Moving to Abu Dhabi Advice
Discussion
There's a possibility I'll be looking at moving to Abu Dhabi next spring for work. I've never been to anywhere in the Emirates before.
What advice would you guys give on the move ? Any and all advice and opinions will be appreciated, especially surrounding accommodation, rents, areas etc Looking for comfortable accommodation for a married couple.
Once that's sorted it'll be a means of transport, which will prove much more interesting than the practicalities of having somewhere to live, followed by some track day excursions and trips into the mountains hopefully...
What advice would you guys give on the move ? Any and all advice and opinions will be appreciated, especially surrounding accommodation, rents, areas etc Looking for comfortable accommodation for a married couple.
Once that's sorted it'll be a means of transport, which will prove much more interesting than the practicalities of having somewhere to live, followed by some track day excursions and trips into the mountains hopefully...
Hi there,
I'm on the cusp of leaving Ab Dabs after 8 enjoyable years. The cost of living here has increased since I've been here, largely due to creeping taxation and fees on things you have to pay as a fact of life (parking, speeding fines, Utility bills, Hotel taxes etc). But it's still a good place to be and the lack of direct taxation is a huge boon and and put my family in a total different space financially than when we first arrived. And there's loads to do here...and Dubai is only 1.5 hours away. And you're seven hours closer to the far east, so it's a great hub for travelling. And you'll not go too short on western/British comforts, pork, alcohol etc. I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it.
Bad things - it can be hard to have a good life/work balance if you work for private companies. If you can work for a government entity then the hours are much better (8am-4pm or less). But in either case the work experience can be frustrating, with colleagues and customers. With the best will in the world, and with a few exceptions, the nationals/Emirati's are not that motivated or able, even though for the most part they are friendly people. It can be hard to get things done...and I end up having to do mostly myself and rely on expat colleagues. If you're working for an Emirati customer, it can also be very hard as they can be unreasonable in their approach to vendor management with a heavy handed approach, and seek to blame. They're not generally good at taking responsibility and as such, decisions are sometimes hard to obtain, even from those in very senior positions.
Also, rents are very high. They're showing some signs of coming down a bit at the moment because lots of people seem to be leaving...but it's still going to cost you at least AED100-120,000 a year for a reasonable 2 bedroom apartment. So you need to make sure your package includes the high cost of rents.
I don't have school age kids, but my friends say school fees are rising ever higher and the fees allowance that was once a standard item is being reduced or disappearing, particularly for private company employees. So beware of that one too when assessing your package.
There are lots of nice places to live, but I'd recommend Al Raha Beach and Khalifa City. Al Bandar/Al Muneera/Al Zeina. Al Forsan is another nice place. Al Reem/Mariah Islands are also now, and a bit cheaper. Depends where you work as getting off the island can be a lengthy process during the rush hours.
Hope that helps.
J.
I'm on the cusp of leaving Ab Dabs after 8 enjoyable years. The cost of living here has increased since I've been here, largely due to creeping taxation and fees on things you have to pay as a fact of life (parking, speeding fines, Utility bills, Hotel taxes etc). But it's still a good place to be and the lack of direct taxation is a huge boon and and put my family in a total different space financially than when we first arrived. And there's loads to do here...and Dubai is only 1.5 hours away. And you're seven hours closer to the far east, so it's a great hub for travelling. And you'll not go too short on western/British comforts, pork, alcohol etc. I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it.
Bad things - it can be hard to have a good life/work balance if you work for private companies. If you can work for a government entity then the hours are much better (8am-4pm or less). But in either case the work experience can be frustrating, with colleagues and customers. With the best will in the world, and with a few exceptions, the nationals/Emirati's are not that motivated or able, even though for the most part they are friendly people. It can be hard to get things done...and I end up having to do mostly myself and rely on expat colleagues. If you're working for an Emirati customer, it can also be very hard as they can be unreasonable in their approach to vendor management with a heavy handed approach, and seek to blame. They're not generally good at taking responsibility and as such, decisions are sometimes hard to obtain, even from those in very senior positions.
Also, rents are very high. They're showing some signs of coming down a bit at the moment because lots of people seem to be leaving...but it's still going to cost you at least AED100-120,000 a year for a reasonable 2 bedroom apartment. So you need to make sure your package includes the high cost of rents.
I don't have school age kids, but my friends say school fees are rising ever higher and the fees allowance that was once a standard item is being reduced or disappearing, particularly for private company employees. So beware of that one too when assessing your package.
There are lots of nice places to live, but I'd recommend Al Raha Beach and Khalifa City. Al Bandar/Al Muneera/Al Zeina. Al Forsan is another nice place. Al Reem/Mariah Islands are also now, and a bit cheaper. Depends where you work as getting off the island can be a lengthy process during the rush hours.
Hope that helps.
J.
Edited by jezzaaa on Monday 10th October 10:27
I’m looking at potentially making the move to AD in the coming months too.
