How much does having kids here cost?
I'm at a quite unique situation. Me and husband have been making a combined 60k/month (no kids) for the past 1 year and managed to save quite a bit. We are now planning to head back to our home country (a Nordic country), because it's our home and they have a much better healthcare and childcare system in place. We are planning kids in the very near future. We will both move back with no jobs but with a lot savings and a free house to move into (compared to Dubai where we need to pay a massive rent). I estimate that we will both find a reasonable job within 6 months back home (as in, enough cash to sustain a comfortable life but not nearly as much additional savings compared to Dubai).
My husband's contract here is now ending and mine is up for renewal. Contrary to the common Dubai sentiment, I love my job. I've proven to be quite irreplaceable and could ask for a significant raise. My job is very flexible and I can work from home 2-3 days per week.
The only scenario for staying here right now is that I would become the sole breadwinner and my husband a SATH/D. However, since we're planning to have kids, this would mean many additional costs such as a nanny, bigger house, lost wages due to maternity leave etc. (Note that a lot of this is free in our home country and we get paid maternity leave). My insurance is excellent though, so I don't expect many costs from there.
If you were me (us), what would be a salary that you would consider staying here? Many people tell me that Dubai is a great place to have kids, which I can imagine. However, my husband's earning potential will also "decrease" as he will be unemployed/SAHD for an unseen period. I'm also afraid that becoming the sole breadwinner while also having kids etc might make me stressed/unhappy/resentful etc.
Also, I know that we are very lucky people in this world at this time and age. I'm very grateful for our situation and I genuinely hope to get responses that would help up to make our decision. Either way, whether we will stay here or go back home, we will be happy with the result.
Posted Feb 16, 2017, 11:06 PM UTC · edited