Bahrain, Kuwait or Dubai??

shinju

I have the possibility of a job covering Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan.

The company's preference if for someone based in Kuwait but UAE would also be considered.

I was thinking of Dubai or Bahrain.

Any advice as to the above options?
Also with regards to moving over, accommodation, pay options etc.

Mars Bar

Dubai and Bahrain will offer much better quality of life. You can lead a much more social life in Dubai and Bahrain.

Are you male or female? I'm female. I've only been here in Kuwait for 3 weeks but it has been very, very tough as a white female.
It'll be much easier if you're male.

As for moving over and accommodation etc... my company covered the whole lot so I can't help you there. I just turned up. I get half of my pay here and I send the other half home.

Doltanian

Dubai is very expensive but well connected as it is essentially the halfway point between the majority of the worlds airports.

Mars Bar

Kuwait is also expensive.

shinju

Mars Bar wrote: »

Dubai and Bahrain will offer much better quality of life. You can lead a much more social life in Dubai and Bahrain.

Are you male or female? I'm female. I've only been here in Kuwait for 3 weeks but it has been very, very tough as a white female.
It'll be much easier if you're male.

As for moving over and accommodation etc... my company covered the whole lot so I can't help you there. I just turned up. I get half of my pay here and I send the other half home.

Many thanks for the quick reply.
My wife would be moving over eventually as well. That's why I had Bahrain or Dubai in mind even if it meant a lot of travel to Kuwait etc. for me.

How long is your contract for?

Mars Bar

shinju wrote: »

Many thanks for the quick reply.
My wife would be moving over eventually as well. That's why I had Bahrain or Dubai in mind even if it meant a lot of travel to Kuwait etc. for me.

How long is your contract for?

Yeah it's very tough for a woman. She will get stared at a lot. Indians are particularly creepy. We've had Saudi men reverse a jeep in traffic to stare in it us.

It's 9 months. I'll be out of here before Christmas for sure.

On the other hand. My boss, she has been here for 7 years.

wuffly

If you have a good package I would recommend the UAE. I've heard good things about Bahrain & Jordan also. My OH travels a lot in the region and wouldn't be a fan of Kuwait. We've lived in Dubai for over 6 years, its very open and friendly and very mixed. In lots of ways very like home, it does take some getting used to but if you come over with a job and they provide accommodation that is really half the battle most of our initial stress was job hunting. If you have family Dubai is great in the winter, lots of outdoor activities and great weather, summer is tougher but there are lots of play areas etc..  It is expensive tho, your salary might look high, but rent & utilities are expensive as are groceries even if you shop in the cheaper places. Activities add up quickly. We would hope to be home by the time our son hits school age but more for family reasons than anything. Education is good but expensive for good schools. If you have family try and get education as part of your package, not a lot of companies do this anymore but if they are willing to relocate you, they might offer it, no harm in asking. Also medical and flights for you and family etc...

shinju

wuffly wrote: »

If you have a good package I would recommend the UAE. I've heard good things about Bahrain & Jordan also. My OH travels a lot in the region and wouldn't be a fan of Kuwait. We've lived in Dubai for over 6 years, its very open and friendly and very mixed. In lots of ways very like home, it does take some getting used to but if you come over with a job and they provide accommodation that is really half the battle most of our initial stress was job hunting. If you have family Dubai is great in the winter, lots of outdoor activities and great weather, summer is tougher but there are lots of play areas etc..  It is expensive tho, your salary might look high, but rent & utilities are expensive as are groceries even if you shop in the cheaper places. Activities add up quickly. We would hope to be home by the time our son hits school age but more for family reasons than anything. Education is good but expensive for good schools. If you have family try and get education as part of your package, not a lot of companies do this anymore but if they are willing to relocate you, they might offer it, no harm in asking. Also medical and flights for you and family etc...

Many thanks for the reply and some good advice.
I don't have a family, just the wife & myself.

You mentioned utilities etc.
Would you mind providing me with an idea of what these may be in terms of cost?
Stuff that i may have considered or may not have. I don't know what these may be be or indeed how much.

e.g. Electricity, Water, Broadband, TV/Satellite, Insurances, estimated monthly grocery bill.
Anything else we don't consider here.

