Advice please re moving to UAE with (or without) family
 

Been offered a job in the UAE (AUH specifically) and am keen to understand pitfalls in terms of moving over there. My wife and two kids would be joining me, or maybe not...schools, housing, lifestyle (what would she do all day etc) and distance from home are all worries for them.

We have a trip planned in June to look about and see.

Any advice - thoughts, must-dos or indeed must-don'ts greatly appreciated.

Hi...it would be helpful to know a little more about which company you will be joining? If it's the "National Carrier" of the UAE, you will be assisted with most of the logistics. If it's a smaller operation you will be expected to do quite a bit of the legwork on your own. The answers lie somewhere in between. One thing for sure, it will be HOT! June is here and the temps have already cracked the 40C range...good luck!

Somewhere in between. Been sworn to secrecy...
 

Have been offered some help -agent to help find house for example. That said, I think it is more the do it yourself approach. Have to find a school, car etc myself...no really sure where to start. Have been over several times - Corniche, Yas, Saadiyaat etc and have been to DXB countless times too, but only ever for trips, and a few holidays.

Questions the family ask range from where would we live, how far away are the schools, right the way through to how much is it to rent a car...and pretty much anything in between !

A quick google search using "Expat in Abu Dhabi" gave plenty of sites that look like they would have a lot of the information you are looking for.

Don't live in Abu Dhabi but from personal experience moving to a new country can be a bit overwhelming. I quickly met people who were very helpful - you will certainly find the same.

PM'd you.

Also check out a book by explorer publications called 'Abu dhabi live work explore' on amazon/eBay. Loads of good info there for wifey.

The "Expat Women" Forum site is a great reasource for the bosses-er-wives.

If the kids are primary school age and if you an get them into a decent school, I believe expat life, in general, is better for them than UK. (The OP's location is unclear?) More sport, more interaction with other nationalities etc etc and generally less sitting at a computer on rainy days. If they are older, education can be more problematic. Make sure you can get a curriculum/national system that suits.

Your wife could be a 'Jumairah Jane' (does little other than shopping and socialising...) or she could have an active life perhaps working or helping with a charity. Truth is she'll probably spend a lot of time as a 'taxi driver' for the kids or in taxis.
Summer in the Gulf is not funny - most families leave for the duration. But the rest of the year the climate is great.

School
 

Finding places in good British, American or other Western International schools can be difficult. There is definitely a shortage of available places.

It is a good idea to visit AUH in June with your family. AUH is in my opinion probably the best place in the Gulf to live. Much nice than Dubai and certainly better than the rest, Doha, Bahrain and Saudi. Also you will realize that in June it is allready quite hot, around 40-50C, so not much to do except the beach or the mall. And it will remain this way until October, after that the weather is great. If your family will like it depends mainly on your company and the accommodation. But before that check on the school situation. I heard there is sometimes a waiting list of 3-5 years in the good expat schools. And in order to get on the waiting list you have to make a downpayment and pay for an assessment for each child. This could cost you Thousands of Dirhams.