Here in the UAE they use Dirham or AED. "Since November 1997, the dirham has been pegged to the 1 U.S. dollar = 3.6725 dirhams, which translates to approximately 1 dirham = 0.272294 dollar." Wikipedia
Just for some examples of things you might buy at the grocery store and the cost, dirham vs. dollars:
Small tub of "I can't believe It's Not Butter" is 11 dh/ 2.99 dollar
12 oz jar of Peanut Butter is 8dh/2.18 dollar
Cooking spray is 14.95dh/4.07 dollar
Nesquick Choc Cereal is 12.50dh/3.40 dollar
Box of Oreo's is 14.20dh/3.87 dollar
Bottle of creme soda is 2.75dh/.75 dollar
Loreal Haircolor 43.25dh/11.78
I think most of the things we buy are comparable to the prices in the US. But some things are very different. For instance, we are looking for a place to rent for the next 3-5 years. All of the rentals require a years worth of rent up front. Isn't that crazy???!! So say our budget is 120,000dh/about $33,000 (and this a small budget comparatively). For that amount,on the island, we can maybe rent a small one bedroom that is about 800-900 sq. ft. Off the island, maybe a two bedroom. Most of the apartments that we have looked at are in high towers and fairly new. For our desired area on the island, we will probably have only a one bedroom :-( But we are still looking and I am hopeful that a two bedroom is out there just waiting for us to scoop it up. The household things that we are shipping should be here, on a slow boat I might add, at the end of February so we have until probably the beginning of Feb to find something. Non Emirates (or expats) cannot purchase any properties on the island and just a few things off the island. From what we have seen, they haven't seemed all that worth it and are VERY expensive. Isn't that crazy!! I have never heard of a place that requires a years worth of rent and I'm not sure how people do it. I guess like us they have a company that assists. There are also pockets of areas where certain ethnic groups live, i.e. Polish, English, Italian, Chinese, etc. So just like in other big cities, we feel most comfortable with those who can speak our language, eat our kinds of foods and like the same activities that we do. Next week, we start looking for a car to either lease or buy so I don't know the prices of those but will soon I guess. Hope that gives you a little idea about the cost of things. Oh, and they have an Ikea! But no Costco :-(
Just for some examples of things you might buy at the grocery store and the cost, dirham vs. dollars:
Small tub of "I can't believe It's Not Butter" is 11 dh/ 2.99 dollar
12 oz jar of Peanut Butter is 8dh/2.18 dollar
Cooking spray is 14.95dh/4.07 dollar
Nesquick Choc Cereal is 12.50dh/3.40 dollar
Box of Oreo's is 14.20dh/3.87 dollar
Bottle of creme soda is 2.75dh/.75 dollar
Loreal Haircolor 43.25dh/11.78
I think most of the things we buy are comparable to the prices in the US. But some things are very different. For instance, we are looking for a place to rent for the next 3-5 years. All of the rentals require a years worth of rent up front. Isn't that crazy???!! So say our budget is 120,000dh/about $33,000 (and this a small budget comparatively). For that amount,on the island, we can maybe rent a small one bedroom that is about 800-900 sq. ft. Off the island, maybe a two bedroom. Most of the apartments that we have looked at are in high towers and fairly new. For our desired area on the island, we will probably have only a one bedroom :-( But we are still looking and I am hopeful that a two bedroom is out there just waiting for us to scoop it up. The household things that we are shipping should be here, on a slow boat I might add, at the end of February so we have until probably the beginning of Feb to find something. Non Emirates (or expats) cannot purchase any properties on the island and just a few things off the island. From what we have seen, they haven't seemed all that worth it and are VERY expensive. Isn't that crazy!! I have never heard of a place that requires a years worth of rent and I'm not sure how people do it. I guess like us they have a company that assists. There are also pockets of areas where certain ethnic groups live, i.e. Polish, English, Italian, Chinese, etc. So just like in other big cities, we feel most comfortable with those who can speak our language, eat our kinds of foods and like the same activities that we do. Next week, we start looking for a car to either lease or buy so I don't know the prices of those but will soon I guess. Hope that gives you a little idea about the cost of things. Oh, and they have an Ikea! But no Costco :-(
1 comment:
That is crazy! Hoping that you'll be able to have everything work out for you. Thinking of you guys.
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