Also, is apartment living the norm for expats or homes?
If a company sponsors or provides accommodation, is it normally an apartment or a home or do they just provide a housing subsidy leaving us to find a suitable place?

Thanks again!

wuffly

Honestly it all varies! 
Re utilities the consumption costs aren't actually that expensive, there is what's called a housing fee which is the bulk of the cost this is 5% of your annual rent divided up across 12 months, so the more you pay in rent the more you pay in utilities -Dewa (dubai electricity and water authority) in some area's ac is included in the rent or in your dewa bill in others its a separate bill which can be expensive. I don't know all the areas for which, but the letting agent should know. Business bay has AC charges, the Marina doesn't. I live in a house now with split AC units so its part of my dewa bill. In the apartment our dewa bill was roughly 700aed per month, in the house in winter its about 900 but in summer it can go up to 2000. There is also a deposit which you pay at the beginning 2k for an apartment and 4k for a house We just have the internet and our bill is 300aed per month (we have a tv but just download, paying for channels is extortionate) i know lots of people have things like kodi boxes etc....  cars and car insurance are cheap compared to home. there is no road tax as such just annual registration which is about 500aed 
Most companies now just give a total package, the split is purely to reduce your end of service payment as its based on your basic salary and doesn't include your allowances, most companies make it half basic, the rest being accommodation allowance, transport allowance etc... Companies that do provide accommodation generally provide something inline with your position/salary and package. I.E a pilot with a family package used to get a house, a pilot with no family package /would get an apartment. Air hostesses would get a shared apartments. This isn't the rule its just based on people i knew with emirates and fly Dubai. A lot has changed for them recently as they used to rent a lot of accommodation for staff but now have built their own and its not the same, nice places but not as big etc... so it varies a lot.
Re grocerices totally depends on where you shop. we do it pretty much all online, roughly 1500-2000aed for 3 of us. (not including nappies and all that) If you shop in waitrose or spinneys for everything triple that. 
For a couple just moving over, I'd suggest living in an apartment somewhere central and near a metro line. Marina/JLT or Downtown/Business Bay.  Especially if your wife isn't working to being with. Almost all apartment buildings have pools and gyms. The rent will be higher there (BB&JLT slightly cheaper) but for a year or two its nice to be central and get the feel of the place, if you prefer a house, the springs is central you would just need to drive. For cheaper but still nice places, silicon oasis, layan community, discovery gardens, these have houses and apartments. 
Re driving its more or less essential if you live and work on the metro its manageable but you would still need taxis. Taxis' are cheapish but they can be hit and miss much easier to use if you know where you are going, which is annoying as they should know. they have gps but most of them can't use it unfortunately. Driving is a bit scary at first but you get used to it quickly and i far prefer driving myself than being at the mercy of a bad taxi driver.
Re companies that actually pay proper housing allowance, its usually a set amount unless they have their own accommodation which some companies do, it can be hit and miss. They will pay it directly to the landlord/agent, if you find somewhere over your budget and you want to pay extra you can generally top it up. Companies generally tend to pay in one cheaque which means you can sometimes get rent a bit cheaper as landlords prefer one cheque.
Will they sponsor your wife and provide her with medical insurance? If they don't provide her with medical insurance you will have to as per the law. there is no public health service here. 
Hope all of that makes sense!

Jude13

I just got my DEWA bill here in UAE and it was AED 1,530, (EU 356) which is the norm each month if thats any use to you.

shinju

Jude13 wrote: »

I just got my DEWA bill here in UAE and it was AED 1,530, (EU 356) which is the norm each month if thats any use to you.

Many thanks!
Is that for a house or apartment?
Just trying to get an idea of total expenses per month, so that I get an idea of what I'm left with in terms of savings etc.
That's going to dictate if I make the move over.

shinju

wuffly wrote: »

Honestly it all varies!..
.

Wow! Some great info there. It all certainly helps.

My wife will be covered under the health policy provided by my company. She will probably come over after a few months once I've settled in and she has worked out her notice period at home.

The package includes housing allowance, car allowance & medical. Plus annual flights home for us.

I was told that they pay the allowance as part of the monthly salary but I'm trying to get at least the housing covered in full for the first year. Otherwise there's no way I can afford it upfront.

