I know what you are saying Keg, but I guess it is a matter of an individual's perspective.
Most people wouldn't want to retire is Dubai, even if they could. So comman sense would dictate that you maintain a presence in your home real estate market or at least where you would want to retire, in order to not be priced out of the market, which will generally rise over time. There would be some financial benefit as you could rent the place out, but on the other side there is tenant wear & tear. So the provided accomodation simply allows one to do the job & in my opinion isn't any great benefit.
I know that some have taken the money & purchased in years gone by & some of those have done very well. However, others had suffered serious financial hardship.
As for utilities, well the best information I can source is that that power & water are far more expensive in Dubai than in Oz. Perhaps I am wrong. The allowance is now capped & you are at the company's pleasure as to whether or not the cap will be raised in line with future DEWA price increases. So I consider this as just another thing that allows one to do the job & not of any great benefit.
If that is delusional, so be it.
As for the exchange rate, yes it is at historical highs & it does flucuate. However, if you have a 'life' back home it does hurt financially & the good months don't offset the bad months unless you specifically put money away to cover this. Also, do you want to bet on it going back down any time soon & to what level? With the Dirham tied to the US, the pain could continue for some time to come.
Last edited by Oakape; 21st Apr 2011 at 12:35.