Hi, from an American in Dubai

[billman]

Hi everybody,

Just joined. I have been enjoying all the threads especially the ones on retiring abroad.

About Me:
I am a 26 year old expat living in the hustle and bustle of Dubai.
-Salary, 70k USD, tax free plus bonus+ full international health insurance, plus airline ticket home every year.

-Roth IRA,(vanguard) around 35k so far, maxing out yearly of course

-Offshore Pension Scheme-Royal Skandia- 7kUSD so far invested in high growth mutual funds, Non-USA, this is a monthly deduction scheme 500 USD.
-Monthly expenses, varies 3-5k depending if I decide to travel somewhere.(rent is expensive, but I am not convinced that the housing market in Dubai has such a booming future, holding out on that a bit, possibly good deal for retiree's as you get a residence visa automatically if you buy a property)

-Rest of salary going towards my Global Trading Etrade account/Savings

-Future plans, 2 years more in Dubai and move with Fiance(European) to UK or to France, possibly Singapore or New Zealand. Still debating

That's me. If your curious about Dubai, it's a pretty crazy place, amazing watching a city being built day by day, summer's horrible, but besides that it's sunshine everyday.


Cheers,

Billman

 

[Sandman]

I am not convinced that the housing market in Dubai has such a booming future, holding out on that a bit, possibly good deal for retiree's as you get a residence visa automatically if you buy a property)

I have been living in Dubai for nearly three years and I definitely agree with you about the Dubai housing market. It all seems to be driven by private investors hoping to flip housing and make huge profits - which many have done during the past five years. However, with literally tens of thousands of housing units coming on the market in the coming year – the market could crash. I rent and have no intention of buying real estate here. In fact, I just bought a house in Colorado and plan to ER there in 2009.

Dubai is a fascinating & crazy place. It is fun to see it develop around you - the scale of ongoing projects is mind blowing.

 

[bssc]

Welcome to the Boards

Living overseas is interesting, I spent 14 years in Asia as a kid. Sounds like you are saving lots, which is good. We look forward to your contributions.

 

[billman]

The problem for me is not knowing where I want to live in the future. I could definitely afford a property in Florida where I am from, but I am looking to other places. For some reason I am drawn to southern France, Switzerland, New Zealand, and even Lebanon(some real bargins there now). I guess getting on the property ladder is a big step when you are a nomad.

 

[Eyerishgold]

I watched a documentary on the Discovery Channel recently called "Impossible Islands". It was fascinating to see how they built the Palm Islands and the islands of The World.

What a great place to live!

 

[billman]

I have a couple of buddy's living out there. They like it especially the beach actually turned out quite well.

That's nothing, wait till they finish this:

The World



Already on there way with something like this:

The Island of Ireland - Overview - Dubai :: Gowealthy.com