I may have to get a furnished short term let and a rental car for the first two months.
Would that be feasible do you think?

Also, which sites do you use for online shopping?

Many thanks.

wuffly

That's good re your wife getting medical and flights for her. My package is all in except for flights, they used to book my ticket now i get a set amount per year when i put in for my leave.

If your housing allowance is part of the package they probably might not pay it in advance, it varies by company and policy. My company basically loaned me my housing allowance for the first 6 months as in gave me 6 months housing in advance and deducted it from my salary monthly. you could ask if they would do this? Are they offering any relocation package?

There are plenty of places/landlords that accept up to 4/6 cheques now, its a lot more common than it used to be. You can always try and negotiate, (offer a little more for more cheques, 6 is prob the max tho) places are usually listed with options and prices.

Getting set up is costly, we had some money put aside but it drains quickly, you will be working from the start which is a big plus, we were job hunting. There are short term lets available, hotel apartments but they are expensive. There are and also rooms for rent not really legal but generally fine. Look up dubai irish exhange on FB. You might be able to find room short term, on there, would be furnished and give you an easier cheaper start. Dubizzle is the best place to look for a lease, there are rooms on there but more so Indian and Filipino expats sharing small apartments and rooms in older Dubai. Dubizzle is also great for 2nd hand furniture and 2nd cars, there are a lot of FB groups now as well.

You can't actually take a lease until you have you visa and a cheque book so you will need some sort of accommodation on arrival, will they cover this for you? The visa and getting a bank account are outside your control so they should provide something.

We use Aswaaq and kibsons, for fruit and groceries, martins meats or springbok for meat (get a big freezer!) used use Geant but its been taken over by carrefour which is pain as they are changing the website so its all off line for Dubai. Geant was great for cheese lol!

Car rental is no problem, even before your visa is processed you can rent on your irish licence, we got international licences as we were told we'd need them but we didn't. Diamond lease is cheap. Its actually better to rent while on your tourist visa as once your residence visa is started you can't rent until you get your emirates id.

First Up

So have you decided on Dubai then?

I'd have suggested you take a closer look at Bahrain as well. Not as "glamourous" as Dubai but has a long established ex-pat scene as the base for most of the region's financial industry.

shinju

First Up wrote: »

So have you decided on Dubai then?

I'd have suggested you take a closer look at Bahrain as well. Not as "glamourous" as Dubai but has a long established ex-pat scene as the base for most of the region's financial industry.

I think that Dubai will be easier in the short term. The company has an office in Dubai but not in Bahrain, as I have found. Also, I will need to be close to an airport to fly to some of the other countries. I'm thinking there would be more frequent flights out of Dubai.

The move will be a big change for my wife as well and Dubai may be less of an impact.

This would suit us better for the first year and then we can consider Bahrain i think.

Jude13

shinju wrote: »

Many thanks!
Is that for a house or apartment?
Just trying to get an idea of total expenses per month, so that I get an idea of what I'm left with in terms of savings etc.
That's going to dictate if I make the move over.

That's a villa with tow of us living in it so low AC bills.

It really would be chosen on the below criteria:
1. Dubai or Abu Dhabi
2. Bahrain if I got 25% more than I was earning in Dubai
3. Kuwait if was earning 100% of what I earn in Dubai

First Up

shinju wrote:

I think that Dubai will be easier in the short term. The company has an office in Dubai but not in Bahrain, as I have found. Also, I will need to be close to an airport to fly to some of the other countries. I'm thinking there would be more frequent flights out of Dubai.

Having a local office is a factor alright. Gulf Air operate out of Bahrain and serve people commuting up and down the Gulf. Plus the airport is 10 minutes from downtown.

shinju wrote:

The move will be a big change for my wife as well and Dubai may be less of an impact.

Bahrain was always seen as the most "Anglicised" of the Gulf States so I wouldn't worry on that score. Big Australian, New Zealand and US population too. Very cosmopolitan and more "liberal".

shinju wrote:

This would suit us better for the first year and then we can consider Bahrain i think.

I'd say once you settle wherever you won't want the hassle of another move but you'll have a better feel after seeing places up close.

Good luck anyway; a few years in the Gulf is a great experience.