Any advice or thoughts on the car buying process welcome…
I tend to buy used cars aged 1-3 years, hold for a couple of years and then sell. My concern is my lack of knowledge of the used market in AD – looking at Dubizzle does not fill one with confidence as every vehicle is described as immaculate. Anecdotal research suggests folks in the desert are less diligent when it comes to vehicle maintenance due to a combination of obsession with new and shiny things and lack of decent/reliable mechanics. I acknowledge I’m dealing in huge stereotypes here and that PHers will be the exception to the rule.
Q: So what is the used market like? Are there bargains to be had by buying privately from expats going home? Any recommendations for mechanics willing to cast their eye over potential purchases (and who can be used for future servicing)?
At the risk of unleashing another buy outright –v- lease debate, it seems like leasing for a two year period might be the sensible solution: avoids having lots of capital tied up (always conscious of fact things could go south in the region very quickly…), don’t have to worry about selling it on, benefit of new car with ‘hassle-free’ motoring re fault repairs etc…
Q: Is leasing popular and how do prices stack up to UK? Lots of Golf Rs around at £300pm equivalent? Browsing at some main dealer websites in the region, finance deals aren’t advertised to the same extent as they are in the UK (or at all).
Yours,
Billybobtrees
Any advice or thoughts on the car buying process welcome…
I tend to buy used cars aged 1-3 years, hold for a couple of years and then sell. My concern is my lack of knowledge of the used market in AD – looking at Dubizzle does not fill one with confidence as every vehicle is described as immaculate. Anecdotal research suggests folks in the desert are less diligent when it comes to vehicle maintenance due to a combination of obsession with new and shiny things and lack of decent/reliable mechanics. I acknowledge I’m dealing in huge stereotypes here and that PHers will be the exception to the rule.
Q: So what is the used market like? Are there bargains to be had by buying privately from expats going home? Any recommendations for mechanics willing to cast their eye over potential purchases (and who can be used for future servicing)?
At the risk of unleashing another buy outright –v- lease debate, it seems like leasing for a two year period might be the sensible solution: avoids having lots of capital tied up (always conscious of fact things could go south in the region very quickly…), don’t have to worry about selling it on, benefit of new car with ‘hassle-free’ motoring re fault repairs etc…
Q: Is leasing popular and how do prices stack up to UK? Lots of Golf Rs around at £300pm equivalent? Browsing at some main dealer websites in the region, finance deals aren’t advertised to the same extent as they are in the UK (or at all).
Yours,
Billybobtrees
billybobtrees said:
I’m looking at potentially making the move to AD in the coming months too.
Any advice or thoughts on the car buying process welcome…
I tend to buy used cars aged 1-3 years, hold for a couple of years and then sell. My concern is my lack of knowledge of the used market in AD – looking at Dubizzle does not fill one with confidence as every vehicle is described as immaculate. Anecdotal research suggests folks in the desert are less diligent when it comes to vehicle maintenance due to a combination of obsession with new and shiny things and lack of decent/reliable mechanics. I acknowledge I’m dealing in huge stereotypes here and that PHers will be the exception to the rule.
Q: So what is the used market like? Are there bargains to be had by buying privately from expats going home? Any recommendations for mechanics willing to cast their eye over potential purchases (and who can be used for future servicing)?
At the risk of unleashing another buy outright –v- lease debate, it seems like leasing for a two year period might be the sensible solution: avoids having lots of capital tied up (always conscious of fact things could go south in the region very quickly…), don’t have to worry about selling it on, benefit of new car with ‘hassle-free’ motoring re fault repairs etc…
Q: Is leasing popular and how do prices stack up to UK? Lots of Golf Rs around at £300pm equivalent? Browsing at some main dealer websites in the region, finance deals aren’t advertised to the same extent as they are in the UK (or at all).
Yours,
Billybobtrees
If the population of the UAE was based on Dubizzle adds it would be 80% Swiss Ex-pat ladies all with impeccable driving manners! It is possible to find really nice examples of well loved cars, but there's a huge gap between what is seen by owners in the U.K as essential servicing and what owners bother to get done. I'd try to go for something with an existing service and warranty package, at least that way you have some comfort that the service record is probably indicative of the mileage and the basic servicing will have been done at a dealership where they at least are supposed to know what they are doing. As much as I hate to play to stereo-types, getting a one owner car from a western expat is probably the route of least risk.Any advice or thoughts on the car buying process welcome…
I tend to buy used cars aged 1-3 years, hold for a couple of years and then sell. My concern is my lack of knowledge of the used market in AD – looking at Dubizzle does not fill one with confidence as every vehicle is described as immaculate. Anecdotal research suggests folks in the desert are less diligent when it comes to vehicle maintenance due to a combination of obsession with new and shiny things and lack of decent/reliable mechanics. I acknowledge I’m dealing in huge stereotypes here and that PHers will be the exception to the rule.
Q: So what is the used market like? Are there bargains to be had by buying privately from expats going home? Any recommendations for mechanics willing to cast their eye over potential purchases (and who can be used for future servicing)?
