Relocating overseas (esp. Middle East) for a job - anyone have any experience they could share?

I have experience of relocating overseas, though not to the ME (well, I suppose that's a matter for debate, but in any case Turkey quite a different matter than Abu Dhabi!) The Gulf wouldn't really be my cup of tea for a number of reasons, but I do enjoy living abroad.

Our move itself was quite stressful because we didn't get a full relocation package to pay for professional movers, so did it all ourselves including dealing with customs. That in particular was no fun at all. So, my top tip is to make sure you negotiate for the full cost of having it all handled by the pros. I think that's probably standard for jobs in the Gulf, though.

Thanks Ms Scarlett. Very interesting.

I'm still very much at the stage of give me more info on how a move to the middle east works before I commit to interview stage but it's always good to have another viewpoint.

Amazingly, my husband has said go for it, we can easily make it work as with his contacts and industry, finding a job for him wouldn't be too difficult.

I'm not getting excited though - lots to consider.

I haven't but my brother did and there were quite a few complications. Things he said he'd consider in future are:

House - They were expecting to stay longer and pretty much sold all their belongings. They ended up coming back later 2 years and had to buy everything again, which was costly. He said if he did it again he'd keep his house over here, rent it out fully furnished and store eveything else.

Tax - You have to be very careful when you return to the UK if you've lived in a tax free country. My brother's contract ended suddenly when the company went bust and he couldn't get another job out there (Turks and Caicos) so he had to come home. He ended up having to leave the UK again for a while or he'd have had to pay a huge tax bill and of course this meant he couldn't work here for that time. They had kids so it was a big harder.

Family - They really missed the family but I think more so with the children. Not many people went to visit them so they relied on trips home. I think they expected that more people would go out to them.

Overall he loved it and said it was a great experience. I have friends in Dubai who love it, although they always go on about the heat in the Summer months and say you really need to leave as it's unbearable. I'd do it given the chance.

I have moved overseas but not to the ME. It's an option for me next year to go out there but one I'm not going to pursue for various reasons in favour of either North America or the Far East. Can't make my mind up!

What poochanna said regarding selling belongings etc. Also, excellent advice regarding keeping your UK house.

Check out the many expat forum. A mine of very valuable advice and contacts. We made some great contacts (and friends) through these sites before our moves which helped as out no end when we got there.

Good luck!

Thanks to you both.

We don't have kids and don't plan on having any so that isn't an issue for us. And we only see our families once or twice a year as we live so far away.

On the face of it, we'd keep our flat on as accommodation is paid for - I need to clarify if accommodation is provided or just an allowance. I have a friend whose father is in Abu Dhabi and she has already tapped him up and he says categorically do not accept if they are not providing the accommodation as there is none to be had.

It could be an exciting possibility - now just need to find out if it is only going to be a possibility or if it could be a reality.

We moved to Dubai from the UK 7 years ago and we've had a brilliant time. We moved as my h was offered a job out here, but things worked out really well jobwise for me too.

We initially moved out here with the attitude that if we didn't like it then it wasn't the end of the world and we could always go back to the UK. Now though, I don't know if we would ever move back to the UK again.

I wouldn't advise anyone to move out here anymore unless accomodation was provided and paid for as rents have gone up massively in the last couple of years and it usually has to be paid for a year in advance which is a huge outlay.

Just remembered something, the visa regulations in the UAE have recently changed, you still get a visit visa for 30 days at the airport, but with regards to your h if he didn't have a job to start when you enter the UAE and he found one once there, he would have to leave the UAE for one month before he could take the position and get a work/residence visa.

Thanks Button - all very useful.

My H has just called me to encourage me to find out more. Suppose we have nothing to lose eh?

Our company (power) has people going over there quite regularly for long term contracts and most of them don't seem to want to come back! It sounds like a wonderful opportunity - I am jealous!!

We moved away from the UK more than 5 years ago and it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. We don't/haven't lived in the Middle East, but in my experience, the further, culturally, a country is from the UK, the stronger the expat society, which makes things much easier when it comes to making friends.

One thing worth checking out whether the company pays not just for your relocation fees to get your belongings to the new country, but also whether they'll pay to get them back to the UK again. We opted to take all our furniture with us (and even if you don't, you can still end up with a sizeable shipment, what with electronic equipment, clothes, book, photos, CDs etc etc) and even if my H leaves his job or is sacked, they still cover the expense of shipping all our stuff back to the UK.

Also, I'd ask if you get a flight allowance for going home and definitely find out what the housing situation is before you go - if you'll get an allowance, get on the internet and find what you'll get for your money. We neglected to do that before out last move and now we're stuck with a housing allowance which was set 5 years ago in a city where expat rental prices went up 50% in the last year and the MD is refusing to review the allowance.

I love, love, love living abroad and have no intention of going back to the UK any time soon. I initially said i would try it for a year, but 5 years and 4 moves later, I'm still here.

Good luck with making the right decision.

We moved to Denmark in August so I'm a recent expat. My top tips are these:

If you are thinking of doing this, get yourself sorted financially in the UK asap. This includes deciding whether to rent out your place, savings, landlord insurance etc as this can be timeconsuming. Its best to go and see an IFA as they have a lot of experience of this and can help out with a lot.

