Cost of Living in UAE
Ahlan Dubai……. Welcome Dubai …….
With so many Indians hopping on to the next flight to Dubai (or U.A.E in general) to make their dreams happen…….. Life would turn out to be a shocker here.
The common problem for youth in India is that they want to
make too much money in too little time. They are willing to leave
India on the first offer from any country of repute (or even without repute) without considering the pros and cons. As for the millions of U.A.E aspirants in India ………. guys … hold on do a self assessment based on the under mentioned facts:-
· Just don’t multiply the AED salary by 11 and convert the
same into rupee earnings. That would be the first of the many mistakes you are likely to make. The conversion if at all should be done for savings and not gross earnings.
· If you a Married Person,: Consider the cost of family
accommodation in U.A.E and more importantly in Dubai . The minimum requirement of a one BHK (bedroom, hall, and kitchen) flat would cost you a minimum of AED 5,000/- per month (not per annum,) any where in downtown Dubai. Add a minimum of 15-25% annual increments in rent. Don’t expect the salaries to rise by even half that %.
· If you are smart enough to realize that you can look for
apartments outside Dubai (Sharjah, Ajman, RAK) to save AED 500 – 750 per month in rent, please allow yourself three to four hours for commuting every day (given the present traffic situation, which can only degrade with influx of millions of immigrants every year). Add that to a normal 10 hours day would mean you would end up spending around 14-15 hours a day on job……and you thought family life would be so much fun in Dubai.
· Be prepared to shell out AED 100/- for a routine check up at
doctors in UAE (that is if your company does not cover you with health insurance). If you are lucky you will not fall ill, but God forbid if you do, then you will have a big hole in your pocket.
· If you aren’t used to summers of north India and hail from
places like Shimla, then you are in for a treat of your lifetime.
Temperatures can run up to 50 C degrees on a normal sunny afternoon and such days are pretty regular. And did I mention the humidity levels of 95% ………I am sure I did.
· If you don’t have children you are lucky……bcos if you have
2-3 children going to school…… add at least AED 12,000 (per annum per child) to the cost of living in U.A.E
· You know that petrol here is cheaper and so would be the taxies ……..try taking a cab from airport to your hotel ……..the meter would touch AED 75-100/- before you will be able to make yourself comfortable in the Camry.
· You might have the fanciest of all cars available here, but
when it comes to parking the same, you might regret buying one. Imagine roaming around the streets of Dubai for 1 hour just to find a parking space……. ….alas. ….even that’s not free…….. . . don’t forget to display you’re parking ticket …….else a fine awaits you.
Parking fee comes to AED 2 per hour.. For all main roads Toll
collections also there!!!!!!!!
· Last but not the least of all woes is a triple call rate to
your loved ones in India. INR 30 per minute from U.A.E to India
……….whereas as INR 8 per minute from India to UAE ……..it must give you an idea what awaits you in Dubai. Don’t you dare think you can use skype in Dubai ………Guys it’s banned and its illegal…..? …even sites like Orkut are banned here…….so much so for the communication.
So if you are fascinated by the growing number of glam malls in Dubai ……….the ever-changing skyline ………… all the hype and glory that surrounds this place ………..the bollywood stars flocking to Dubai every Thursday night ………the cute cars ……..the chic cafés
………BURJ DUBAI……. .BURJ AL ARAB ……..Dubai Marina; think twice buddies!!!!!! (Remember what is yours is what you take home after a lifetime in Dubai). No matter how long you stay here you will still be an expatriate …… no UAE passport ……… no home.
Trust me, there’s nothing like home!!!
This is GULF
* Local calls are free
* Petrol is cheaper than water, Pay for drainage too
* Any building construction finishes in 3 months
* Unqualified get more salary than Qualified
* Show-off matters more than real quality & performance
* Laborers are paid less than what they can earn back in their own country
* Companies can kick out their employees without any reason
* Wastes (recommendation) are more powerful than money
* Cleaners have more Waste than officers
* Watchman has more Rights than the Building Owner
* Office boy & Drivers have more influence on Boss than Manager
* Gulf climate changes so fast, in one hour u can see rain, dust
storm, hot / humid / chilling weather
* Gulf is located in the desert, still u find greenery everywhere
* If u can’t earn money in the Gulf, u can’t earn anywhere in the
world
* In Gulf, time goes very fast, Friday to Friday comes so soon u
never know, its sooo fast
* Every bachelor has a dream of getting married and buying a house in India
* U love your parents, friends, relatives 100 times more than when you were together
* Being at home is more painful than being at work
* Indians appear/pretend to be more religious/God fearing than they really are
* Theatres are full of Arab nationals whenever there is a movie of
Salman / Sharukh
* Gulf girls sing Hindi songs but don’t understand anything
* Dance Bars and Pubs more than that in B’lore
* A ladies hair saloon every 5 meters
* Food/Grocery delivery to the car
* A Starbucks every 10 meters
* Hard Rock Cafe with no alcohol
* A Shopping Mall located every 5km
* Highway lanes differentiated for slow & fast drivers
* Getting a license is more difficult than getting a car
* Smashed cars are more than bugs
* Parking charge: 2 Dirham for 1 hour – 5 Dirham for 2 hours & so on
* No Queues for women
TRAFFIC SIGNAL IN GULF:
* GREEN: Signal to go for Americans, Europeans and Indians
* YELLOW: Signal to go for Egyptians and Pakistanis
* RED: Signal to go for Kuwaitis, Saudis & Palestinians
Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock 