REAL Monthly Breakdown of COST of Living in Dubai | Rent, Bills, Groceries and more...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2024
- Many people are thinking of making the move to Dubai with its sunny skies, sandy beaches and tax-free income; but in reality, what does it really cost? Mohsin does a breakdown of his average month in Dubai. The result might shock you.
Have a question? Ask us in the comments.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - What is this video about?
00:41 - Starting with a higher salary than usual
00:57 - Expense 1: Rent
02:00 - Expense 2: Groceries
02:41 - Expense 3: Utilities
03:15 - Expense 4: Mobile and Internet
04:04 - Expense 5: School fees
04:57 - Expense 6: Fuel
05:30 - Expense 7: Other expenses
06:10 - Expense 8: Entertainment
06:59 - Monthly Grand Total
07:10 - Other things to budget for
07:26 - Special message for those in the UAE and those considering to move
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#dubai #movingtodubai #abudhabi #taxsaving #shariacompliant #ifg #islamicfinance #halalinvesting #costofliving #monthlyexpenses #costoflivingindubai - บันเทิง
For the most part, i agree with the numbers. Maid cost seems fairly high; you can get a cleaner once a week for a thorough clean which will set you back around 500 to 800 dhs. 3,000 to 4,500 is more in line with a full-time maid/nanny but personally i've never liked that option for several reasons.
- School costs are correct
- Internet cost is for the basic package which is MORE than enough considering it's 10x faster than what most homes can ever dream of getting in the UK.
- Groceries average out to about the same as the UK. It's hard to calculate this one; tomatoes can be cheaper, carrots more expensive etc etc; You'll find some items cheaper than UK and other items more expensive. Meat is roughly the same cost as UK but for some butchers it's at least 10% cheaper than UK. Where things get expensive is branded cereals and 'some' other imported branded products
- Other miscellaneous costs also worth considering especially for cars; maintenance, SALIK toll gates, parking tickets etc
- deposits are one time costs but they also add up. Not uncommon for some homes to have deposit for landlord, deposit for electricity, deposit for cooling supplier etc.
- Eating out i think is a VERY big one you missed out. You might have allocated some of it under entertainment or other costs but this one alone can bankrupt you. In the UK for most towns your only options are Indian/Donner/McDonalds/Subways/Chicken or Fish and Chips (London is an exception of course). In Dubai you are in Food nirvana (Latino/brazilian/Syrian/Lebanese/Moroccan/African/ etc etc) you are extremely spoilt for choice and the quality of food is on a different level. I think easily have of my budget when i was living there was waited on takeaways and eating out.
JazakAllah khair for this video; I'm sure it will help a lot of people. However, running your numbers through my experience of 7yrs living in Dubai (and having also lived in London) I’d say you’re off by a bit:
1. Rents are definitely NOT 100k for a one bedroom apartment - the norm is around 40-60k depending on the neighborhood, and yes “western” areas are more expensive. A 4-bedroom villa near central areas cost at least twice as much as you're paying.
2. Groceries are as expensive or as cheap as you want them to be - if you’re looking for British foods not commonly available here (I could never find Jaffa cakes for some reason) then expect to pay 3-4 times more…but otherwise "common" groceries by a local definition, are quite reasonable.
3. Utilities: AED 700 a month for DEWA (electricity+water+sewage+municipal tax) seems quite a bit off…I’d estimate at least 1,200 for a 4-bedroom villa. Also keep in mind that your costs will vary quite a bit between summer and winter because of a/c costs (unless your rent includes air conditioning)
4. Internet, sadly is a minimum of exactly AED 429/month because of Etisalat’s monopoly on this.
5. Schools, again, wildly vary in price…I’ve seen British schools costing well over 100k a year, and you'll need to factor in extra for transport (i.e. school bus) since schools generally aren't walkable from most residential areas.