Make sure you negotiate moving costs as part of any package. We didn't which was stupid and it cost us £5k!!! ? In hindsight, if they'd wanted H that badly they should have paid for us to move here.

Decide what you want to bring with you and then what you want to sell early on and then get the stuff moving. You'd be amazed what stuff turns up from your cupboards which you've never used or forgotten about.

Remember, moving is stressful at the best of times but moving countries can be unbelievably excrutiating. It takes a lot of careful planning, but as long as you realise that from the start you can only be prepared for what's ahead.

If you have any pets, make sure you get their pet passports sorted asap and find out how you are allowed to travel with them.

I think that's it but I'm sure I could come up with some more if I really tried. I think the thing to remember is that it is a really big change. Its taken me at least 2 months to feel really settled and even now I sometimes have to pinch myself to realise that I am living in another country.

Hi

I relocated to Abu Dhabi nearly two years ago. Are you able to tell me the name of the company and I could give you feedback -if I have heard of them!

Packages would usually consist of medical, flights home every year to your point of origin, furniture allowance, transportation allowance, shipping allowance if you are coming from outside the UAE and housing-sometimes an allowance and sometimes a physical property.

My advice would be to ensure that you are provided with accommodation otherwise you will not get anything in Abu Dhabi at the moment, and will end up in Mussafah which is an industrial area about 35 minutes from down town. The average price - if you can find one - for a 2 bed, 2 bathroom isaround 35,000 GBP a year to rent. An an ex-pat you can buy, but the properties available for you to buy are not built yet with the first lot coming on in around a years time.

With regards to your husband - as I understand it and you may want to check - your husband could sponsor you to work, but not the other way round. The rules regarding you (female) sponsering a male are very strict and its nigh on impossible.

I love living in Abu Dhabi. Friends have lived her for 12 years so I have been coming on holiday for a long time and finally moved out in January 2007. I had an apartment in town but could never ever park, so now have a villa just off island. Its really handy for Abu Dhabi and Dubai as its just off one of the main roads. I have a beach membership, but the Council have just opened up a fantastic public beach which costs just over 1 pound to go in.

Spinneys supermarket stocks Waitrose products and there is a good selection of alcohol once you have your licence. To get your driving licence you just have to apply and then swap it - you dont need to retake lessons or a test. The cost of petrol for one litre is slightly cheaper than a litre of coke!

Dubai is about an hours drive away, but Abu Dhabi has a lot to offer - shopping malls, cinemas, okay restaurants etc etc. Its also ideally placed to travel - India is just a couple of hours flight away, as is Africa.

If you want any more info, then just let me know.

I will be watching this thread with interest as my husband is flying out to AD on Saturday for an interview. He has been offered a decent salary plus accomodation allowance, transportation, flights home, medical cover and school fees paid for both our kids, plus a 20 ft container for any bleongings we want to take over ( or maybe thats 20m?) - we are looking into it all in great detail as we have a good life in the uk at the moment and have to also consider the upheaval of our 2 kids as well.

We will probably rent our house out in the UK and keep paying the mortgage off.

Our main concerns with a move to AD is accomodation - we are hearing nightmares about a) finding anything decent b) what it will cost and also schools/nurseries - we keep hearing that the good ones have waiting lists and are hard to get into.

Tillybean - if my husband actually gets offered the role after the interview I may be posting for you and asking 20 questions !!

You will really struggle to find somewhere to live at the moment - no matter how much money you have to be honest!

Schooling is another issue. The British School (Al Kubairat) is really popular and has waiting lists, but I have heard good things about The Pearl. Dont go to Chaioufat - its really not good. Schooling is expensive. I can certainly get you an idea of prices if you are interested and try and put you intouch with some contacts.

I think Abu Dhabi is great for children and families. The British Club is a great base, as well as the public beach etc.

Ask away...anything I can do to help.

Thanks - unfortunately they do not have any company accomodation so all they can offer is an allowance.

Cost of schools isnt an issue as there isnt an figure on the allowance just an agreement to pay school fees for any children we have. But friends who moved to Dubai earlier this year struggled to get their 2 into schools - although they did eventually.

I would be interested in looking at what sort of accomodation is available (if any!) that would be suitable for a family. Do you have any websites I could look at ? And what is a realistic cost for say a 3 bed apt or villa in an ok area?

Would i be able to work out there once we had settled? I have always worked and would go bonkers being a housewife !

We relocated with my company 8 years ago! (but to OZ not ME).

A really useful website for hints and tips is www.britishexpats.com.

As others have said - check if the package includes relocation costs, visa, medical, return flights home periodically etc. All can be pretty expensive when you are not used to them...

Hey - we relocated to Dubai four months ago with my husband's job - and for the most part we're loving it. There are days when the red tape makes me want to cry with frustration - but I'm learning patience is a virtue and we're getting there. If you have any questions just shout - although won't be able to come back on and answer them for a bit -as hitched is blocked at work - except at lunch times.

Would reiterate what others have said about accommodation - it is not a case of cost - there just isn't enough available - people are commuting from dubai as they can't find anything - even here rent prices are crazy we pay close to 20K for rent for a one bed apartment!

Visa rules have changed but your H won't have to leave the country if he's british.

Think that's it for now - other than to say - its 35 degrees here and we're heading for the pool as soon as I finish work!