COST OF LIVING IN AL RAS KHAIMAH

Hi Nadia and welcome to Expat.com!

I invite you to take a look at the different threads of the forum, as it may give some ideas to you.

Harmonie.

Hi Nadia,

I've been living in RAK for more than 2 months now. And was surprised how quite and cozy this emirate is.

RAK is nothing like Dubai or Abu Dhabi, so if you are expecting big shopping malls, skyscrapers and complex transportation systems then this is not the city where you want to be.

However, it is cheaper than any other emirate in UAE. for example transportation here is mainly by cabs and you may need like 20-30 AED a day to move between your work, residence and shopping centers (that if you live far from work).

Now if your employer offers you the accommodation, transportation from and to work as well as daily meals, then 1,300 are quiet fine to cover clothes, shoes, cosmetics, hairdressing and traveling costs. Yet, it's really hard to save some money out of that.

All in all, it depends on your life style, if you are used to drive your own car back home, buy from brands and do your hair very often, then 1,300 is not enough. You may need up to 3,000 in that case.

Should you have any other questions, please let me know.

Hi,

Thanks so much for responding!

I really appreciate the information you provided, it was really helpful

How much does AED 1,300.00 work out to be in United States Dollars? Do you know the exchange rate?

With regard to the cosmetics, do the shopping malls have brands like Revlon, L'Oreal and Neutrogena?

Also, what is the cost of traveling from RAK to Dubai?

I don't know if you may know this one, but what would the average montly salary be for a Training Manager in the Hospitality Industry for an ex-pat.  The job I was offered was a Training Manager in a leading hotel chain.

Thanks again and I look forward to your supply.


Kind regards,
Nadia.

Hi plz help me to take a decision...to accept the offer

I have got an offer of 11500 AED per month (all expenses included
). Cost of living in Rais Al Khaima???
Have a family ( wife and 2 yr old child)... How much i can save there??? please suggest me ???

senthil.prabhuvp wrote:

Hi plz help me to take a decision...to accept the offer

I have got an offer of 11500 AED per month (all expenses included
). Cost of living in Rais Al Khaima???
Have a family ( wife and 2 yr old child)... How much i can save there??? please suggest me ???

Hi guys
All depends what is in the package...

Housing, medical etc... All these things cost extra. If you're bringing family do they pay for them or you? If you have to sponsor their visa and pay school fees again starts getting expensive.

Read the contracts carefully.

I don't know about trainers in hospitality but 5000 seems standard here but also is a low salary for a professional. Check the small print. You're not going to get a lot of trips into Dubai on 5000 a month. Do they pay your flights home? How many holidays do you have? Think about all these things. And ASK! Read everything, go online look at exchange rates and compare it to home. Yes it's tax free but what are you responsible fir paying for. Also will your accommodation be shared? Some people come out and share apartments with up to 10 others. Make sure you ask these questions before you make a decision.

Hi

I am planning to shift to RAK from India along with my wife & one 4yr old KG going kid.
1. Kindly give an idea for average expenditure per month. Someone has told me that max 5000 AED will be sufficient per month including rent, education allowance etc.
2. My wife is MCA. Is there any scope for my wife to get job there? I mean school teachers etc?
3. Which are the best schools available at RAK.

Kindly help in resolving my queries.

Good morning Akhil1982,

Some of your questions have already been answered earlier above, did you get a chance to read previous messages and browse RAK's forum?

Regarding your wife the best is to Google RAK's schools and check out their websites. They all do have a Careers section where she can apply directly.

The best school in RAK is RAK Academy where mostly all expatriates send their kids. This is the link on my Dropbox to a document that shows their fees.

Regarding Indian schools, I am not aware unfortunately but I know for sure there is at least one.

Hope some other members will be able to give you more information.

Good luck and have a nice day further.

Who told you AED 5K per month is adequate to cover rent and schooling?  It is obvious they have no idea of the value of AED or the costs in UAE.  This amount is not enough for even a single person, forget about medical, family or schooling.  Do not think of taking offers like this, as you will seriously suffer.
There are Indian schools in RAK.
Getting employed in UAE is a mix of need, luck and a few other things.  Qualification and experience are the last in the list.

Normally housing, schooling and medical care should be covered by the employer as well as airtickets to take employment and at end of contract and annual leave airtickets for family.
All depends on how well you can negotiate your contract

As for salaries, we all know the general policies of companies in the Middle East and all depends also on the position, the candidate will have in the company.

With regards to the cost of living, it is in general difficult to discuss about it as all depends on your personal needs. I know for sure that our family needs around 10 to 15.000 for general needs per month (food and drinks, housemaid, garden maintenance) but we don't count when it goes for food, so...

Thanks for your ind reply. I have following query:

My company is offering me AED 12500 + 400 Child education allowance per month. Now a days what is the cost of living per month in RAK.

