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Anyone had any experiance working in Dubai? I have had an interview for a vacancy in Sharjar in the UAE, the original interview was in London and I have now been invited to meet the CEO in Sharjar with the company paying for my flights and also 3 days accomodation. My main concern is my family, we have spoken about this and have decided that if they offer me the vacancy and also meet my salary I will go out on my own initialy and they can visit in the 6 weeks holiday.

Any information is appreciated.

Mart

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"It's not how it's written it's how it's read"

Mart

I've spent a lot of time in Abu Dhabi, which is about 100 miles from Dubai and the company i work for have recently opened up in Dubai. Can you be a little more specific on what information you're looking for? We have 3 or 4 Brits who will have experienced the move.

My own high level comments would be, its very hot in the summer, the traffic is diabolical, but the lifestyle is very laidback


Regards

Bob

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Chronomat Evolution
Omega Seamaster

I was wondering about the standard of living, crime rates and how strict the country actualy is? Also I have been given prices for education and they are huge. Also wondering how expensive it was to live and renting property? Is it safe for my children? I have loads of concerns and questions so any advise is good.

Mart

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"It's not how it's written it's how it's read"

Give me a day or so and I'll get you some feedback

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Chronomat Evolution
Omega Seamaster

Cheers Bob, I have joined the Dubai forum but no real information on there.

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"It's not how it's written it's how it's read"

Should have answers by the morning, but I'll tell you what I know. Crime rate is extremely low because the law is very strict. Dubai is a very young city and certainly has a buzz. The UAE is made up of seven Emirates, including Abu dhabi the capital which has all the oil revenues, Dubai which has minimal oil and is heavily dependent on tourism. There are always building projects going on in Dubai, they had the Palm and World Islands, currently finishing the worlds tallest building and building a Disneylike park. I was once told that 14% of the worlds cranes are n Dubai. The majority of the population are ex pats. Schools as you said are very expensive. You'll find British, American schools wwhich follow their curriculum.

Sharjah although a separate Emirate is a suburb of Dubai and I believe a cheaper area to live in. I believe it has a large Indian population and if you're interested they play the test matches there.

Assuming it's like Abu dhabi, you are only allowed to work there two years and then you have to renew your permit. You also need an arab sponsor who is responsible for you. Driving is crazy and you need to be aggressive. Unfortunately there are a lot of accidents, particularly on the road between Abu dhabi and dubai where some peopel drive at truly crazy speeds. Many Westerners employer drivers and Maids as they are very cheap.

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Chronomat Evolution
Omega Seamaster

first response

Safe? yes very safe

Expensive? it's getting better, it's all about how much is the income and what life style he seeks. 5 bed villa for aed 200k. 3 bed apartment for aed 70k. American school for aed 50k per kid (these are my estimates)

Strict? Sharjah is stricter than dubai (just) but drive 15 minutes down the road and hit the beaches, bars, pubs, nightclubs, etc!

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Chronomat Evolution
Omega Seamaster

Mart here is the next response. If you're interested I may be able to give you a telephone contact. The response below is from a good friend who relocated from Joahannesburg ...She loves it.

Her answers relate to Dubai which is more expensive than sharjah

Safe? yes, very
Standard of living : fantastic if you can pay. Housing is AED 300k p.a. and schooling $40k pa approx. per kid.
Groceries are affordable, but eating out is very expensive.
transport is cheap (taxi's and petrol) and cars are not expensive to buy.

Bob

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Chronomat Evolution
Omega Seamaster

Many thanks Bob Much appreciated.

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"It's not how it's written it's how it's read"

Mart, just please make sure you're going to get paid!

Peter

Yes, I would be weary of Dubai. In another forum I'm a member of there is a huge discussion regarding Dubai and several members who are currently working there are painting a pretty bleak picture. I've followed Dubai quite a bit because of the similar growth parallels it had with Vegas. It's like Vegas extreme. It blew up ten times faster than Vegas (which grew astromically in its own right) and now it is crumbling at 10 times the rate as well. The problem I see (which also applies to Vegas) is that there isn't enough money in the world to justify the level of opulence they are selling. All the money that is being thrown at it, especially from the UAE isn't going to correct the fundamental source in which this problem is stemming from. I think things are going to get a lot worse over there, before they get better. Just do a search on all the abandonded cars in Dubai and the work visa situation for laid off employees (in summary they are getting the boot). The last thing you want to do is go over there as it is imploding.

I agree

Although the job I was offered was working for the Goverment sorting out the street cleansing and Municipal waste. As well as this I had to do an action plan to ensure they reached their strict Recycling targets.

I stay UK

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"It's not how it's written it's how it's read"