6. I don’t know anyone, literally ANYONE who pays 3,000 a month for a maid. Maybe that's just me.
7. Entertainment yes you can really lose it here. Unlike the UK which has lots of (free) museums, wildlife reserves and parks, it is very difficult to spend a weekend out in Dubai without spending any money. For the kind of lifestyle you're portraying (i.e. 4-bedroom villa etc.) I'd estimate at least 5,000 a month.
8. Health insurance is an important one you seem to have mentioned only in passing - unlike the NHS, hospitals are not free, and insurance is definitely an amount to consider.
9. You need to factor in a monthly average for costs like car insurance, renewals (equivalent of MOT), visas, shopping (i.e. clothes, furniture, personal electronics etc.) which I'd say is easily another 3,000-5,000 a month on average.
All the best and enjoy Dubai :)
Is there anyway to contact you akhi to ask some questions?
my cousin lives in dubai with a 3500 aed a month salary like yall need to be more realistic
@@intergalactic2393 does he work in construction
no, that would be worse, in sales @@flawedzak
@@intergalactic2393 that's why i asked cuz it's pretty low.
How long has he been working in Dubai
Jazakallah Khair for this breakdown. I moved to Dubai from London a couple of weeks ago with my family and won't have school fees or maid so it's looking very doable!
Jazakallah for the video, interesting to see the figures.
Thank you for this video and apprecaite the transperency. At the same time, I think it's fair to say that this video represents a standard of living that's more close to the upper socio economic class. Having been lived in the UAE for a long time since I was a child, I can assure you that is possible to maintain a decent lifestyle (Subjective ) for far lesser the amount suggested here. For young brothers who are tight on budget and looking to move there are affordable options in the UAE and country hosts people from various socio economic backgrounds. So please dont feel dettered.
Hope you have a good time in dubai brother Muhsin!!
Thanks for the comment, though I'm not sure I agree! For someone with a family, I'd love to hear which bit of my life is upper class! Is it technically possible to spend less? Sure. But the goal isn't survival it's a video about normal living costs.
@@IFGuru people which want to make hijra and dont have a company might get scared of the high prices.
@@nadeemzakeer9183 I have so many questions. Is there anywhere I can contact you?
@@nadeemzakeer9183 salaam akhi is there any way to contact you regarding this. To answer some questions I have
@@amexvruae is not really a muslim country
JazakAllah for the video
You are spot on with the costs and from what you have said on mobile and phone/internet, I know who you went with :-) - you missed off the fact that while your Du internet is 408Dh, you will be on at least 500Mb depending on the area, or 850mb down 200mb up. The reason is the UAE's infrastructure is new and the place is filled with fibreoptic cables rather than the UK's copper and POTS. Reliability is solid and if you want installation, you wait a day. Try that in the UK for 100 GBP!
thank you for this. very useful
Fair expenses to be honest cheaper than London...
While having quality of life improved 100%
Cheaper? idk anyone spending 6k a month in london and I live in london myself
If you convert AED to pounds you could see AED is a bit cheap
I'd like for brother Muhsin to comment on this himself but my take is that the same quality of life he described (4-bedroom house, a maid, private schools etc.) in London is at least twice the cost of Dubai.
Lol
Nice content, very profesional!
Jazakom Allah khair but wait for the summer and see the utility bill it will shoot high… all the best brothers
I think you missed initial setup cost which is also quite significant based on the size of the family, people eat out alot as it some times costs less than home cooking, depending on ones availability, one may need a driver for school pickups and drop offs. I lived in Dubai 7 years and now back in Surrey again.
Try exploring cedar villas in DSO, much better community and very quite, plus very interested in talking to regarding halal investments, as when in Dubai I relied on National Bonds for investment and halal profit.
We’ve got a video on setup costs coming soon, this was meant to solely cover an average cost of living month on month.
Thanks for the other tips!
I live in UAE and I agree about your estimations
I have been living the UAE with family (parents and siblings) since 2012.
