Advice on cost of living in Abu Dhabi

Expert Info

Posted by

on 27 Aug 2012

Hello! I am new here and I have some questions regarding the life costs in Abu Dhabi. We are going to move there and I received a package of 19000 AED (basic salary) and 13000 AED (Housing allowance) per month. Health insurance and education included. Do you think it is enough for a 3 member’s family (parents+ 1 infant) to leave decent? Thank you for your answers!

Anonymous (not verified) on 28 Aug 2012 - 12:35

best for you would be to live in dubai

Anonymous (not verified) on 28 Aug 2012 - 15:39

Hi Andrea,

I think the salary you've been offered is pretty good. You can usually find a two bedroom place for between AED 120,000-140,000. School fees can also be high in the emirates so it is a good thing that this is included in your package.

Whether your family can live on that salary and how much money you can save will ultimately depend on your lifestyle - Abu Dhabi has a lot to offer in terms of shopping, entertainment and travel, etc - so you should think about how much your likely to spend in these areas.

Take a look at the Expat Arrivals page on the Cost of Living in Abu Dhabi to help you get an idea of the expenses you'll occur when you move to the Middle East.

Anonymous (not verified) on 28 Aug 2012 - 18:15

We have to live in Abu Dhabi. We are not so much into shopping but we like to travel but for the moment my daughter is still little so we can not travel to much, we dont really go to restaurants to much or do extravagant stuff. Do you know an area that is not so expensive to rent an apartment and it would be ok to live as an expat family? Thanks again

Anonymous (not verified) on 29 Aug 2012 - 07:50

Hi Andrea,

For a small family like yours you can find an apartment for around AED 95,000 -110,000 in Karamah, Al Rodwan or Al Mushrif.

It may be best for you to look into the options of living in a Western compound. This will allow you to meet other expats and will probably make the transition to life in the Middle East a little easier.

Take a look at the Expat Arrival's pages on Accommodation in Abu Dhabi and Areas and Suburbs of Abu Dhabi to give you a good insight into the best areas for families.

Best of luck with your decision.

Anonymous (not verified) on 29 Aug 2012 - 14:42

Thank you!

Anonymous (not verified) on 3 Sep 2012 - 19:57

Also try Khalifa A or Mussafah or MBZ City. ADCP usually have a lot of properties which are slightly cheaper than mainstream listings but I hear that experience of dealing with them can some times be a little frustrating. But your budget will stretch a lot more with them esp in the areas mentioned. Good luck! You'll be fine. AD is a fab city once you get used to the idiosyncracies of the place.

Anonymous (not verified) on 29 Nov 2012 - 15:29

i got an offer of 17000 AED in abu dhabi, house rent to be paid by me, i have to take 1bhk apartment is it enough

Anonymous (not verified) on 4 Mar 2013 - 11:27

I have lived and worked in Abu Dhabi for a number of years so here are a couple of notes from me. It is difficult to put a price on housing, you can get cheap rents but there are likely to be found in bad areas with poor neighbours. It is not worth having or driving a car as taxis are really cheap. When you take into account the price of car insurance, the cost of car ownership is not as cheap as it looks. The standard of driving it terrible so you will also almost certainly to be run into, and if it a local, it will be your fault! Despite being a Muslim country alcohol is readily available and cheap. Clothes are cheap, but they are usually knock offs. The original stuff costs a much more, on a par with international prices.

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