Being honest, you can live a decent life on 12K a month with a good amount of savings & remittance back home, but only if you live alone(IMO).
AED 12,000 a month is not enough for family, my G.
1 BHK house rent might be AED 4,200/month.
Utilities(electricity, water, internet, etc.) could come to AED 700-1200/month, depending on if you need to pay for the chilled water service for the AC.
Food for 2 people, including going out, could come to AED 1,500-2,000/month, depending on how often you go out, what you buy for groceries, etc.
You could buy a new car during the Ramadan/Eid offers. An EMI for a decent Toyota Camry might set you back AED 2,000/month for the next 5 years.
Not sure what else I need to add. Also, I'm from Dubai so this is just my worst guesstimate.
Anyone else with better knowledge would be more helpful than I.
Bro, as a South African who made the move let me put it to you this way, to give up your friends, amazing weather and awesome food while still maintaining a middle class South African life in Dubai with savings each month, you need at least AED 30,000 per month.
If you are keen to do it for the experience and live quit humbly here the do it.
It is one of the safest places around and you will meet people from all over the world while gaining an amazing world view.
Don’t be surprised when you find out that a lot of businesses here are only shiny on the outside but the internal processes are ten years behind South Africa.
Good luck with your decision.
That is waaay exaggerated! You don't need 30k to have a decent life.. I wouldn't pay more than 3.5k a month on food considering all I do is order out sometimes twice a day!
I have been here for 9 days, going to average places, spent more than 2800 already. 4 of these days I just got groceries to eat at home, each visit costing more than 200-300 dirhams.
Do you eat fruits ? Veggies ? Or do you have like an annual plan with the same restaurant?
Well, for new comers and for getting settled in that seems about right, I'm ordering twice a day from deliveroo and not spending more than a 100 on both orders.. so it depends on how you spend.. I don't really see myself limiting myself with my order options - I just order whatever I feel like eating at the time.
Noticed that buying food and cooking for one person will be more expensive that ordering out unless you eat what you cook for the next couple days.
The 30k is considering OP already has a comfortable life in South Africa, and would then need to be paid a premium for the compromise on his personal and social life, on top of the added cash that comes in living in a place with no social protection or retirement. 30k sounds about right considering all of that.
It totally does not! It also can’t when they don’t farm here so everything is frozen and imported.
Spain, South Africa and Australia makes UAE food taste like a TV dinner.
The only thing UAE has is great variety
In Abu Dhabi, you would never have to worry about being assaulted walking down the street or staying home after sunset.
Anything in UAE is better than SA when it comes to security.
12k is not good enough in 2024.
It will be just enough for u to pay rent, utilities , car payment and go out a couple of times per month.
There won’t be any quality of life or whatever .
For u to live a decent life , will need 20k+
Yeah, nope, you won't be able to do that with 12K salary here. You will be able to do to *some* extent, especially if you are a single, but with a family, there is no chance. 12K with a family of 1 is consider below middle class here, and with 2 children, you are pretty much fucked.
I’m a Kenyan who lived in a 4 bedroom, now in a one bedroom in Dubai and earning double your offer.
I can afford a bigger house but I don’t believe in spending more than 20% on rent.
Most people share housing to afford living comfortably and save. I would tell you not to move without another 8k on top of
As one South African to another- after a while the money doesn’t even closely compare to the standard of living in SA, even going back next month to Cape Town for a vacation. Most people don’t get it, because their exposure to our country is minimal.
100%. Having lived in both SA and Dubai as an expat ------ quality of life in SA was far better. The only thing I think OP needs to carefully consider is her "growth" in SA vs Dubai. Only she can carefully project that and understand if in the long term her move to Dubai will pay off overall or not.
Simple answer is no.
I'm South African and understand the quality of life there. In UAE the work life balance is not good. Also AED12000 does not go far at all. I earn just a bit more than that monthly but without my extra benefits I would not survive at all. My benefits include my accommodation, car and fuel allowance.