Lived in the UK for my Master for 1.5 year and in Pakistan for 2.5 years in between.
In this overall living period, I have been living in Dubai Sports City with my own studio apartment with mother only.
The cost has always been like below
Rent and bills = 5000
Grocery = 1500 - 2000
Fuel, Car maintenance, Mobile = 1000
Maid = 500 AED for whole month in Sharjah
School fee no idea
This is the average cost of living here.
I would really like to ask here. What made you leave UK where your kids were having free education and moved to Dubai and pay hefty fees of your kids school yourself?
@@hafsa.naveed most probably because UK's free education system also comes with free brainwashing of immoral, evil and harami values.
@hafsa.naveed she doesn't have kids that's why she doesn't know about school fees
Thanks a lot for your video. 😊👍
You missed to include 5% housing fee (kind of council tax) which is added to the utility bill. 5% is calculated based on your annual rent and divided in to 12 monthly payments. So for your 130k annual rent it will be 541dhs a month on top of your electric and water consumption.
Even if u own the apartment?
This is only for landlords?
This Is paid by whoever is living in the property. So if the tenant is occupying the property then it will be borne by them. If you own the apartment or villa and living in there then you will pay as part of the utility bill.
You missed the traffic fines, you actually have to budget for that Lol
😂
Here is me chillin at 5000 AED a month with a retail shift job and living with 8 roommates in a bed space. We talking of same dubai?, must be nice :)
Is it still s good living?
Could you talk a lil bit about how the medical insurance works there? Thanks! great video!
Thank you for this video and appreciate the transparency. Do you have to pay school fees for the year in advance or can you pay monthly?
Great video very informative but a couple of questions your living costs what area are you in and what school are you recommending ?
Your bills budget will be blown out come the summer months so estimate more for that. School fees you should estimate at the higher end of your budget for better schools as well as transportation cost per child, usually in the range of 8k - 10k per year per child (a lot of companies do pay an allowance towards school fees separately, I get 44k per year). I would estimate a little more for entertainment per month as everything is much more expensive here compared to the UK, maybe 2.5k AED per month. Remember you also have to worry about saving for your retirement so you should allocate at least 10% of your salary per month towards that too. All in all, for a decent upper middle class lifestyle don't come to UAE for less than 45-50k AED per month (if school fees are not provided separately).
Yes you can scrounge and live in a small place and save around the edges but if you're going to give up all your friends and family you at least want to give it up for decent lifestyle.
If you're single, or leaving wife and kids behind you can definitely save as much on even half that salary. One thing to keep in mind is your salary will NOT go up by much year on year in the UAE, so airways negotiate a salary that you'll be happy to be on for 5 years at least.
Bro what field of work are you in if you don’t mind me asking ? Also I’m finding it really difficult to find a move to the UAE with a good package salary wise .
That's why you go back to the UK during summer 🌞
"...or leaving wife and kids behind..." HUH 🤣
A lot of people move here without there families to maximise their savings. It's a short term sacrifice, at a decent salary you can save enough in 5 years to pay off a decent chunk off your house and maybe invest in an additional property.
Would love to see a vid for the costs of a single/couple dynamic. Judging from the comments seems fair to say the brothers calculations could be up for debate
Thank you 🙏
Thank you for your Dubai videos, it's been really useful as someone who might be moving to the UAE. I would be really interested to know your take on how to invest when you're out there. I am aiming to invest but understand if you live abroad/no longer a UK resident you can not contribute to your stocks and shares ISA (once that the tax year has ended for that year you left). Any tips/advice on how to deal with investment accounts that you currently have in the UK plus any takes on how investing works in the UAE would be massively appreciated
As always, keep up the great work and inshallah bil tawfique
Indians living in Dubai (a family of 4) complete all their expenses within AED 10,000
Thanks for the info, I'm aiming to do a job there, any clue about finding jobs in sales and marketing?
