A Family Move to UAE!
The first thing on your mind should be to find a place to live. Naturally, the spouse with the UAE Working Visa can reach the country first before applying for a Family Visa. It would be recommended that He/She scout the city for accommodations basis place of work to shortlist choices.
You can find a wide variety of accommodations in UAE cities such as, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Ras Al Khaima, Sharjah, Ajman and Al-Ain. But keep in mind that Abu Dhabi & Dubai are very expensive in terms of real estate, compared to the rest of the cities.
If posted in Dubai, a lot of families end up renting accommodation in Sharjah or even Ajman and commuting to and fro. The flip side is that traffic is very heavy during office hours and getting a UAE driver’s license is also quite time consuming for newcomers. It can take up to a year to get one! So keep these things in mind when hunting for the right place to live! If you are in Dubai you can commute via taxi or metro until you get a Driver’s license. Please note that most parking spaces in Dubai & Abu Dhabi are paid parking.
The next on your list should be to find the right school for your children. The good news is that global curriculum schools are in abundance in the UAE and all types of Curriculums are offered in these schools from CBSE to A levels to the American system. Tip: it makes more sense to place your children in the same system as your native country, especially if you are in the UAE for a short duration.
So once you are settled in the city, the stay at home spouse can take out time to search for jobs, both full time and part time easily on Part Time Jobs in the UAE city.
Being an Islamic region, the weekends in UAE is Friday & Saturday. There is plenty of entertainment available for all! Parks and Gardens are aplenty in UAE and when the weather is nice, you can find everybody enjoying the greenery under date trees! During summer time (temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius so make sure everyone is indoors during the afternoons), the numerous malls and entertainment centers and movie halls are packed with people.
So in all probability, one can really enjoy life in UAE!