At the risk of unleashing another buy outright –v- lease debate, it seems like leasing for a two year period might be the sensible solution: avoids having lots of capital tied up (always conscious of fact things could go south in the region very quickly…), don’t have to worry about selling it on, benefit of new car with ‘hassle-free’ motoring re fault repairs etc…
Q: Is leasing popular and how do prices stack up to UK? Lots of Golf Rs around at £300pm equivalent? Browsing at some main dealer websites in the region, finance deals aren’t advertised to the same extent as they are in the UK (or at all).
Yours,
Billybobtrees
Even main brand dealerships vary hugely in levels of competence to what you would see in Europe. It can be infuriatingly hard to get even simple items fixed when they sometimes lack any real mechanical understanding or are unable to get basic parts for months.
As far as pre-purchase inspections, I would strongly recommend doing this for anything remotely expensive. Don't bother asking a main dealer to inspect a privately purchased car, in my experience most will take your money, do the basic mechanical once-over (and I mean basic!) and that's about it. I had a potential 911 purchase inspected at the OPC and they missed some rather large accident damage on the car, even worse - it turned out to be them that repaired it previously! For inspections I'd go to a specialist in that Marque with a good rep - plenty of them to chose from when you decide on the car you want - and tell them exactly what items you want them to inspect or test for.
Been living out in the Middle East for 5 years now, just over 2 years in Abu Dhabi.
Some quick hints and tips:
VAT is coming in 2018, likely to be about 5% but nobody is 100% sure how it will be applied.
Expect to be coming into a country that will be in recession. The oil price is having an impact and the country and various support services revolve around it. This is good in some ways, rent prices starting to level off or in some cases decrease, school places starting to free up and lots of expats selling their motors on the cheap prior to leaving. However, its bad in others, the government is cutting spending on major projects and this is resulting in jobs and job offers evaporating very quickly.
Dubizzle is your friend for 2nd hand furniture, cars and just about everything else. Like I mentioned there are lots of people leaving at the moment so bargains are to be had.
Accommodation is expensive depending on location, roughly a decent 1 bedroom apartment will be AED 85,000 - 100,000 p.a. , a two bedroom AED 120,000 - 230,000 p.a. etc. You typically have to get your employer to provide 1 cheque for the calendar year and will therefore need an advance of your living allowance. Some employers will sort it all out for you but most are starting to transfer the risk onto the individual. Its important you check this out or your options will be limited and significantly more expensive if you pay on a monthly or quarterly basis.
I could write pages on this but this should be ok as a starter for 10.
Some quick hints and tips:
VAT is coming in 2018, likely to be about 5% but nobody is 100% sure how it will be applied.
Expect to be coming into a country that will be in recession. The oil price is having an impact and the country and various support services revolve around it. This is good in some ways, rent prices starting to level off or in some cases decrease, school places starting to free up and lots of expats selling their motors on the cheap prior to leaving. However, its bad in others, the government is cutting spending on major projects and this is resulting in jobs and job offers evaporating very quickly.
Dubizzle is your friend for 2nd hand furniture, cars and just about everything else. Like I mentioned there are lots of people leaving at the moment so bargains are to be had.
Accommodation is expensive depending on location, roughly a decent 1 bedroom apartment will be AED 85,000 - 100,000 p.a. , a two bedroom AED 120,000 - 230,000 p.a. etc. You typically have to get your employer to provide 1 cheque for the calendar year and will therefore need an advance of your living allowance. Some employers will sort it all out for you but most are starting to transfer the risk onto the individual. Its important you check this out or your options will be limited and significantly more expensive if you pay on a monthly or quarterly basis.
I could write pages on this but this should be ok as a starter for 10.
Thanks all for the advice and words of wisdom. I'd gone quite on this until everything had been 100% finalised, as there was some uncertainty whether I'd be based in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. But Abu Dhabi it is. 
I've a few odd questions, if people have any answers or info it'd be greatly appreciated !
Thanks.
I've a few odd questions, if people have any answers or info it'd be greatly appreciated !
- What is the situation on VPN's for personal use ? We use it for BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, and a few other things. There's all sorts of information online, but what's the reality on the ground ? Is it Ok to use a VPN for personal use, or will it land you in a spot of bother ?
- Buying a car used seems procedural from what I've read online - has any of this changed ?
- Do insurance companies accept proof of no-claims from other countries, or is it start afresh with a new policy ?
- Is personal contract hire available in the UAE, and if yes, what's the general consensus on it, is it an attractive option ?
Thanks.
Edited by Corso Marche on Thursday 15th December 07:23
VPN is fine.
I used a no claims certificate from the UK in 2007 to get insured on a Mustang at 27, generally speaking you shouldn't need one though (one of the others with more exotic machinery may have a different view!)
Buying/doing/applying anything here is procedural! First 3 months will be the worst, you'll go through about 3,000 passport photos but once it's done it's done.
I used a no claims certificate from the UK in 2007 to get insured on a Mustang at 27, generally speaking you shouldn't need one though (one of the others with more exotic machinery may have a different view!)
Buying/doing/applying anything here is procedural! First 3 months will be the worst, you'll go through about 3,000 passport photos but once it's done it's done.
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