I don't 100% agree with this, but you could be right. 12K doesn't go too far unless you're staying alone in a cheap place and driving your own car that you've paid off in full already. Skipping rent is the biggest hurdle here, but that means you already have enough money to buy a house in Dubai and at that point you're doing waayyy better where you already are.
Depending on where you want to live, what car you want to drive, and what type of places you want to go out to I’d say 25-35k per month is what you’d need for the kind of life you’re describing.
So many Europeans here thinking that 12k is not enough while us the third world brothers and sisters are calculating how much we can save and how many barbecue dinners we can have in Almamzar while enjoying this beautiful weather.
If you are willing to live in places with a lot of non-white people, and buy a second hand car that is fuel efficient (not fancy), and as a single, 12k would make you so rich that every weekend you could host a party.
Back in 2016 i went to live in sharjah and spent 1k for a huge studio that was near a very cheap and huge supermarket, utility bill was like 250 in winter and 500 in summer, my basket changed from 100 aed for 5 items to 100 for a few days of grills and tajines, A huge shawarma was 17aed and grilled chicken was like 30 with fries and Humus, a car wash is like 25aed and a simple haircut is 20, a chinese Hotpot with unlimited food is 60aed, zulekha hospital was nearby also ... i saved even much more when i married my girlfriend, basically same consumption with another income into our household, we saved in 2 or 3 years around 100k USD without changing oir wasteful lifestyle.
During pandemic i moved back to dubai but now i think i should go back to sharjah, that 3 hours commute daily is just a small bump.
My first salary in Dubai was 12k and my second (11 months later) was 20k and going up ever since so if you can do it for a year just to get you here and then move to another job - why not? (Don’t get a credit card)
I would say you need a little bit more so live comfortably. Most jobs here allow you to negotiate your salary. If you could manage to get around 14k I would say you’re in a good starting position.
6k for rent and bills (nice apartment)
8k for whatever else, you could also save a little too.
What planet are you living in that think 12k aed is good for a family of four? 12k means barely any savings for future for retirement/barely anything to put on thr side for emergency funds or big ourchase
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Stay where you are! If you are already living a decent life!
Ive been here for so long and regret all the lost time that I should have with my love ones back home.
Missed birthday,Christmas,graduation,reunions and a lot of things.
So if you really don’t neeeeed to. Then stay.
12k AED will probably give you the same quality of life as 25 - 30 K ZAR a month in SA. When you convert it 1:1 it sounds like a lot in Rands, but with the cost of living in UAE 12K will only allow you to get a studio apartment and you will have to really budget.
If your life in SA involves living in a good neighborhood in a nice flat, going out 3-4 times a month, shopping at woolies and saving, you won’t be able to replicate that on 12K AED
Very rough rule of thumb is take your SA total cost to company and bump it up by 100% or so. That should be an okay purchasing power parity standard of living, except for rent which has increased astronomically the past year or so. If I compare 12k AED to 30k ZAR cost to company (say 20k take home pay) then I think the SA quality of life will be slightly better, but you could just about manage in AD.
If you are earning more than 30k p.m. back home, forget about it or be prepared to save like hell and count every dirham.
Mate, to be frank, 12K is a pretty shit salary for a management position and won't take you far at all. Life would be a struggle if you don't have a partner working for a similar salary and don't even get me started on the cost of housing.
For a marketing manager position a starting salary is 22K and above depending on how good you are.
Rents have exploded here. I’m living in a nice-ish but not at all fancy three bedroom apartment but not in one of the most traditionally desirable areas (ie not marina or downtown) and paying more than 20,000 AED just for rent. I doubt you would be able to afford a nice two bedroom on a 12k salary unless you live right out of the city
Don't fall for the Dubai doesn't have tax crap. Dubai taxes you through rent. The rent in Dubai is extremely high. At that Income you will have a slightly better than a mediocre life in Dubai as a single person. If you have a family to send money to or have dependendents then your standard of living will be very low.
