Dubai and Abu Dhabi – Still an Attractive Prospect for Expats?
Recent data revealed that 1 in 10 of the UK’s professionals who graduated from top universities in 2011 have moved overseas. What’s more, 400 people per day are leaving the UK for foreign climes. This phenomenon is widespread across Europe with Eurozone crises encouraging relocation – Brits are not seeing the benefits of heading to European destinations so they are looking to further-flung locations such as Hong Kong and Dubai, where the economies are striding ahead.
Formerly, Europeans heading to the UAE, for example, would have considered spending a couple of years there, enjoying some sunshine, a luxurious lifestyle and a tax-free income before returning to their home countries with money in their back pockets. However, an increasing number of expats who returned home, are now relocating once again as they become disenchanted with the job and housing market in Europe.
With all of these expats jostling for a space in places like Dubai and Saudi Arabia, how is this impacting upon the opportunities available?
Dubai Skyline by rp72, on Flickr. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Opportunities for Expats
For starters supply and demand for jobs are not matching up and it is much harder to gain employment when you are competing against graduates from the top universities. Companies can be more selective about who they decide to take on, and head hunters are delighted about being able to choose from a wider talent pool. Those who are looking to move abroad should think about less obvious sectors such as healthcare and education, rather than banking and finance.
Additionally, anybody looking for a move back to their former overseas haunts might be surprised in that the remuneration packages are not as good as they used to be. Companies can negotiate harder due to the greater demand for jobs, and housing prices have suffered over the last few years.
There are of course still benefits attached for those heading to the UAE and similar destinations. In September 2013, Britain announced the addition of two British Business Centres in the Gulf – one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. These centres are designed to attract start-ups who want to make a name in the region, providing services such as hot-desk office space and practical support.
The bureaucracy surrounding setting up a business in the Middle East has become much easier to get around, meaning entrepreneurs who want to expand or start afresh can do so with greater ease. What’s more, there are plenty of international banks offering financial assistance and savings accounts.
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Additionally, in order to encourage expats to stay in the region, a Wealth Builder Plan was unveiled by one of the larger banks, allowing for future planning and pension schemes. Almost 90 percent of the population come from overseas, meaning demand for these services is ripe.
Many expats are now saying that they will not consider a return to their home countries. Starting a family in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is easy as long as you are married to your partner and with plenty of international schools offering a British curriculum, for example, it certainly looks like there will be expats clamoring to reside permanently abroad, despite gaining their education in Europe.
