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It seems OK. .. but I ain't an expert ... maybe u can look for cheaper alternatives but still try to negotiate to attain the 100 % children school allowance. .. if so it would make a difference ... well regardless think of it and don't make a rushed decision... surely u can ask other expats from your home country who lived in uae

Hi mate,

My wife and I just moved to dubai from London, our combined salaries including allowances is aed 35 k per month , this excludes bonuses and commission , we did a good budget plan so we could save so our monthly expenses incl 1 bed flat, car, shopping, utilities, going out , dinners, groceries , is roughly or I would say maximum 20k a month, and we save the rest.  if u buying a car get a second hand car approx 5-6 k a month on finance, it's not really worth buying brand new car. Broadband , tv packages and phone contracts are a lot more expensive than the UK, if you can negotiate for your company to pay the full tuition fees you will live a very comfortable life in AD

It can look OK at first sight, but actually this is not. The cost of living is very high, You will end-up spending more than what you expect for housing (don't forget the utilities, the agent fee, etc.), schooling (don't forget the uniforms, the school bus, the mandatory travel abroad, the extra-curricular activities, etc.). Unless, you have a fantastic medical coverage from your employer, you will realize that medical costs are very high and you need to plan some savings for this too. Compared to what you have budgeted, a saving I see is regarding what you plan to spend for the car:  AED 10K a month seems high.

Also, don't forget you will have to contribute to you own pension scheme back home and that unless you already are a property owner in UK, this is also wiser to keep some cash for a mortgage in your own country,

Keep in mind that inflation in Abu Dhabi is higher than what companies usually give as yearly increment. After a couple of years, you may end-up like many jumping from one company to another just to cope-up with costs of living increase...

Overall, with 55 K / month, you will live OK, but don't expect to make big savings. Unless your spouse starts to work as well.

When we did our research before Christmas, I read somewhere that you need £8-10k a month all in to have a decent standard of living, so with the school and transport/flight allowances, you're over that.

But... it depends on your standard of living in the UK, and your expectations.

If you get a relocation allowance, you've got a car (or two) to sell in the UK so you can buy a car when you get your visa, you've got 5K in savings that you can spend upfront and you're up for an adventure that might see you come out quids in, but not as much as you first thought, then why not?

At this stage in the year, I'd be worried about getting school places for September.  We've been on 3 waiting lists since January and only one has offered us a place (one child); we've heard nothing from the other two and school finishes in a fortnight.

You can get a 3 bed villa/apartment, at least the same footprint as a 3/4 bed house in the UK, for 15K AED per month.

Somewhere there is an online calculator which gives 3 budget options and various family configurations.  Found it britishexpats.com/forum/middle-east-60/worth-guide-costs-vs-income-uae-qatar-762609/

HTH.

You can compare the cost of living between UK and AD on the numbeo website.
You should consider maintaining at least the same standard of living and saving capacity in AD, to make sure to negotiate your package accordingly. You may try our free calculator on Smart ²ÝÁñÉçÇøriation, this will give you an idea.

With a travel allowance of 50% of one month base per year- Not great but okay

And with an education allowance of 50% of monthly base per child, per year- I insisted on 100%

We have two children and would need to go for a British curriculum school (they seem expensive and places are rare), one set of school fees as much as AED 5k/month-

I feel that we would need a minimum 3-bed, 1500 sqft apartment close to the school which the two children will ultimately go to as my wife will be driving around, and she will not be particularly confident. In addition, the heat and traffic and dangerous driving is not good for long commutes which would make like miserable

This might set us back AED 20k/month from what I can see- My 3 bedroom plus a maids room is 11K per month

Financing a large, necessary 4x4 car would cost at least AED 10k/month- My Hummer (H3) was 1650 aed per month

So with school fees + car + accommodation, I work this out at roughly AED 40k/month going out already without accounting for cost of utilities, entertainment and food/clothes etc.. School fees are the highest.  But you can see what yours will be online, so mine aren't relevant.   I don't think 55k is bad.

Does not appear compelling enough for a move from London to AD which is supposed to enable a family to save substantially

Keen to hear any thoughts from people on this forum, many thanks for you help

Cheers

You want jam on it, that is a good salary even by European standards. You need 25K upwards to live as a Westerner here, 35K if you have a family. On that you usually get 10% transport allowance and 25% housing allowance. You had a hummer, lucky you, for 1,650 a month so you know a car won't cost you 10K and you've been here before. Plus you're getting schooling paid for. Just make the most of it!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and comments. My wife and I decided to ask for more education allowance, however the package is non-negotiable so we have decided to stay in London. At any rate, definitely not compelling overall in reality. If you double your net income, but also double your costs and have to put a lot out in terms of start-up costs as well, it does not make sense. If I wanted to save only 1.5 to 2k per month (GBP), we could do that here in London given the salary I am already on. Every best wish all. Cheers

Hey mate, its all a question of compromising. I can comfortably say that with 20K you can live and survive. Me, my wife and my son we live with 15K a month in a Studio apartment. With 30k you can already have a decent life including saving. The life does not need to be luxuryous, its all the question of how you live. The choice of the living location is impacting your cost of living dramatically. Choose an area where you pay a bit less, you may need to commute a bit more, but it's worth it. A 3 bedroom is available lets say 8-9K a month a bit outside of town. Indeed the medical and education is expensive. Therefore I would suggest to negotiate with your employer to cover the cost or alternatively for a high allowance. Also don't forget the pension scheeme for yourself. In UAE there is no coverage of that. Cheers

I think at this stage in the academic year it's the 'sensible' decision but if you're like us, we'd always be thinking 'what if'.  Maybe something else will come along that looks more attractive.  Best of luck.