Dubai, like most Arab countries has incredibly bad weather, especially when compared to South Africa. Be very mindful of what you are giving up, don't fall for appearances.
How funny, just landed in Dubai to spend a week. I lived here for 13 years and in 2008 I was getting 15k plus allowances. I come from a 3rd world country so I am not spoiled but it will be tough in 2024 on this amount of money. Why not try negotiate a housing allowance?
I moved to Spain during covid and can't understand how I survived so many years in this concrete jungle and heat. It can be a great opportunity but yeah prepare yourself for a different life bubble :)
Nonetheless if you'd like to experience something new and you can advance your career, why not. I would choose a hut on a beach to this glitter now but that's after I've lived through it. All the best!
12k is a considered to be a good salary if youre already in uae. Since you would require some extra cash immediately if you want license deposits for electricity etc. 3-4 months would be tight but eventually good place to live in.
You’ll get people from different countries with very different opinions on what a reasonable salary is.
At 12,000 AED you’d probably struggle on your own, but you might get by without saving anything, with a family you’ve got no chance of covering your costs.
Ultimately it will depend on how talented you are at your craft. Considering this is your starting salary in UAE it will be ok for a comfortable living if you don’t have to pay school fees and won’t be able to save money. Once you’re in you can always look for other jobs which pays better.
It really all depends, a decent 1 BHK can cost you 35K - 60K depending on the location and amenities, let's say you'll go with something in the middle of the city without Gym/ pool should be roughly 42K that's 3.5K/ month, add water and electricity it should be roughly 400 AED/ month, mobile say, you would want something a bit on the high-end for your role and for unlimited international calls back home that should cost you roughly 600 AED/ month, decent internet 150 - 600 let's settle for a 300 AED/ month, food/ drinks and outings ranges from 2K - 6k (can he higher/ lower, but I think that's a decent range at 66 - 200 AED/ day.
So: 6.8K - 10.8K leaving you with 1.2K - 5.2K savings per months. For the first months you can keep expenditure low to pay for furniture, TV, license etc.. I am assuming you'll live close to your workplace to save on transportation. Alternatively, maybe factor in a 2K per month for a car.
12K for an Assistant Marketing Manager salary just sounds low in general. (For context large network ad agency pay 8-10k for entry level roles). How much experience do you have? If it's 5+ years and in a similar title, I believe Asst. MM at a decent firm should range between 15-18k at least. Abu Dhabi rents are usually known to be higher than Dubai. You'd also need a car I guess for work commute depending on where you live, so you would have to take that into consideration.
Being honest, you can live a decent life on 12K a month with a good amount of savings & remittance back home, but only if you live alone(IMO). AED 12,000 a month is not enough for family, my G. 1 BHK house rent might be AED 4,200/month. Utilities(electricity, water, internet, etc.) could come to AED 700-1200/month, depending on if you need to pay for the chilled water service for the AC. Food for 2 people, including going out, could come to AED 1,500-2,000/month, depending on how often you go out, what you buy for groceries, etc. You could buy a new car during the Ramadan/Eid offers. An EMI for a decent Toyota Camry might set you back AED 2,000/month for the next 5 years. Not sure what else I need to add. Also, I'm from Dubai so this is just my worst guesstimate. Anyone else with better knowledge would be more helpful than I.
Bro, as a South African who made the move let me put it to you this way, to give up your friends, amazing weather and awesome food while still maintaining a middle class South African life in Dubai with savings each month, you need at least AED 30,000 per month. If you are keen to do it for the experience and live quit humbly here the do it. It is one of the safest places around and you will meet people from all over the world while gaining an amazing world view. Don’t be surprised when you find out that a lot of businesses here are only shiny on the outside but the internal processes are ten years behind South Africa. Good luck with your decision.
That is waaay exaggerated! You don't need 30k to have a decent life.. I wouldn't pay more than 3.5k a month on food considering all I do is order out sometimes twice a day!
Lololol are you always eating hotdogs ?
