Proper info
You ask a question but 1 out of 10 responses is actually useful...anyway.
If you're thinking of making the move to the UAE (you can apply most of this info to Gulf region in general) you should do your homework before you even apply for whatever job you're aiming for.
Life in M.East is weird in nutshell. And although people say it is cheap and you get a tax free salary, in fact it isn't exactly as cheap as you think.
It will help if you don't have a family. Family = bigger place to live plus schooling. The local school's lessons are in Arabic obviously and have poor academic records generally so sending your kids there, if any, is not an option. That leaves expensive international schools with tuition fees that rival those of US colleges. You're talking 1000's of dollars each year per child. Accommodation, though becoming cheaper, is still not cheap, you'll pay double for something that is half the size of what you would get at home. It will be generally poorly constructed by an army of 3rd world guys who get paid 5$/day...you get what you pay for.
You need a car, no question about it. In DXB, taxis are hard to find at certain peak times. There's nothing worse than standing on a street at 2pm, 45c and needing a ride! Soul destroying stuff.
Annual leave is usually generous enough for expat employees but taking it and going all the way back to Canada will cost you unless the company you plan to work for gives you a mid-year ticket, flys to or close to where you need to go or has some staff travel discounts with other carriers.
Cost of living, it depends really on you and what you like to do. There are some cheapo ways of having some low cost amusement but again alot of it is dependant on the weather and what you like to do. There is some good kite-surfing in and around Dubai's shores (water quality questionable lately) and some good biking about 1hr drive into N.Emirates. As I said, these depend on the weather as noone wants to ride a bike in the extreme temps they get here.
Groceries are cheaper, no doubt about it but imported stuff can be comparable to prices in your home country (especially at Spinneys aka Safeway as it has alot of US brands imported)
Alcohol in DXB and I think in AUH, requires a permit and you have a quota too, in SHJ it is not available except at the airport departures or on arrival at the hard to find duty free. Other than that it is cheeap enough to buy at the liqour store, the N.Emirate of RasAlKhaimah has reasonably liberal liqour licencing laws by comparison and its famous Barracuda bottle shop has customers from all over incl Omanis and the odd Saudi, who rock up and stock up as there is not permit or quota needed. Bout a 1hr drive from DXB.
Going out, well it's similar to most big cities, they have the movies although not many places to rent one for a night in (this is where the bootleggers come in handy) Eating out is comparable to US / EU and just like there it depends on where you go, you can go cheap or sky high. Most places are reasonably priced however majority of them don't serve alcohol so that will automatically keep costs down.
Gas is not as cheap as people expect like it is in Saudi or Kuwait (it's ridiculously cheap there). I would say coming close on US prices as they are at the moment. Cars are cheap enough though due to low taxes and picking up a good condition used one is no problem at all.
Shopping, you can spend spend spend but really, the bargains are thin on the ground. Expect to pay as much for something in a mall as you would in EU. In fact many of the EU high street chains that are set up in DXB's malls have the prices in Euros and Dirhams with the Dirham price often being more than the current exchange rate, taking into account that EU stores have very high sales taxes, often in excess of 20%, you soon start to see that you're being ripped off. Don't bother asking why it costs more considering they don't have the taxes and the disinterested, afformentioned 5$/day assistant will tell you that they don't know.
Most companies will not keep your passport as you are Canadian.
The locals are, for the most part, begrudgingly tolerant of you. They tend to love paper and the more beaurocracy the better. Small things require multiple visits to various offices, reams of paper, translations etc. (Am talking about driving licences, medical reports, kids birth certs marriage licences and documents etc). My wife works in a hospital that has a 'key office'. Sounds important doesn't it? Infact it is as the name suggests...an office whose sole responsibility is to hand out keys wherever and whenever they are needed, lockers, offices, store rooms, you name it, if it has a key then the key office and its 2 underworked and overpaid, rather rude Arab key keepers have it.
The new rule in DXB says that locals ie Emiratis cannot be fired, for anything! If the chopping block requires a head due to cost cutting or whatever, it will be yours, even if you are the lynch pin in the whole outfit. They'll just replace you with 3 from S.Asia and another local to yell at them!
Driving is insane, the accident rates are staggering compared to where you come from. Emirati drivers are agressive, that is the only way to describe them, and the S.Asian drivers, for the most part, don't look, don't indicate, don't really know the difference between driving and steering and are often sent home in zippered bags due to their seemingly dopey attitude to vehicle control.
The thin veneer that was disguising Dubai's vacant interior is starting to crack, it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the next 12-18months. As you may have heard, the property market has taken a whack and many projects have been cancelled before commencing and some even midway through as their investors become shy or run out of capital.
Take a look at the other posts in the M.East forum. You'll get alot of insight from various folks (mostly pilots) who live, have lived and will soon leave there. Some of it has to be taken with a large pinch of salt as Pilots tend to moan alot, it comes with the territory of no longer being held to the same esteem as Buzz Aldrin so alot of what they moan about is hard to have any sympathy for (what? they don't pay your laundry anymore, awww poor you).
As I said, do your research and don't be afraid to ask for more than they offer you if in fact an offer comes about. The concept of 5 guys doing the same job for the same money and benefits is lost on these people. They will low-ball everyone and if they need you bad enough they will bend slightly and give you the dental cover or the mid-year ticket or the 2 bed apt instead of 1.
If you're a single guy or will leave family at home in Canada, then your costs will obviously be lower, smaller place, smaller car, lower grocery bill, no school fees etc.
Hope it helped.
Feel free to pm me if you like.
All the best.
D.O.G
Last edited by desertopsguy; 29th May 2009 at 09:54.