Please make more videos about Dubai. Thank you
I love the transparency here! Gives us all a great idea of what to expect!
4 bedroom villa for 130k ... I think the villa is very far away from the city center.... I rented 1bedroom for 130k in downtown
Mirdif. Underrated.
What schools do you reccomend? Maybe do a video about this, I think it'll be a hit!
The expenses literally depend on the city/area you live in. Here in abudhabi there is a lot of community villas/ townhouses which has a lot reasonable and affordable prices. Same with the apartments as well. But entertainment expenses is a serious topic🥲 very difficult to control, everywhere there's restaurant no barrier of haram foods😅 and everywhere it's safe doesn't matter you walk on the streets alone at 2/3am
they dont separate haram food ????
@@intergalactic2393 he meant there is no haram food, so you'd buy more easily :D There is no hard barrier to buying.
scared me for a second bc even thou the UAE is not my country id just feel sad knowing a muslim country would have this just to cater to kuffar, althou i heard they made a new law that allowed to get alcohol without license, whoever is letting these laws get approved is an idiot @@studeez
i offered 6k to 7k aed is that good salary here in abu dhabi ??
you were offered ? lets see, how many years of experience do you have and are you willing to rent with other people ? if you're a fresher that's reasonable, if you're not ,go look for better jobs, experience matters more than anything, add a degree to that and you're entitled to a bigger salary , you need to realise that living in dubai is not cheap @@Defender_928
I have a question I have heard things on the internet about the subsidy for UAE citizens, how much it is and who it includes
I pay 500 AED for a SIM card internet Every month food are expansive also everything expansive even luxury international brands price are more then euro I buy one t shirt in lvl I paid 1450 when in Germany lv was 1250
What about medical insurance, clothing, car services?
yours is a budget for wealthy individuals, for young professionals 12-14k monthly is enough for a bachelor to rent a studio and pay for a car and save in Dubai.
I'm struggling to find where or who to contact for employment.
excellent video, lots of valuable information, enjoyed the format.
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
You missed out car finance / rental. Plus parking and speeding fines.
What area are you renting in if you don’t mind me asking?
Internet costs will be high because of the Duopoly by Du and Etisalat
Yes but what you get in terms of speed makes the internet in the UK look 20 years behind.
Well 6k month to live there and thats just starting and we say it’s expensive in the uk
Brother ; what is yr source of income and how much you earn monthly ?
what about medical bills/medical insurance?
Where would you say is the best value for living in the UAE? Cheap overall price, but good experience
What place is cheaper to live, with a normal life, Singapore or Dubai?
I like Dubai from Canada
What about daycare for small kids?
wow so expensive brother ! thanks for the heads up. Doesn't seem worth it now TBH.
For a person living in a third world country these figures are ridiculous
Mohsin this is over exaggerating I repatriated in 2020 15000AED is the normal average living expense for a family of 4
I looked at the budgeting and I have been doing so for last two years in hopes to make the move already. He’s not over exaggerating. This could be classified as perhaps upper middle class. Sure you can save on rent if you live in an apartment or in Sharjah or Ajman instead of Dubai or in deira and area. You can also send your kids to a school that costs 300-500
Dollars a month and not exactly 1000. But other than that. I don’t see how anything else is overly exaggerated n
No way!!!!!!
As commented already, health insurance is a non-trivial expense. Would be interested to hear what your experience has been in arranging this for you and the family.
130K AED/yr for rent for a 4bdr townhouse or let alone a villa is not an accurate representation of average market. Maybe you are located too far away from the city? Where I live 4bdr townhouses are >250K AED and to go below 200K AED you need move to outer areas of the city, locations many of us considered faarr away, but dont feel like that no more. School fees will are at 60K AED at year 5-6 and will go up from there so I would not budget based on 40K AED/yr/child unless you have very young children and you will stay here for 1-2 yrs. I am talking about very good/outstanding rated UK curriculum schools. Other costs you mentioned are pretty accurate. I hope you enjoy your life in Dubai… And pls let me know where I can get a 4 bdr villa for 130K AED as I am on an eviction notice like many of my friends are 😅
Mirdif
I have seen many on Midrif as well and I’m
Still in Canada lol
After watching this video, I can't complain about America anymore.