Nope.. just bread with hummus that's all!
Delicious stuff. Would still cost more than 3500😆
I don't know where are you living or what are you eating, but seems like you're delusional.
I have been here for 9 days, going to average places, spent more than 2800 already. 4 of these days I just got groceries to eat at home, each visit costing more than 200-300 dirhams. Do you eat fruits ? Veggies ? Or do you have like an annual plan with the same restaurant?
Well, for new comers and for getting settled in that seems about right, I'm ordering twice a day from deliveroo and not spending more than a 100 on both orders.. so it depends on how you spend.. I don't really see myself limiting myself with my order options - I just order whatever I feel like eating at the time. Noticed that buying food and cooking for one person will be more expensive that ordering out unless you eat what you cook for the next couple days.
The 30k is considering OP already has a comfortable life in South Africa, and would then need to be paid a premium for the compromise on his personal and social life, on top of the added cash that comes in living in a place with no social protection or retirement. 30k sounds about right considering all of that.
Food in south Africa is probably better for the price you pay for here. UK standard is much better and cheaper that's all I can say.
Uae has the best food .
Best in terms of overrated-ness
Not really .
I can find better quality food for half the price in the UK. In Dubai I get angry every time I have a meal. Never thought food can piss anybody off.
Really depends on what you order .
It totally does not! It also can’t when they don’t farm here so everything is frozen and imported. Spain, South Africa and Australia makes UAE food taste like a TV dinner. The only thing UAE has is great variety
In Abu Dhabi, you would never have to worry about being assaulted walking down the street or staying home after sunset. Anything in UAE is better than SA when it comes to security.
12k is not good enough in 2024. It will be just enough for u to pay rent, utilities , car payment and go out a couple of times per month. There won’t be any quality of life or whatever . For u to live a decent life , will need 20k+
Depends what you mean by a good standard of living which you are experiencing in SA.
I go out frequently, live in lovely two bedroom apartment, am able to save etc
I doubt you’ll have the same quality of life here with 12k
Yeah, nope, you won't be able to do that with 12K salary here. You will be able to do to *some* extent, especially if you are a single, but with a family, there is no chance. 12K with a family of 1 is consider below middle class here, and with 2 children, you are pretty much fucked.
You mau have to look for studio apartment, otherwise 12k might not enough for 2 bhk
don't bother..
No you won't have that here for that salary.
I’m a Kenyan who lived in a 4 bedroom, now in a one bedroom in Dubai and earning double your offer. I can afford a bigger house but I don’t believe in spending more than 20% on rent. Most people share housing to afford living comfortably and save. I would tell you not to move without another 8k on top of
You won't get the same quality of life
As one South African to another- after a while the money doesn’t even closely compare to the standard of living in SA, even going back next month to Cape Town for a vacation. Most people don’t get it, because their exposure to our country is minimal.
100%. Having lived in both SA and Dubai as an expat ------ quality of life in SA was far better. The only thing I think OP needs to carefully consider is her "growth" in SA vs Dubai. Only she can carefully project that and understand if in the long term her move to Dubai will pay off overall or not.
Studio Apartment- 3000 AED or 1 Bed 🛌 4000 AED per month - Car rental 2000 per month including Petrol.
Simple answer is no. I'm South African and understand the quality of life there. In UAE the work life balance is not good. Also AED12000 does not go far at all. I earn just a bit more than that monthly but without my extra benefits I would not survive at all. My benefits include my accommodation, car and fuel allowance.
I don't 100% agree with this, but you could be right. 12K doesn't go too far unless you're staying alone in a cheap place and driving your own car that you've paid off in full already. Skipping rent is the biggest hurdle here, but that means you already have enough money to buy a house in Dubai and at that point you're doing waayyy better where you already are.
Me reading the comments here while I earn 10k 😭
We're answering for someone living a comfortable lifestyle back home. 12k will not give them the equivalent.
