Unmarried couple moving to Dubai

[Anonymous]

As mentioned and probably worth repeating--US citizens pay US taxes no matter where they live in the world. There is no such thing as "tax-free" for Americans overseas. That said there are some generous exclusions that will eventually apply such that the first $100k of income is not taxed in the USA, but you still have to file the paperwork, along with some other paperwork for bank accounts and whatnot.

Dubai is a neat place, but it is not a place I would go to "live cheap" and save money. Not by a long shot. It's a place where even $250k a year bankers moan about the prices. I can't imagine going to Dubai and working in a non-professional career vs. going to Thailand or Eastern Europe or something and doing it for significantly lower expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dubai is fine for expats but terrible for saving money. The Emirate is basically bankrupt so they are trying to get as much money from expats as they can. They've just introduced 5 percent VAT on everything, liberalized gas prices (I spend less on gas here than I did there) and raised the cost of fees - and you pay fees for everything from getting a driver's license to renewing your visa and getting a license to drink alcohol.

Most of the jobs that young people would get here - like working in a store, being a secretary, etc. - are filled by highly qualified Filipinas and Eastern Europeans who are willing to work for basically nothing.

There are lots of places to go overseas if they want to work and save money (Bangkok, Uruguay, Europe) but I would say Dubai is definitely not it.

I agree with the high cost of living. The advantage of the UAE, however, is that it's one of the easiest places for a capable American to move to. It's not easy to move to Europe without getting a work visa and that's very difficult to obtain so most Americans who move to Europe do so through corporate transfers or the rare international hire. Not everyone is a banker who can move at will to Hong Kong or Singapore or London. Thailand is mostly teaching English for pennies. When we lived in the UAE, the cost of living was very high but we were also well compensated and we did save a lot of money too, much more than we could have saved in the equivalent time frame in the US. The trick was not getting too caught up in the perpetual party that can be the expat lifestyle, with fancy brunches every weekend, heavy boozing, and unlimited shopping and spa treatments and weekend hotel staycations. We rarely shopped for anything beyond groceries, we were realistic about our social life (and still have many great memories, especially of cheap camping trips in the deserts or mountains or exploring the Omani wadis), the beaches are great and free, we had fabulous and inexpensive vacations in Asia and India and other parts of the Middle East. We met and still cherish great friendships with people from all over the world. Many western expats save nothing, but many others leave the UAE with very tidy bank balances. It's all about priorities.

[Anonymous]

This is an insane idea.

[Anonymous]

American women march in the streets in outrage over laws that allow employers with moral objections to not pay for birth control, but those same women will readily move to an Islamic country where they can be imprisoned for having sex outside of marriage.

Americans are absolutely insane.

[Anonymous]

At first I read this and thought, terrible idea. Then I remembered that I met my husband in the Middle East and that we were sleeping over at each other’s place and having sex prior to being married for the better part of 2 years.

If I were them, I would tell all their neighbors and everyone but their closest friends that they are married. They will only really get in trouble if someone makes it an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:American women march in the streets in outrage over laws that allow employers with moral objections to not pay for birth control, but those same women will readily move to an Islamic country where they can be imprisoned for having sex outside of marriage.

Americans are absolutely insane.

The men can also be punished for premarital sex. It’s illegal for them too.

[Anonymous]

It's possible to get away with it. But why would you risk it? This is a country that throws women in prison for being raped. The consequences of being caught are severe enough that it doesn't outweigh any possible benefits.