A ‘living in Dubai’ question
Discussion
Well as it says on the tin... I was hoping that some people on here with experience of living out there would be willing and able to give an idea of costs involved as well as possible pitfalls. I’m currently in the running for a position in Dubai and while the headline figure (ie tax-free salary) looks attractive the reality is that paying a mortgage here and then rental on a place out there really does take a huge chunk out of the perceived benefit. For info purposes I’ll be keeping my (mortgaged) house in the UK, I’m not a ‘party animal’ (hell I don’t even really drink) and would expect to be out there on my own about half the time (the other half Mrs Iroc will be out here – another cost to factor in being extra flights).
Having a quick look at the property pages it looks like a studio/1 bed apartment is running £1200 per month at the cheaper end of the scale – is this about right or is it the UAE equivalent of living in 1980’s Toxteth? Is public transport worthwhile both in terms of cost and reliability (longer term I would be looking at getting a car but obviously in the short term it’s one less thing to have to worry about). Talking of cars what’s the score with insurance out there as I understand driving standards are… ‘variable’. What sort of costs could I be looking at for a typical ‘weekly shop’? I guess another important question is how good is the internet out there, is it poor unless you pay through the nose or is it priced like in the UK?
Obviously overall I’m just looking at a costings overview as there is another good thread discussing other Dubai pitfalls
Having a quick look at the property pages it looks like a studio/1 bed apartment is running £1200 per month at the cheaper end of the scale – is this about right or is it the UAE equivalent of living in 1980’s Toxteth? Is public transport worthwhile both in terms of cost and reliability (longer term I would be looking at getting a car but obviously in the short term it’s one less thing to have to worry about). Talking of cars what’s the score with insurance out there as I understand driving standards are… ‘variable’. What sort of costs could I be looking at for a typical ‘weekly shop’? I guess another important question is how good is the internet out there, is it poor unless you pay through the nose or is it priced like in the UK?
Obviously overall I’m just looking at a costings overview as there is another good thread discussing other Dubai pitfalls
1 bed apartment in the Marina - circa AED100k per year. 2 bed >AED150k per year. Apartments in Mirdiff etc, cheaper. But further out. Depends on what you really want!
Water/electric for 1 bed in the Marina - circa AED600 per month. 2 bed circa AED800. (AED2000k per month in a villa at least!)
16mbps internet with TV - circa AED380 per month (and quite frankly is naff).
Car insurance is based on the value of the car. But its cheap compared to the UK. My 2009 LR3 V8 HSE is about AED1400 per year (and cheaper if I shopped around). 2009 911 is about AED4000k.
You really need a car here to get about, taxi's/Ubers will become a pain in the a55 eventually (and very frustrating..!) The tram around the Marina is ok and does connect near the main train system. Expect 1hr+ from the Marina to DIFC/Dubai Mall for example, especially during summer. Winter you can walk to the train at least.
Food - depends on where you shop. As a single guy I easily spend AED800-1000k a month on groceries. Drinks in a nice bar AED40-55 a pint. Wine AED35-60 a glass!
I'm sure others will chip in with their experiences!
Water/electric for 1 bed in the Marina - circa AED600 per month. 2 bed circa AED800. (AED2000k per month in a villa at least!)
16mbps internet with TV - circa AED380 per month (and quite frankly is naff).
Car insurance is based on the value of the car. But its cheap compared to the UK. My 2009 LR3 V8 HSE is about AED1400 per year (and cheaper if I shopped around). 2009 911 is about AED4000k.
You really need a car here to get about, taxi's/Ubers will become a pain in the a55 eventually (and very frustrating..!) The tram around the Marina is ok and does connect near the main train system. Expect 1hr+ from the Marina to DIFC/Dubai Mall for example, especially during summer. Winter you can walk to the train at least.
Food - depends on where you shop. As a single guy I easily spend AED800-1000k a month on groceries. Drinks in a nice bar AED40-55 a pint. Wine AED35-60 a glass!
I'm sure others will chip in with their experiences!
Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 23 August 12:23
shirt said:
Without wanting to sound rude there are loads of threads on this subject, use the search. Doesn't matter how old they are, same stuff still applies.
You're so rude 
OP - Where is the job you are looking at based?
Whilst people do commute about, it does tend to have a bearing on where you'll live a lot of the time.
To further expand on the car insurance, you basically insure the car here rather than the driver, you shouldn't expect to pay anymore the 3% of the agreed value of the car.
k it up! <grin>I notice that you intend to keep your UK property, you might want to check whether or not that endow you with sufficient connection to the UK for HMRC to class you as domiciled UK, and therefore liable to UK income tax on your Dubai income. The rules have changed a lot in the last few years so a chat with a tax adviser might be a good idea.
Mike Biddle said:
I notice that you intend to keep your UK property, you might want to check whether or not that endow you with sufficient connection to the UK for HMRC to class you as domiciled UK, and therefore liable to UK income tax on your Dubai income. The rules have changed a lot in the last few years so a chat with a tax adviser might be a good idea.
ouch!!! Now that would be an almighty spanner in the works!Mike Biddle said:
I notice that you intend to keep your UK property, you might want to check whether or not that endow you with sufficient connection to the UK for HMRC to class you as domiciled UK, and therefore liable to UK income tax on your Dubai income. The rules have changed a lot in the last few years so a chat with a tax adviser might be a good idea.
