OFW Life: Cost of Living in Dubai

On September 30, I will celebrate my 7^th year anniversary in Dubai. I still owe you a lot of stories about my life as an OFW or how I end up here in Dubai.

Some people were asking me if how much is my monthly expenditures for them to have an idea on the cost of living in Dubai.

Anyway, the currency we used in UAE is Dirhams (AED).  Dirham came from the Latin word drachmae which means handful. It was introduced on the year 1973 to replace the Qatari and Dubai Riyal (for all other Emirates excluding Abu Dhabi as they were using Bahraini Dinar). Dirhams are currently pegged in US dollars.

Life in Dubai is quite different now compared to when I first arrived here. Accommodation, food, transportation and DEWA service (electricity and water) were a lot cheaper way back 2006.

Let us compare my expenses from year 2006 versus year 2013.

 

source

Dubai in 2006

 

Year 2006

I was living in Satwa and got hired after 4 days of being on a visit visa status. The amount mentioned below was what my sponsor had asked me to pay to her (Housing / DEWA / Food – more stories on this on my next post).

Using Travelex Currency Conversion (a new discovery online), I just realized that living here in Dubai will cost you a lot:

Monthly Expenses	Cost in AED	Cost in USD	Cost in PHP
Housing	450.00	121.30	4,916.80
DEWA	100.00	26.96	1,092.62
Food	300.00	80.87	3,277.86
Transportation (Bus)	100.00	26.96	1,092.62
Miscellaneous (Grocery / etc)	100.00	26.96	1,092.62
Total	1050.00 AED	283.05 USD	11,472.53 PHP

source

Dubai in 2013

 

Year 2013

Now lives in Karama on a bed space in a partition room with 2 more girls. The flat is being shared by 14 people.

Monthly Expenses	Cost in AED	Cost in USD	Cost in PHP
Housing	750.00	202.17	8,149.66
DEWA	100.00	26.96	1,092.62
Food	700.00	188.69	7,648.35
Transportation (Bus / Taxi)	400.00	107.82	4,370.49
Internet	35.00	9.43	382.42
Miscellaneous (Grocery / etc)	400.00	107.82	4,370.49
Total	2385.00 AED	642.89 USD	26,059.03 PHP

 

To give you a much clearer view, the bus before was at 1.50 AED (0.40 USD) compared to 2.30 AED (0.62 USD) today which will also depend on where you’re going. The bus / Metro have a zoning area.

Taxi was also cheaper and we don’t have SALIK (toll fee).

For the accommodation, the price keeps on getting higher and this will also depends on the area where you live. My rent is quite low because I am sharing it with 2 other girls and room is really really small.  Average rent on a bed space is as follows:

 

Area	Cost in AED	Cost in USD	Cost in PHP
Satwa / Jaffliya Area	450.00 – 500.00	121.30 – 134.78	4,916.80  - 5,463.11
Deira / Muraqqabat /Rigga	600.00 – 700.00	161.74 – 188.69	6,555.73 – 7,648..5
Al Karama / Bur Dubai	750.00 – 800.00	202.17 – 215.65	8,194.66 – 8,740.97
Sheikh Zayed Road	850.00 – 1000.00	229.13 – 269.56	9,287.28 – 10,926.22
Al Barsha	800.00 – 850.00 AED	215.65 – 229.13 USD	8,740.97 – 9,287.28 PHP

 

This rate is based on the rent usually being paid by us Filipinos.

Even prices of basic commodities had increased. For example a 5 KG of jasmine rice in 2006 is at 14.50 AED (3.91 USD) but now it is at 32.00 AED (8.63 USD).

That my friend is the reason why we love sale and promotions at some grocery stores. We have to stock up detergents, dishwashing liquid, fabric conditioner, rice, cooking oil, and soap to be able to save some money and to send some in the Philippines.

As Dubai progresses the cost of living here also goes up which is I think directly proportional.  But still, I love and will always be grateful to Dubai as it had helped me reach some of my dreams in life.

While doing this post, I was also looking for some currency house who can give me the best rate for dollars and luckily I’ve found Travelex.  I’ve used their currency converter online for the cost above and it was so easy to use. I can automatically see the conversion when I start typing the amount without clicking any button.

See this:

 

 

 

 

Yay for that, I would definitely use this at work for because it is more convenient.

Also, I found out that you can reserve your foreign currency needs on their website and just collect it in their branch. Can I hear another big YES!!! Another advantage for us especially for travelers. I will definitely use this service because I am traveling soon. This means that I don’t need to rush to any currency house to change my dirhams to dollars as I can just reserve it online and pick it up in Dubai Airport Terminal 1 Departure area without any hassle.

 

 

 

They have branches at the following area:

Oasis Mall

Ground Floor, Inside Carrefour Super Market

Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai

 

Dubai International Airport Terminal #1

Baggage Hall, Arrival Area opposite Belt # 7 near Nero Cafe

 

Dubai International Airport Terminal 1

Departures, Concourse, Near Boarding Gate 122

Dubai International Airport Terminal 3

Arrival Hall Entrance # 2

Travelex A380

Dubai international Airport Terminal 3

Airside Departures, Concourse A

 

For more branches check out their website at: http://www.travelexae.com/

I hope I had given you an idea of the cost of living in Dubai.

 

**(photos from Google)**