It will be very helpful , if you can provide break up as per below details:

House rent for 1 BHK (Descent location)
Any other charges like electricity or others associated with house
Child education expense for KG  class
Monthly expenditure on Grocery items etc

Waiting for your reply to decide further action.

Thanks
Akhil

Hi Akhil,

As I said before, normally companies are housing their employees so the costs involved are to be paid by them but you could have a long at this website for some ideas on the prices (you may check out the areas with Google maps. You might also want to look at the housing section
here on expat-blog if any ads suit you

Regarding electricty costs, all depends where you rent. In Al Hamra Village for example, we are on generators and costs of electricity and water are much higher than in town.

As for schools, you could have "Googled" to find the list of Indian schools in Ras Al Khaimah. Click on this link and contact each school for more information

As I said before, it is difficult to give you monthly expenses in grocery items, because we don't all have the same needs: we are spending between 10 to 15 thousand a month but than again you might eventually have enough with 5 thousand.

There is a hypermarket here in RAK which attracts a lot of Indians for shopping. You might want to have a look at their weekly brochure to have an idea of prices.

Hope this will help you make a decision.
Best regards

Dear Nadia

Assalamualikum

Welcome to expat. Life in UAE is not simple and easy as it seems. 5,500 AED is nothing here.

In Rasal Al Khaimah you will find a studio room like 2500 AED per month or near about this.


Salary is also not much. It would be better for you to search bed space with some good ladies in your desired destination. That would be cheaper for you but it would end at the disturbance of your privacy.

If you have some realitives over here do ask them to arrange and give favor to you. Else it would be problem for you being a lady.


Ali

Hi Ali,

How kind of you, living in Sharjah, to respond to questions on Ras Al Khaimah!

However, you respond to a message which is a bit outdated (January 2012). Maybe it's better to respond to more recent posts if you know the answer to the questions asked.

Have a nice day further

Hi

So sweet of you to correct me. My mistake not to see the date. Actually i've lined in all areas of UAE almost.

So how are you doing buddy and what is new with you.

Ali

Hi everyone, I am a Filipino and currently has an offer to work for a government office as an auditor for a monthly salary of 11,000 AED (inclusive of everything). Considering all expenses (i.e. accommodation, food, transportation, monthly groceries and a little bit of shopping) would it be possible for me to have a monthly savings of 5,000 AED? I am single and it is fine with me to stay in a room. Thanks!

Hello Elijah and welcome on expat-blog

Cost of living is a very difficult question to answer as, depending on our origins and way of living, we all have different needs!

With regards to accommodation, a lot of Asian expats are sharing accommodation which reduces the price of this point but is normally illegal in UAE. Here in our community a studio for 1 person costs around 40000 AED (fully furnished) per year which is a bit over 3.300 per month but in town you might be able to find cheaper than that.

Taxis are quite expensive in UAE and food I really don't know as again we have different habits re cooking. I have already seen prices in take-aways of 10 to 15 AED for a Philippino dish.

Sincerely I hope there are Philippino's in the group who will be able to give you more details.

Have a nice day
Arlette

Myself Jittu Philip.I am from India.

I have got a job offer from Julphar Pharma [RAK].They are paying 7000 Dhrms/month.Kindly suggest , is that salary sufficient for me to make monthly saving of 3000 dhrms/month.The company is providing accommodation. I am planning to shift my family after 3 months.

Greetings Elijah and congratulations on the job offer.
I expect you will be working in the city at the government offices so check out Dubizzle.com for room sharing in RAK city which my friends pay between 800-1250 Dhs a month. Taxis within the city are fairly reasonable (20Dhs for a 10minute journey) there is also public transport. Grocery shopping at the fruit & vegetable market and fish market is more economical than Carrefour or Spinney supermarkets. It's worth shopping around as depends on what you are used to Elijah. As a single person I would say living off 6,000Dhs a month is acceptable.

Hi people,
From previous posts I've gathered a great deal of knowledge before I make the commitment of moving to RAK.

Still have a few questions if anyone could please shed some light?

