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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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