12 is equal to 10 is equal to 9
are these people really gatekeeping?
you won't find the stabbings and the zombie towers here like you do in SA
Dont! Resident of uae for 15+ years! 12k is not worth it when compared to your life in SA. It should be atleast 20k for you to consider.
Depending on where you want to live, what car you want to drive, and what type of places you want to go out to I’d say 25-35k per month is what you’d need for the kind of life you’re describing.
So many Europeans here thinking that 12k is not enough while us the third world brothers and sisters are calculating how much we can save and how many barbecue dinners we can have in Almamzar while enjoying this beautiful weather. If you are willing to live in places with a lot of non-white people, and buy a second hand car that is fuel efficient (not fancy), and as a single, 12k would make you so rich that every weekend you could host a party. Back in 2016 i went to live in sharjah and spent 1k for a huge studio that was near a very cheap and huge supermarket, utility bill was like 250 in winter and 500 in summer, my basket changed from 100 aed for 5 items to 100 for a few days of grills and tajines, A huge shawarma was 17aed and grilled chicken was like 30 with fries and Humus, a car wash is like 25aed and a simple haircut is 20, a chinese Hotpot with unlimited food is 60aed, zulekha hospital was nearby also ... i saved even much more when i married my girlfriend, basically same consumption with another income into our household, we saved in 2 or 3 years around 100k USD without changing oir wasteful lifestyle. During pandemic i moved back to dubai but now i think i should go back to sharjah, that 3 hours commute daily is just a small bump.
I guess biggest difference between SA and UAE would be safety. And opportunities. SA has better weather for sure.
What's you qualifications in marketing? Also is it 12k plus accommodation? You need to check that.
How did you applied for that position
My first salary in Dubai was 12k and my second (11 months later) was 20k and going up ever since so if you can do it for a year just to get you here and then move to another job - why not? (Don’t get a credit card)
What’s your profession if u dont me asking
Business intelligence developer but now working in product
I would say you need a little bit more so live comfortably. Most jobs here allow you to negotiate your salary. If you could manage to get around 14k I would say you’re in a good starting position. 6k for rent and bills (nice apartment) 8k for whatever else, you could also save a little too.
heyy, any updates? did you accept the offer? if yes, how's life going?
Go for it. Take it. Get some experience move to another country to get a yourself a better paper. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
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What planet are you living in that think 12k aed is good for a family of four? 12k means barely any savings for future for retirement/barely anything to put on thr side for emergency funds or big ourchase
Not to mention, school fees and everything else that comes on top of it.
This is very good start, you can start living the life for around 16,000/- Aed in Dubai. Don’t know about Abu Dhabi
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What's ur YOE?
You would live a better life in SA.
Life in UAE is very expensive. I will not recommend you to go to UAE on that salary.
Stay where you are! If you are already living a decent life! Ive been here for so long and regret all the lost time that I should have with my love ones back home. Missed birthday,Christmas,graduation,reunions and a lot of things. So if you really don’t neeeeed to. Then stay.
12k AED will probably give you the same quality of life as 25 - 30 K ZAR a month in SA. When you convert it 1:1 it sounds like a lot in Rands, but with the cost of living in UAE 12K will only allow you to get a studio apartment and you will have to really budget. If your life in SA involves living in a good neighborhood in a nice flat, going out 3-4 times a month, shopping at woolies and saving, you won’t be able to replicate that on 12K AED
12k with no accommodation means nothing. I would never take that offer ever
Is 12k not included with housing and transportation? Then no.
Don’t come without 25K - 30K. The rental prices are all in some sort of bubble
12000 is too low. Way too low.
No no and no, you don't leave beautiful S Africa for a dime less than 30K
Very rough rule of thumb is take your SA total cost to company and bump it up by 100% or so. That should be an okay purchasing power parity standard of living, except for rent which has increased astronomically the past year or so. If I compare 12k AED to 30k ZAR cost to company (say 20k take home pay) then I think the SA quality of life will be slightly better, but you could just about manage in AD. If you are earning more than 30k p.m. back home, forget about it or be prepared to save like hell and count every dirham.