In the Netherlands (in times of the peak inflation) i spend 3600 AED/ 900 Euro monthly on groceries for a family of 1.
Thank you for the video, really informative. Couple of questions: 1) working culture, how common is remote working for example for professionals 2) any advice on housing areas that are a close ish match to housing situation back in UK. Would you recommend more the outskirts or inner city to enjoy the best of lifestyle for example
JazakAllah, Haider
1) Remote working is not as prevalent as western countries. I'm assuming you are referring to companies in Dubai that will hire you but allow you to work from home? very few that support this and most of these type of positions dissappear very quickly.
2) depends what you mean by UK housing. Flats or homes? if you mean homes then the equivalent in dubai would be 'villas' and these can be fairly expensive. Most people in the middle class look at flats or town-houses (which are smaller low-rise flats with community pool etc )
3) Dubai doesn't have a specific inner-city. every community has its own malls and leisure facilities etc. You have downtown Dubai near burj khalifa, you have Dubai Marina, JBR, The Palm, Dubai Hills, as well as the old areas like Deira, Mirdiff etc. All of these areas are like mini-towns with malls and entertainment options so really depends on your budget
@@samwats7892 Regarding remote work, would you say the same thing about tech/IT jobs?
Can you shed some light on the corporation tax which is being introduced in UAE at 9%.
If you're doing business with customers outside the UAE then no corporation tax will apply.
Salam alikum brother sorry telling me living in Dubai is hard or what like I can't move there
Jazaka Allaho khayran for the different inputs. It looks expensive when compared to other regions (Morocco, or north africa for instance).
On the other hand, what are the sort of business opportunities that are trending in the UAE, and are they accessible for everyone ? if i may ask.
Baraka Allaho fik
Most Africa country are cheap to live especially north Africa also to earn 28k aed in UAE per month is hell unless you are working with government
Food and grocery is expensive because uae has to import in
Being poor is more expensive than being rich
I wish to find a similar job in uae, but really not getting anywhere with it. I work as a finance director in birmingham for healthcare group, but don't really see such finance director level jobs in uae!
Anyone has an idea, where to search for such jobs in uae?
7g of data and 500mins bro how do you survive with that
That's a good deal
Yes ,what is your requirement
Car insurance in the UK can be quite significant. What could one expect car insurance to cost in Dubai?
Reasonable. Like £200-£300
Insane rent.
Insane internet costs - you would think such a rich country would invest in their internet infrastructure more. Almost £100/m for 400mbps is ridiculous.
£1500/m for schooling... ouch.
Fuel and energy is cheap, expectedly.
Infrastructure costs are high and the population is low. So more price per person relative to a larger place.
Depends where you’re coming from.
Where I live, our phone bill monthly is 125$, internet is 70$, gasoline is $130 PER WEEK (520/mo) for one vehicle, And that’s if we haven’t been driving much😭😬🥴🥴 schooling is about the same.
But then again Bob the builder who earns £20k a year in the UK can come to Dubai and reinvent himself as a Business director and earn between £100K to £200K tax free so it's all relative.
That's expensive man! 😮
Still cheaper than living outside and living this lifestyle. We pay 3000 a months for a 2000 sqft townhouse and it’s away from city Center in Toronto. Our total expense is about the same but the quality of life is not close. Kids go to public school. No house help. Groceries are expensive. Quality is not great. Not the same
Level of entertainment. And it’s winter 8 months a year which is hard for families with little
Kids.