I've been offered a job in RAK on a starting wage of 18,500 AED per month...I'm moving over by myself but have a small family back home..will this be enough to sustain me per month?
I will be looking to rent a room or flat share whilst I'm there and travel costs will be minimal as I will be car sharing. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :-)

Hello Aaron and welcome
Congrats on the job offer which seems to be a good one, considering you will be alone in RAK. I only hope that your employer included a fully furnished accommodation in the terms of your contract seeing that rents are hiking very much everywhere in UAE in view of World Expo 2020. Sharing accommodation is normally forbidden by law in UAE.
You have to count on about 35 à 45000 AED a year for an unfurnished studio in Al Hamra Village which might be less in the centre of RAK. For the rest all will depend on your way of living, food, leisure activities etc.
But you should be on the safe side and be able to send some money back home.
Don't hesitate to contact me for further information
Arlette

Cheers Arlette ;-)
I was under the impression that I could rent a room or flat, with other occupants? If this is not the case then looks like I've got some negotiation to do with my future employer to include accommodation :-)
My ultimate goal is to get well developed in RAK and eventually bring my family over.
Can you suggest any car companies that will do long term hire? Al Hamra village is fairly close to the company, so that would be ideal logistically. Also, would save a few pennies on fuel per week, even though the fuel prices over there are fairly cheap :-)

12.5 k is enough to live in RAK with small family in modest small flat. Some of these expats have maids gardeners etc. so also do not understand the real cost of living in UAE. My husband and I live just down the road in UAQ and spend about 2000 a month on rent, electricity and water for a 2 bedroom bungalow with a yard in an OK area...not an expat area but it is safe and well maintained. We travel to dubai relatively often (maybe 3 times a week about 150km round trip) and we spend maybe 300-450AED a month on petrol. Schools I can't help with but looks like the company is covering that anyway.
Food shopping we spend about 1000 AED a month, thats for 2 of us and we are quite carnivorous. 

12.5k per month is good. People on expat forums generally can't remember what it is like to shop around for the best deal, or shop at a super market that is not spinneys or choithrams. We live, 2 people on less than 5000 AED a month and we can still go to the cinema, go out for cheap meals, the occasional beer.

Hi Aaron, I did send a reply but for some strange reason my response has not been published
I will send you information on the car rentals via pm as we cannot publish ads here on the group.
Cheers
Arlette

Hello to all. I am thinking of moving to RAK from Dubai. Tired of the buildings and would like to be someplace a little quieter. I was wondering if anyone in RAK can tell me if the utilities are expensive or what the average for a 1 bedroom apartment would run me a month. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Regards,

Nick

Hello All
  I have get an offer of 4700 Dhr. in ras al khaimah. This salary sufficient is enough for living there . The accommodation will be given by company and  Food and other expenses will be bare by myself .
  I am planing to shift the family after one year and all the expenses is in my scope .so request you to please suggest me the Food expenses and internet expenses .

HITESH84 wrote:

Hello All
  I have get an offer of 4700 Dhr. in ras al khaimah. This salary sufficient is enough for living there . The accommodation will be given by company and  Food and other expenses will be bare by myself .
  I am planing to shift the family after one year and all the expenses is in my scope .so request you to please suggest me the Food expenses and internet expenses .

Hi..

Hello..Can anyone suggest about cost of living in Ras Al khaimah. I got an offer in well reputed private sector company.
AED 11,000 is ok with the family relocation, spouse and small daughter?

Thanks in advance..Have a nice day..

Hi,

I am considering moving to Ras al khaimah by Aug'14. I would like to know what are the house/flat/studio rents like in RAK. I don't intend to live in Al-hamra.

Thanks!
Sam

it is AED 25000 to 30000 per year in good locations.

You could try this site for cost of living www.numbeo.com

a 4-5 bed room house on one side of the city costs somewhere between 18000-24000 per year. A 3 bedroom house on the other side of the city costs about 35000-45000 per year (closer to the city center).

sunaina.b wrote:

a 4-5 bed room house on one side of the city costs somewhere between 18000-24000 per year. A 3 bedroom house on the other side of the city costs about 35000-45000 per year (closer to the city center).

Thanks for the information! Which area / part of the city do you mean that ranges between 18 - 24K?

sam_4_RAK wrote:

sunaina.b wrote:

a 4-5 bed room house on one side of the city costs somewhere between 18000-24000 per year. A 3 bedroom house on the other side of the city costs about 35000-45000 per year (closer to the city center).

Thanks for the information! Which area / part of the city do you mean that ranges between 18 - 24K?

Nakheel, arbi shabia, mahmourah, mareed and rams

Hi FeeAcer,

I have received a job offer and need to have some information to take a decision. Company pays for health insurance, accommodation tickets and school for children. I will come with my wife and 2 children, 5 and 9. Salary 13.500 UAD. Is that salary enough to live and save some money monthly in RAK?

Please help me with this since it is a hard decision to make.

In what area of the city do the expats leave? Is there a safe and decent place besides Al Hambra?

Jorpas wrote:

In what area of the city do the expats leave? Is there a safe and decent place besides Al Hambra?

Please note that this topic concerns only the cost of living in Al Ras Khaimah. I will advise you to post your questions about security in Al Hambra by creating a new thread in order to avoid drifting off topic.

Thank you,

Priscilla 

Hi i am from Trinidad. How is it in RAK for teenagers?  Can they date? My son is 16 and likes to go out with his friends.