Thread: New to dubai!

hi Kez

how is life our there now?, my wife and i are looking into it but i have heard some bad stories about the way brits are treated. did you manage to look first before you moved?

Can u let me know what rent is like and also the ease of movement being a foreign worker, i read that passports are taken by your employer, is this true?

also, how did you find life as a british woman mixing with locals, i understand that women are stared at a lot and made to feel uncomfortable.

thanks for your help.

Chrispin

Hi Chrispin

I think as long as you pick a reputable company to work for you are fine over here. There are some bad eggs as there are everywere were you might not get the package you was promised etc and then you would have to come home as the work place controls the visa (they are your sponsor). As long you pick a company that has a good reputable name and research them well you should be fine. Rental over here is stupid money, you wont get anything half decent for less than 100,000dhs or around 20 GBP a year and if you want somme thing nicer skys the limit, i have a friend who pays nearly 40k gbp a year afor an appartment in the marina, on 17th floor lovely place but perhaps not for small children. Villas in expatish areas your looking at almost 400,000dhs a yr which u devide by 5.3 and you get english GBP, big bucks.....

Your employer should not and could not take your passport, this isnt actually legal out here the only thing your employer would need your passports for is visa but they should always give em back, they are yours at the end of the day not theirs.

Women and the locals can be a bit of a nightmare in truth, We took the little one down to the beach and had no number of blokes full grown want to tke photos of our 5 year old girl, there are a lot of perverts. They do look on women as something like meat i think they have no qualms over staring and pointing and you have to get used to it, generally though women here are very safe as a well connected, well off white woman the stink she could kick up if she wanted too wouldnt be worth the hassle and so people would generally leave you alone.If you ever did feel uncomfortable there are plenty of police, security guards on all stores and hotels etc that as soon as you make it clear to them they WILL act, here they seem to act more like police than private hired. I think as long as you dont go out wearing a belt and skimpy top and dress resonably, for example dont go shopping in ya cossie, then the mrs would be find, but if you have a daughter definately keep an eye on her!


Over all though life here is fantastic you would never be short of things to do places to go, theres a book called the entertainer here which gives u loads of good discounts in hundreds of attractions and restaurants and bars etc, well worth the buy if you come over, even for holiday im sure you would make you money back in a fortnight easy if u tried!


Take care and good luck! Keep me posted!

This link may interest you all.

http://www.dubaiexpat.com/


Andy

Hi Andy..Keeliz..Chrispin.., I love these boards :-) It's great to read real experiences..see it from someone who's just done it! We're a bit like you Chrispin..we really want to do it but have a few niggles (The way the UK is heading you'll be inundated with Brits!!!!!..looks like the whole country is coming crashing down around our ears). I think the hardest part would be leaving family behind, its great for those that have no real ties but I'd find that part the most difficult (I'd wanna bring them all with me lol). I do have a friend who teaches at Jebel Ali P School, she's lived over there for years and hubby earns mega bucks so commuting back and forth to the UK isn't an issue...just like hopping on a bus! :-) the funny thing is she bought her children up over there but boarded them in the UK for secondary education (now that I couldn't deal with, having my kids on the other side of the world!) I need to do more research, granted, especially into education beyond primary....this is the lazy way... but I'd be interested to know keeliz/andy if companies, as a rule, sponsor/fund visits back to the UK? Had a friend who was in South Africa and they were allowed 'so many' flights a year...? Is this the norm? When you make such a big move I guess you have to think about these things as flights are so expensive!! Guess its great for those that can go and have no need to ever look back? :-)

Take care and enjoy the sun !!! Its all doom and gloom here...just off to crank up the central heating (which will bankrupt us right now, ha ha !!! Fuel / food / life is just so ridiculous at the mo!!!) You lucky spuds I'm so envious and the more I read the more I wanna come!!!!!!!!! Its not fair !!!!

x

Hi Angie


Why not make a fire in garden and burn Gordon Browns articles/photos/anything you can find new labor related, i expect it would cheaper and a whole lot more satisfying!

On answer to question , yes i think many companies will fund one return flight to home country per year i know we certainly get that...not first class though boo hiss lol, although the flights arent that expensive from here to the UK. Its been in the news recently that emirates are lowering their prices too try and entice more people to fly... might be worth a look in to as to how much they have dropped?

Dont think i would like to board our girl on the otherside of the world either, i dont really see how it is neccessary as there are plenty of very good schools over here that will follow the english curriculam anyway...unless the behaviour doesnt pick up and then she may be on to something!!! ;)

Hi Angie and welcome to B-A.

I to have friends in Dubai he works for a filter company and was sent there from the UK. She works for British Airways so no problems with flights for herself. He has 2 flights paid by the company per year, doesn't sound enough does it.
Their kids both now in their 20's were left back in the UK once they found work and lived in the parents house and in fact have done for the last 6 years and i think that was the kids decision.

Andy

Ha ha! We did that on Christmas Day!! No not really, but like you say it would be fun and cheaper! :-) How was your first Christmas in the sun? Did you still do the whole traditional English thing? (she says trying NOT to sound extremely envious… sniff sniff … a mixture of a cold and snivelling lol)

Just one flight!!? mind you it’s better than nothing and really quite generous I suppose! And not first class, now that’s shocking LOL. I’ll take your advice and look at prices etc.. just to get a feel for things. Thanks for replying so quickly, you’ve been a great help!

Yes, I’d heard the schools are more than adequate over there (again, unless you are buying a hot private education in the UK you wouldn’t choose to send your kids to a school in the UK if you live here, never mind ship ‘em here from the UAE or anywhere else for that matter… Its just such a distance should an emergency crop up! Ha ha, having problems with behaviour, oh dear, I know how that feels :-( That’s another point too I’ve thought of….. did your daughter adjust well to the move? I guess its better to move them young rather than wait and have to drag a lovelorn reluctant teenager onto the plane

Thanks again x

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the warm welcome, its much appreciated! It doesn’t sound enough, you’re right! But better than nothing or than a poke in the eye with the proverbial sharp stick lol. Its funny isn’t it that some people go abroad to give, amongst other things, their kids a better life and then the kids turn around and come back anyway, I know a couple of people that’s happened to. But as adults they have to make their own decisions I guess as we do…. Again slighting old Blighty I don’t think anyone will be rushing here for a job in the next few years, even our own immigrants are fleeing back home in droves…….. God I’m depressing aren’t I!!! LOL I need some sun and fast!!!! Think I’m developing SAD (not really but it’s a good excuse to get hubby to pay for a hol!)

Thanks Andy

Originally Posted by Keeliz

I see, trying escape? I dont blame you! We don't speak any arabic and don't find it matters... what work is it that you are looking for? I know that the company my husband is working for is no longer taking on employees in construction because there have been jobs shelved, luckily my husband got on to trump tower which is 3 years contract and won't be shelved. It might be worth trying a few english agencies along side arabic agencies. You could try an agency called Digby Morris, it's who we used and seem fairly good?

Hi there,

My husband also work on the trump towers, They must know each other, shame they shelved the job thou. What a nightmare.