Thursday, August 30, 2007
Be careful what you wish for!
Updated: Well, obviously, nothing is ever as good as it seems, LOL!!! Hubby only gets 4 weeks vacation, I don't know where the heck our friend got the idea of 40 paid holidays!!!, and there is no way we will be banking anywhere close to what I posted below. In fact, at this point (4 months in) we are still just trying to get caught up on paying off debt. Still, we are enjoying life and the opportunities living in the Middle East brings.
If you've read my blog for any length of time (heck, I've only been doing this for a few months - you probably have had cheese in your fridge longer than you've been reading this blog!), you know that one of my primary goals in life is to move out of South Florida. After planning moves to both Colorado Springs and then Knoxville, I'm still here. Following our recent trip to Tennessee, we planned on next considering either Jacksonville or Gainesville. Until now.
We are seriously considering moving to the United Arab Emirates, a small country on the Persian Gulf. This came completely out of the blue following an email from a colleague of Hubby's who has recently moved there. It would really be an amazing opportunity for us - salary almost triple what Hubby makes now, 5 weeks paid vacation, 40 paid holidays, full medical coverage for the entire family and paid-for tickets for the family to come back to the States every year. On top of that, there is no income or sales tax there and the first $80,000 is non-taxable to the U.S. We might be able to bank over $70,000 a year.
Plus it would be a wonderful opportunity for the kids to be able to experience a different world - a new culture and language. With the large amount of vacation time Hubby would get, we could travel to Europe and explore the world. We'd also be nearer to Hubby's side of the family, including a sister who lives about an hour from where we are thinking of. It would be a temporary situation, since we'd want to return to the U.S. once Emily is ready for college in about 5-6 years, but what an amazing few years it would be!
Here's a picture of Dubai, the city we are looking into:
If you've read my blog for any length of time (heck, I've only been doing this for a few months - you probably have had cheese in your fridge longer than you've been reading this blog!), you know that one of my primary goals in life is to move out of South Florida. After planning moves to both Colorado Springs and then Knoxville, I'm still here. Following our recent trip to Tennessee, we planned on next considering either Jacksonville or Gainesville. Until now.
We are seriously considering moving to the United Arab Emirates, a small country on the Persian Gulf. This came completely out of the blue following an email from a colleague of Hubby's who has recently moved there. It would really be an amazing opportunity for us - salary almost triple what Hubby makes now, 5 weeks paid vacation, 40 paid holidays, full medical coverage for the entire family and paid-for tickets for the family to come back to the States every year. On top of that, there is no income or sales tax there and the first $80,000 is non-taxable to the U.S. We might be able to bank over $70,000 a year.
Plus it would be a wonderful opportunity for the kids to be able to experience a different world - a new culture and language. With the large amount of vacation time Hubby would get, we could travel to Europe and explore the world. We'd also be nearer to Hubby's side of the family, including a sister who lives about an hour from where we are thinking of. It would be a temporary situation, since we'd want to return to the U.S. once Emily is ready for college in about 5-6 years, but what an amazing few years it would be!
Here's a picture of Dubai, the city we are looking into:
You can see it's a very modern city. In fact, from everything I've read, it's a wonderful place to live - very child-friendly, extremely safe, politically neutral, very Westernized. It seems to be a huge resort place for Europeans - like Vegas without the gambling. They even have an indoor ski center!!
While nothing is set in stone yet, there is a lot to think about if we were to move forward with this plan. There would be a lot to work out. Please pray for us for wisdom and for God to either open or close the doors, as He wills. I have to admit, this isn't what I had in mind, but it would be really exciting!
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7 comments:
Ah, is this the reason your kids are learning Arabic this year?
Wow. Colorado Springs, Knoxville...or Dubai. That's quite the selection!! I take it your hubby's company is international? What a huge decision! How will the rest of your family take it? I will be praying for you -- I can't even imagine making such a huge decision. (We had enough trouble deciding to move 6 hours away from both our families -- and we've been planning to move back ever since we did!!)
But thank goodness for the Internet! I'd LOVE to learn about life in exotic Dubai and European travels!!
WOW! What a decision! I will be praying for you. How exciting!
Tammi, it is not going over too well with my mom, but I'm sure she'll adapt as it comes along. She's handling it better than I thought she would, actually. And, no, Hubby would have to look for a new job as his company is strictly local. But the demand in his field is high there.
And rest assured, I'd keep you all very up-to-date about any exciting finds!
Lori, I will pray that you will be lead in the direction that is best for your family. But this is going to make our loop get-togethers a little more difficult...LOL.
I hear a lot of great things about the place, but would being so far from the US and families be difficult? That's a huge decision, I don't envy you!
Amy R. : )
I can relate of wanting to leave South FL...I would go if we could! I ran across your blog by searching through a few others that I read...sorry to just post and run, but was wondering if you are close to me. I would love to meet a sucessful homeschooling SAHM. I am a new SAHM and people think we are crazy to homeschool in our area of south FL. I am in fort myers.
i have friend that lives there with her family for similar reasons. if you want another contact there, just let me know.