE.

I am at the moment contemplating about moving to Dubai (like so many others here). I've surf many sites to try and work out if the offer I've got is worth the move.

I was offered a hotel executive floor manager position, with normal expat benefits (return flight each year, medical & $70,000 AED housing), but actual salary was much lower than I expected, at $5500 AED p/m + $600-1000 AED Service Bonus).

I have doubt if that's enough for a single girl from Sydney to live on, maintainning a similar lifestyle as back home and save up no less than $25,000 USD in 2 yrs?

I understand that many have asked similar questions before, but I can see that many of you veteran here are from Oz that you would be able to give me a better indication, maybe?

arva, that's a horribly low salary. The 'benefits' of air ticket and medical insurance are required under the Labour Law, so the employer isn;'t giving you anything special! You may just find a studio apartment for the accommodation allowance.

In round numbers you want to save about  AED4,000 a month for two years, but your salary will be only about AED6,000 a month. That doesn't leave a lot for daily expenses.