I have a friend that moved away around 7 years ago and must now fill in an annual return and pay tax on his buy to let investment. irocfan said:
Mike Biddle said:
I notice that you intend to keep your UK property, you might want to check whether or not that endow you with sufficient connection to the UK for HMRC to class you as domiciled UK, and therefore liable to UK income tax on your Dubai income. The rules have changed a lot in the last few years so a chat with a tax adviser might be a good idea.
ouch!!! Now that would be an almighty spanner in the works!Yes I have a UK property, no I am not UK resident, no I don't pay UK income tax on my gulf earnings, yes HMRC know all of this.
Mike Biddle said:
I notice that you intend to keep your UK property, you might want to check whether or not that endow you with sufficient connection to the UK for HMRC to class you as domiciled UK, and therefore liable to UK income tax on your Dubai income. The rules have changed a lot in the last few years so a chat with a tax adviser might be a good idea.
Eh?Just wondering if anyone is or has recently moved to Dubai and how they are finding the costings compared to what is quoted in this thread from approx 2-3 years ago?
Looks like rents in Dubai have come down considerably, seems like 1 beds in Dubai Marina cost from 70k AED upwards at the moment.
Looks like rents in Dubai have come down considerably, seems like 1 beds in Dubai Marina cost from 70k AED upwards at the moment.
We are just entering our second year. Rental decreases are around 10%. We got slightly more than that on our warehouse and lots less than that on our Villa. Villa Landlord knew we wanted to stay and doesnt need the money (villa was empty for nearly 2 years before we moved in as they are very tenant picky). Other landlords will be different. I've heard of 15% plus 2 months free.
Been out of Dubai for a while now, but lived there for about 6 years previously before moving to other GCC countries) Unless things have changed more dramatically than I thought however - and in response to some of your points...
Internet - good quality, but definitely more expensive than the uk - and the same with mobile data. However, as a % of your disposable income it’s only annoying if you think too much about the direct comparison with home.
Eating out - any and every price point you could possibly desire. From cheap (proper) Indian/Pakistani food for less than £5 to fancy steaks for £100. It can be cheaper to eat out than to cook a meal at home.
If you know where the office is located, consider distance when looking for accommodation as traffic can get very slow.
The primary financial danger in the UAE is that they are incredibly competent at getting you to spend a large chunk of your salary on a fantastic lifestyle that doesn’t compare to what you are used to back home. Rent used to be paid in a 12 month single payment. I think this has relaxed recently - but worth checking with those who are still there.
Grocery shopping is much cheaper when you get used to using the local and Asian vegetables, rather than expecting courgettes to look like they do at home and wondering why they cost £5 each...
Schools if you have kids need to be factored in as they are far from cheap - secondary level at least AED 60k.
Make sure it adds up and then jump in. It’s a very different life if you haven’t lived abroad before and I feel much richer (culturally and in terms of life experience) for having experienced it.
Annual leave - can be more generous than the uk, especially if working for a government or quasi-government company.
If working for a uk company, consider the potential for business travel and if this can regularly get you home to visit Mrs Iroc.
If you really want to save money, move to Saudi....
Internet - good quality, but definitely more expensive than the uk - and the same with mobile data. However, as a % of your disposable income it’s only annoying if you think too much about the direct comparison with home.
Eating out - any and every price point you could possibly desire. From cheap (proper) Indian/Pakistani food for less than £5 to fancy steaks for £100. It can be cheaper to eat out than to cook a meal at home.
If you know where the office is located, consider distance when looking for accommodation as traffic can get very slow.
The primary financial danger in the UAE is that they are incredibly competent at getting you to spend a large chunk of your salary on a fantastic lifestyle that doesn’t compare to what you are used to back home. Rent used to be paid in a 12 month single payment. I think this has relaxed recently - but worth checking with those who are still there.
Grocery shopping is much cheaper when you get used to using the local and Asian vegetables, rather than expecting courgettes to look like they do at home and wondering why they cost £5 each...
Schools if you have kids need to be factored in as they are far from cheap - secondary level at least AED 60k.
Make sure it adds up and then jump in. It’s a very different life if you haven’t lived abroad before and I feel much richer (culturally and in terms of life experience) for having experienced it.
Annual leave - can be more generous than the uk, especially if working for a government or quasi-government company.
If working for a uk company, consider the potential for business travel and if this can regularly get you home to visit Mrs Iroc.
If you really want to save money, move to Saudi....
JiggyJaggy said:
Good to know. Seeing lots of 1 month free. I assume "Free Chiller" refers to free A/C?
There’s district cooling (chiller plant in/near the development piping into the building) or else you just run stand-alone a/c off the lekky. The latter is much cheaper and much less hassle all round. Mate of mine has just downsized, sent the family home and moved to a 1 bed in the marina for 5.5k a month rolling tenancy agreement including all bills. That’s a bargain.
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