 Hi guys, you are watching OxyVlogs and if this is your first time here and you would like to know more information about life in Dubai, don't forget to hit subscribe button and notification icon so you won't miss anything. And today in this video I want to give you an update about cost of living in Dubai in 2018. As you know, VAT was implemented in Dubai since January 1, 2018, so the prices went up. And if you are planning to move to Dubai, keep watching this video so you will have an idea about how much money you should earn in order to live well in Dubai. Let's start with an accommodation as it will be one of your biggest expenses. So some companies in Dubai provide their employees with an accommodation, especially if you work in the hospitality, but most of the companies don't. Accommodation allowance is usually a part of your salary. So if you just moved to Dubai, if you haven't got a job yet, I advise you to start with renting a room or a bed space. The starting price for a bed space is 800 dirhams and for a room 2000 dirhams. And all utilities and internet are always included in that price. If you want to rent your own apartment, you should know that you will be asked to sign a yearly contract and you have to pay by cheques for an apartment. The minimum amount of cheques is usually 4, but sometimes you can negotiate with your agent or landlord and agree on 6 or even 12 cheques. So the starting price for a studio in Dubai is 25,000 dirhams for one bedroom apartment, 35,000 dirhams and for two bedroom 50,000 dirhams. But if you want to live in a prime location like downtown, Dubai, Marina or Jumeirah legtowers, the prices here are much more expensive. You can visit the Beazle and property finder websites and there you can get a better idea about prices on the market. And also you can compare different options based on multiple criteria. Now let's move to utility costs. So as I said, if you rent a room or a bed space, you don't need to pay for water, electricity and internet. It's already included in the price. But if you rent your own apartment, you have to pay for all these things by yourself and the average bill for utilities if you live in a studio will be around 650 dirhams. And for the internet you will pay around 350 dirhams per month. Now let's move to transportation. There are several options to choose from as to your mode of transport in Dubai. A part of walking. First determine if you need a car. I advise you to try and wait for the first month until you are settled down to buy your first car. If you need a car for your work or if you have a family or you live far away from your workplace, I advise you to rent a car for the first month to adapt to the local roads and driving habits. If you live close to the metro station and your workplace is close to the metro station, I advise you of course to take a metro because it's convenient and cheap at the same time. And here are the average prices on transportation in Dubai. The next biggest expense is food. There are so many small grocery shops across the city and you can find them in many residential towers. Also there are quite a lot of supermarkets and restaurants in Dubai where you can get your food. Many restaurants deliver their food and actually Dubai spills people a lot because you can get delivered almost everything to your apartment. But if you want to save some money or if you are on a budget, I advise you to cook at home rather than eat outside. So now let me give you the average prices on groceries in Dubai. And here are the average prices in the cafes and restaurants. If you are moving to Dubai with kids you should know that kindergartens and schools are very expensive here. Just to give you an idea, kindergarten full day will cost you on average 2500 dirhams per month. And the primary school will cost you 44000 dirhams per year. So just imagine it's like you are paying for an extra apartment. And if we are talking about some leisure and sport activities, for example the price for a cinema ticket is 40 dirhams and monthly gym membership is 350 dirhams. In Dubai almost every tower has its own gym and it's free for the residents. So you can go there as well. So guys this was the cost of living in Dubai in 2018. I will leave the links to some useful websites in the description below, check them out and if you have any questions leave them in the comments below. I will be happy to answer them and thank you for watching, I will see you in the next video. Bye-bye.