Looking into moving to Abu Dhabi

deborah
New Member



Joined: 01 Jan 2004
Posts: 6
Location: Maui

Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2004 7:07 pm

 

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I am looking into the possibility of working in health care in Abu Dhabi. The recruiter I have contacted tells me the job will include health care and housing, so these are not immediate concerns. However, I would love to hear from anyone who is there about the lifestyle in this community. Being a single female in a muslim nation, I have concerns. I also want to know how stable the region is regarding the conflict in Iraq.

Hope to hear from someone soon!

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expatmich
CanuckAbroad Regular



Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 3:37 am

 

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Hi Deborah,

I've been living in Abu Dhabi since August 2002 and love it. It's a very quiet, clean city and it's very safe. The issues surrouding single female safety are small. Some women don't like getting into the cabs here because the drivers are Afghani, or Iranian or Pakistani and sometimes smell not so nice, but I haven't had a problem with it. The biggest rule is simply state your destination, and if they try to talk to you, just repeat your destination. I've never heard of any female getting into any trouble in a cab.

Dressing is pretty casual. No abaya necessary. I walk around in walking shorts (to my knees generally, or maybe a bit shorter) and tee shirts all the time. I find that in the heat months (April to the end of October) it's best to wear small cotton tee shirts to soak up the sweat. I have worn sleeveless singlets here without issue, though if I am going into a business area downtown or the souk, I will put on somethign with teeshirt sleeves and light cotton capri pants, but that's mostly out of courtesy. Some of the local Lebanese women walk around in outfits best described as "trashy" and they get stared at, but never bothered really.

There are a numbe of single female teachers that work at the school we're at (my husband is a principal at the American Community School) and they are all fine here and happy.

The city itself has everything you'd need in it, though, as an Expat for the last 13 years in Hong Kong, Turkey and now here, I've learned not to rely on creatue-comforts. There are two huge malls here, there's a couple of souks (outdoor markets) and some neat shops downtown.

I am friends with a number of doctors at the Sheik Khalifa Medical Centre, and it boasts pretty nice facilities for the local Emirati population.

Hope that helps....
Michelye

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sburton100
New Member



Joined: 03 Apr 2004
Posts: 2

Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 10:21 am

 

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Hello Expatmitch,
You seem very well informed, I am considering a move to Abu Dhabi and would appreciate any input at all. I have the following main concerns...

Stability due to the recent escalations in Iraq, when you look at a map it looks a little close

Attitudes towards Canadians form the general population?

I have two teenage daughters, one will be in last year of High School and one will likely attend University, any suggestions here on best schools?

What is the best area in Abu Dhabi to live, I would likely be looking for a villa.

Leasing a vehicle, do you have to pay up front for the lease term or can monthly payments be established?

Anything else you may think of would really be appreciated.

Cheers,

Steve

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expatmich
CanuckAbroad Regular



Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 2:31 am

 

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Hi Steve, I will try to answer your concerns as youlist them below:

Stability due to the recent escalations in Iraq, when you look at a map it looks a little close

***Indeed, the Emirates are geographically close to the tumultuous regions here, but NOTHING ever happens in the Emirates. Nothing has happened here in the recent past (last 20 years). There's just no interest in terrorists doing anything here. During the last war, school closed for one day, then things carried on as normal. We do have things like Mylar on our windows and heightened security concrete barriers in front of the school where we work, but life is just normal here.

Attitudes towards Canadians form the general population?

****About 90% of the people living in Abu Dhabi are expatriates. Sri Lankans, British, Bangledeshi, Philipino, Scottish, Norweigian, American, Indian, Chinese etc. Only a tiny percentage of the populace is Emirati. Canadians are just one of the mix. No big focus on our nationality in any way.


I have two teenage daughters, one will be in last year of High School and one will likely attend University, any suggestions here on best schools?

***University.....keep her in Canada.
****High school. We work at the American Community School in Abu Dhabi. My Husband is the middle school principal. We are international educators by trade, and have lived and worked in Japan, Hong Kong, and Turkey. This school that we're at now is an America Curriculum school, and we do offer AP courses at the senior high school year. We are moving towards bringing in the International Baccalaureate program in Sept 2005, but it's not in right now. It's a good school. It's population is about 650. I love this school. My son is in grade 2 here and we're happy to have him here. Tuition runs about 10,000 USD a year, and if you work for a company like Lucient, BP, SHELL, or the Sheik Kalifa Med Centre you will have either all or 50% of your tuition covered. There is an application process and tests that must be passed prior to recieving an offer of admission. Because we are not a state school, we are a private school, admission is not automatic because you live in the city. Please go to the website: www.acs.sch.ae for a look.

There are three other schools here that you might want to look at, but given quality of education and quality of facilities, ACS is the best school. The other schools however are Al Kubairat British School (British Curriculum), the Abu Dhabi International school (AIS) which has mostly local students, and the American International School of Abu Dhabi (AISA) which has a lot of local students and does run the IB program. If your daughter is entering her final year of school though, she would not be able to enter the IB program, as it starts in Grade 11 and runs for two years. These school can be found on the web, I think.

What is the best area in Abu Dhabi to live, I would likely be looking for a villa.

*****Villas are very expensive. Ranging fromo 180,000 AED to 300,000 AED depending on the size you'd like and the location. That's about $64,000 Canadian to about $100,000 per year. Yep, per year. Abu Dhabi is very expensive. We are lucky to have free housing with the school. Many coorporations provide a housing allowance, or actual housing....depending on who you work for. The newer areas of Khalidiya or Bateen area are nice, but there's villas all over the place, and it's a tiny island so it doesn't really matter were you live. Nothing is a major commute unless you're out in an area called Kalifa city.

Leasing a vehicle, do you have to pay up front for the lease term or can monthly payments be established?

***I'm not sure about leasing. I don't know anyone who has done that, and I've never heard of it here. Everyone just tends to buy a vehicle (new or used). There's a big vehicle market here for used vehicles as expats come and go. And they're not expensive. We bought a brand new Jeep Cherokee Sport 2002 model when we arrived, right out of the showroom, and it only cost us $27,000 Canadian which is WAY cheaper than in North America. And there's no taxes on anything!

Hope that helps,
Expatmich

Cheers,

Steve

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Marilyn
New Member



Joined: 10 Jul 2004
Posts: 3
Location: Canada

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 5:18 am

 

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Hi Deborah
Just curious as to what area of healthcare you are in? Nurse, Dr? I have been checkingout the Nursing job opps for soemone and wonderign what your experience is? I am a Canadian as well.
Thanks
MArilyn

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claireeeeb
New Member



Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 1

Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:19 pm

 

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hello there!

just thought i'd say hello - myself and my husband are looking at working in abu dhabi in may/june 2006. I have applied for a position as a registered nurse there... wondered if you have any advice or info regarding accomodation there etc... may bump into you over there, you never know!!

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