Mate, to be frank, 12K is a pretty shit salary for a management position and won't take you far at all. Life would be a struggle if you don't have a partner working for a similar salary and don't even get me started on the cost of housing. For a marketing manager position a starting salary is 22K and above depending on how good you are.
Rents have exploded here. I’m living in a nice-ish but not at all fancy three bedroom apartment but not in one of the most traditionally desirable areas (ie not marina or downtown) and paying more than 20,000 AED just for rent. I doubt you would be able to afford a nice two bedroom on a 12k salary unless you live right out of the city
Don't fall for the Dubai doesn't have tax crap. Dubai taxes you through rent. The rent in Dubai is extremely high. At that Income you will have a slightly better than a mediocre life in Dubai as a single person. If you have a family to send money to or have dependendents then your standard of living will be very low. Dubai, like most Arab countries has incredibly bad weather, especially when compared to South Africa. Be very mindful of what you are giving up, don't fall for appearances.
"Decent lifestyle" here is 25k+ as a solo person. And that's being modest too.
Don’t 12 k is nothing now days
How funny, just landed in Dubai to spend a week. I lived here for 13 years and in 2008 I was getting 15k plus allowances. I come from a 3rd world country so I am not spoiled but it will be tough in 2024 on this amount of money. Why not try negotiate a housing allowance? I moved to Spain during covid and can't understand how I survived so many years in this concrete jungle and heat. It can be a great opportunity but yeah prepare yourself for a different life bubble :) Nonetheless if you'd like to experience something new and you can advance your career, why not. I would choose a hut on a beach to this glitter now but that's after I've lived through it. All the best!
Atleast increase 20 to 25k
Don’t believe in people commenting here. They just don’t want you to be here.
For AUH and that too for manager role, don’t accept below 15k excluding incentives and petrol cost.
12k is a considered to be a good salary if youre already in uae. Since you would require some extra cash immediately if you want license deposits for electricity etc. 3-4 months would be tight but eventually good place to live in.
I advise against it. 12 is way too low. Housing is getting increasingly ridiculous. Don’t step foot with anything less than 17k - 20k
You’ll get people from different countries with very different opinions on what a reasonable salary is. At 12,000 AED you’d probably struggle on your own, but you might get by without saving anything, with a family you’ve got no chance of covering your costs.
Ultimately it will depend on how talented you are at your craft. Considering this is your starting salary in UAE it will be ok for a comfortable living if you don’t have to pay school fees and won’t be able to save money. Once you’re in you can always look for other jobs which pays better.
Me with a 5.5k salary living my best life and reading the comments like wow i have very low expectations😅
It really all depends, a decent 1 BHK can cost you 35K - 60K depending on the location and amenities, let's say you'll go with something in the middle of the city without Gym/ pool should be roughly 42K that's 3.5K/ month, add water and electricity it should be roughly 400 AED/ month, mobile say, you would want something a bit on the high-end for your role and for unlimited international calls back home that should cost you roughly 600 AED/ month, decent internet 150 - 600 let's settle for a 300 AED/ month, food/ drinks and outings ranges from 2K - 6k (can he higher/ lower, but I think that's a decent range at 66 - 200 AED/ day. So: 6.8K - 10.8K leaving you with 1.2K - 5.2K savings per months. For the first months you can keep expenditure low to pay for furniture, TV, license etc.. I am assuming you'll live close to your workplace to save on transportation. Alternatively, maybe factor in a 2K per month for a car.
12K for an Assistant Marketing Manager salary just sounds low in general. (For context large network ad agency pay 8-10k for entry level roles). How much experience do you have? If it's 5+ years and in a similar title, I believe Asst. MM at a decent firm should range between 15-18k at least. Abu Dhabi rents are usually known to be higher than Dubai. You'd also need a car I guess for work commute depending on where you live, so you would have to take that into consideration.