Moving to a big 4 audit firm in Bahrain @ 1600 BD pm. Need advice!

Regarding housing , well you can get apartments starting from 200 BD !

A descent furnished apartment with 2 bedrooms can be between 280-400 BD !

Some locations are costly !

Regarding a car , as your kids are still young , I guess you're gonna spend a while in Bahrain , maybe 5 or 10 years ?

So better by a car instead of leasing one !

My opinion 

It's so hard for us to give advice around costs and whether X salary is enough. Plus what is a "decent" lifestyle?
A decent apartment can be between 400-600BD / month depending on area, the more decent the area the higher the rent.
A decent car, not cheap to rent, again not sure what you classify as decent? I'm renting a Kia Rio and paying 200BD / month ....even if you buy your monthly repayments would be this or more depending on what car you buy.
So that's already about 700BD gone out of your salary.
A good school you could be paying up to 2000BD or more / year which means with work paying 75% you'd be paying about 200BD / term out of your pocket. Most schools run on 3 terms here. Even preschool is costly unless you go for the cheaper options, which one can't guarantee will be very good. That will double once your 2nd child gets to school age.
Add in grocery costs and day to day expenses. You'll save but may not be as much as you'd hope.
1500BD all inclusive salary is not much to be honest even with 75% fees thrown in, especially when you're saying you want a good lifestyle with a family of 4. Some compromises may have to be made.
Again it's hard as I have no idea what your idea of "decent" house/car/lifestyle is so I could be wrong.

gunner757 wrote:

A descent furnished apartment..........
So better by a car instead of leasing one !

BUY * , Decent *

Sorry , I guess I didn't have my coffee


I agree with fchaudari76 , here apartments go high till 800 BD
But in some places even villas are available for 500 BD !

Check this out , you can know the prices of apartments Housing Classifieds


You can get cars leased on 160-200 BD per month , depends on the model , year etc !
You can even buy a car on cash for 4000-5000 BD if you don't wanna lease a car

It's all relative.
We still don't know what your definition or decent is.
Start looking online to see prices of places you deem suitable bahrain property world is a good site to check out.
Check out prices of cars on dubizzle bahrain
Most preschools have their fees on their sites.

SameerAzam wrote:

Hi everyone!

I'm a Chartered Accountant and currently working in a Big 4 audit firm in Karachi, Pakistan. I've been offered a salary of BD 1500 in Bahrain by the same Big 4 audit firm. This salary is all inclusive [i.e. accommodation, travel, etc]. However, children school fees is reimbursable up to 75%.

I'm married and have two children. One is 2 years old and the other one is only 2 months old. I plan to move with my family. I plan to live with a decent life style [2 bedrooms apartment and a decent car].

Need advice if all of this is possible in this salary keeping my family in mind? I have three days to accept the offer.

Short answer to your question - go ahead and accept the offer. I know my response is late, but if it helps, take my advise. Best wishes.

More than the cost of living, please factor in the working conditions in the big 4 here in Bahrain.
I have a few friends who are in big 4 and have hectic 10-12 hour days most of the month.
Do speak to other colleagues who may have joined prior to you for more details.
When I first came to Bahrain, I was offered a package similar to yours and managed nicely.