May Allah grant you happiness, however the budget you mentioned can be greatly reduced at least by 50%, 28k a month is insanely high unless you are living a lavish life style , considering salaries, even if you are lets say experienced engineer with like 15 years experience, you will averag max 17k a month plus some benefits
This brother must be rich
How much does health insurance cost in Dubai/UAE?
depends on the age and if you have medical history.. if can be from 3000 Aed to 200k ..a year..... for 25 years old with no medical history it's 3500
Really depends on the coverage you go for and your age/medical history. You can check price comparison sites for an idea.
6000 above 40 with good coverage
very informative any advise on living near Jumeirah Lake Towers or surrounding areas and prices for a studio?
What increase of the uk gross family income we should ask in order to be good enough to move to dubai?
Cheaper than most major cities
Is Cur8 is authorized by Dubai authorities or still only with UK
Assalamalaimkum,
Looking to buy a property in Dubai i can assist you. Am Authorised agent with 12 yr experience.
$3k a month for a 4 br house? Thats very cheap compared to most developed countries...
Your food bill is low for a family of five, I find after rent food is your biggest expense but that obviously depends where you shop. 5000 I think would be a normal bill a month for a family of five.
Blimey! 😮 would need to earn a fair bit a month then, say minimum 10k?
Very very expensive.
So, Cheaper than Australia
3500 for groceries is what I pay in Sweden for one person
So basically if you make less than 200k a year it's not worth it.
Looks like u put all the expenses for luxury class
Standard of living is quite different depending where you’re coming from or comparing it to.
@@sunnyraindrop582 USA 💪
I pay 36k a year in Cali . Should leave to Dubai lol 😆
Poor people in Dubai screw when they made $2,500
Is $7637/year?
Lol. Per month estimate
@@ssy1412 too much per month 🙂
Does anyone in medical know how much the salary is for a dialysis technician? Im looking to leave america i have 1 child thats in kindergarten and they are already putting the gay studies in his school
Im begging anyon3 that can help me with information because i need help saving my sons future! Thank you/ shokran ♡
Have you considered Riyadh or Jeddah?
Why would anyone move to Dubai?
Better quality of life.
@@EmsyazNah.
Feel like food should cost more.
I'm grateful that I'm 23 and I don't have kids 😅
Can your kids identify as pansexual in school, and wearing an anthena like hat during classes? XD
NO
iv heard theres crazy laws,i cannot sniff cocaine even....wtf i doing there then
U sniff coke your fucked up not the laws
quality of schools so low and expensive rents so high and tough law.3yrs Jail for unpaid rents cases.very hot country and bill w+e very expensive welcome to 2nd India
2nd India?
Hell no
UAE is way more developed, organized and clean than India.
@@Emsyaz Indian pro plus.10m population 7m Indians paki and Bangladesh first language is Indian then English after Arabic. I lived 1996-2018
Ur a loaded guy. Spending$7k monthly.
Dubai is for people making over £150,000
If you make at least USD 20,000 per month, you can live comfortably in most cities of UAE.
Dubai is the most expensive city in UAE.
Utter nonsense
??
You have to have a mental condition to leave the UK and chose to move to Dubai. 6k a month and a lot of that in rent. Childern will not have basic manners like most people from the arab world. Heres people risking their lives every day to come to the UK and this guy leaves and pays 6k a month to bake in the sun lol
I try explaining this to young people day in day out, but they are just completely dazzled by the fake glitter for Dubai.
I think if you lived in Ras Alkhaima or Ajman, things will be a lot cheaper. But then you won't the 'decent' schools.
Its not quite fools gold, but not far from it.
Adding to the basic manners, you will also be forced to turn a blind eye to blatant disregard to how the people at the lower end are treated and paid.
Going from this video, you should be earning north of 35kAED a month if you are considering to make a move.
Salaam,
Can you/anyone reading this please share the FB/WhatsApp groups?
Moving to UAE in 2 weeks inshaAllah
And now in euro or dollars
or you can do the conversions yourself?