<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="767" src="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/Dollar-in-a-Hand-1024x767-1.jpg" alt="The Cost of Living in Dubai - A Practical Guide" class="wp-image-9357" srcset="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/Dollar-in-a-Hand-1024x767-1.jpg 1024w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/Dollar-in-a-Hand-1024x767-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/Dollar-in-a-Hand-1024x767-1-768x575.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>
<h2>How to Prepare for Living in Dubai</h2>
<p>Fail to plan, plan to fail. This is a cliché only because it’s true. You’ll be surprised at the number of people not having the slightest bit of idea what will happen once they’re abroad. Foremost of this is knowing what the cost of living is in Dubai. Researching for it could be a bit overwhelming. Asking around will get you a lot of different answers that would get you more confused than when you started out.</p>
<h2>Start with the Math</h2>
<p>What are the <a href="http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+Arab+Emirates&city=Dubai" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">costs of basic needs</a>? Food, water, and shelter is what you need to focus on in order to come up with a basic budget. Make sure that your employer would provide you with free accommodation since most rentals within the city proper are very expensive. You’ll find that it will eat up more than half of your salary. Consider that a one-bedroom apartment within the city proper is roughly AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) 7,600 and an <a href="http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/nurses-in-hot-demand-in-dubai-click-for-salary-2015-03-09-1.583512" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">average nurse’s salary</a> is AED 8,500. It would not be feasible at all to not have free accommodations or a commensurate compensation.</p>
<h2>Day to Day Living</h2>
<p>Once you have the issue of housing settled, you can now focus on your daily expenses. Are you the type who likes to eat out? Can you cook? Or are you the type who can burn water? I had a cousin who went to London for two months on an assignment. He had a limited per diem but all he could cook were fried eggs and rice. He doesn’t like eggs anymore.</p>
<p>Take note that a fast food joint meal will be about AED 25.00 a pop, with side dishes and softdrinks, multiplied by three times a day will cost you AED 2,250.00 per month if you don’t know how to cook. Make sure you learn the basics of cooking before you get deployed. At least learn how to operate a rice cooker. This will save you tons of money.</p>
<h2>Sample Grocery List</h2>
<p>I’ve prepared a sample grocery list with the prevalent market value to give you an idea of how much things cost:</p>
<div class="wp-block-image wp-image-3377 size-full"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="731" height="519" src="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/coldpic2-1.jpg" alt="The Cost of Living in Dubai - A Practical Guide" class="wp-image-9359" srcset="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/coldpic2-1.jpg 731w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/coldpic2-1-300x213.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px" /><figcaption>Sample grocery list</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>This of course, is a rough estimate based on <a href="http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+Arab+Emirates&city=Dubai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">numbeo.com’s</a> figures.</p>
<h2>Social Needs</h2>
<div class="wp-block-image wp-image-3378 size-full"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="650" height="616" src="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/needs-1.jpg" alt="The Cost of Living in Dubai - A Practical Guide" class="wp-image-9360" srcset="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/needs-1.jpg 650w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/08/needs-1-300x284.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" /><figcaption>Modern human needs – Internet connectivity is an OFW priority</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Modern human needs – Internet connectivity is an OFW priority<br>Since we need to get in touch with our family back home, all OFW’s need to consider how much communications cost. Basic internet costs about AED 300 per month while there are service providers who offer landline and basic cable TV at about AED 460 or less, depending on the bundle you choose.</p>
<h2>Plan Ahead!</h2>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Now that you have a more solid picture of the basics, you can more accurately compute how much it will cost you to live in Dubai. I haven’t included personal items since they’re, well, personalized. How much you take home at the end of your contract will depend on how well you can budget. Good luck!</span></p>
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<p><em>Picture attribution <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CC BY 2.0</a></em><br><em>flickr.com/armydre2008</em><br><em>meme by weknowmemes</em></p>