Reply With QuoteMoved the family (wife & 2 kids under 3 years) to Dubai about 8 months ago. We have really enjoyed our time here so far. Would recommend.
Got contacted by a recruitment agency interested in me for a post in Dubai.
Anyone any experience of the place, and what it might be like to be an expat? How would the family do?
Very unsure about a move, but the cash is very tempting...
Cheers!
Moved the family (wife & 2 kids under 3 years) to Dubai about 8 months ago. We have really enjoyed our time here so far. Would recommend.
Sorry, I was rushing out the door when I posted the above, thought I'd expand slightly.
Moved to Dubai 8 months ago by way of transfer with my existing employer. Family and I came together, having never visited Dubai before, and settled in very quickly.
The good,
- Very Family orientated, very safe and very clean. Great for kids.
- Well paid, plenty of work (I'm in construction), decent working culture.
- Very liberal, for a Muslim country.
- Plenty of sunny days, weekends are like mini holidays.
- Schools very good, but expensive.
The bad,
- Expensive to live, do your sums on expenditure carefully before you accept any offer... and then add 10%.
- Hot... June to September. Hot and humid, nearly unbearable in August.
- Roads are good, drivers are bad... most the time is dodgy, the rest it’s dangerous.
- Fake, it’s plastic fantastic & very sparkly.
The Ugly,
- Class segregation & casting
- Long term expat racism
I enjoy my time there when visiting family and my mother enjoys her work there. Excellent schools and healthcare etc but cost of living is expensive and so getting the right relocation package is key
As said, drivers are lunatics, especially on Fridays.
I have been offered jobs in Dubai/UAE/Middle East many times and have so far turned them down due to my views on how the locals treat their immigrant workers amongst other things. Being of South Asian descent myself and my wife being Filipino we feel quite strongly on the matter. That said I have many friends and family living and working there who seem to enjoy it so I'd say if the money was right and you can get your kids into a good school and your wife will be happy then go for it.
There are some truths to the above statement and there are many examples and documentaries surrounding this. However there are many more of these migrant workers who work freely and yes for a low wage but a wage that is significantly more then their birth country. They moved by choice and for better pay and have a much better standard of life because of it.
That's from speaking to the gardeners, the maids, hotel staff etc. dubai are making huge investment to move away from this perceived image and are cleaning up their act. I'm sure there are still problems and having seen the labour camps, are not pleasant to view. However it is probably better than what they had before.
It is also a relatively new country.
I acknowledge that they are there of their own free will and best of luck to them for pursuing a better life (I know several people who do this); but many more that you don't see (labourers, scaffolders, welders etc) are being sold a lie in their home country and being held against their will once they get there. Just because it is a new country is no excuse for lack of basic human rights. The amount of wealth the UAE vs the treatment of their immigrant workers is IMO disgusting. There is absolutely no way in hell that living on one of those labour camps is better than living in their native homeland with their wife and children, albeit earning a poor wage.Originally Posted by a13x
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