How one Australian girl swapped Sydney’s hire disaster for a tax-free Dubai life-style

Dubai housing and living costs revealed

In Dubai, Ms Starkey now pays around $27,000 a year (66,000 AED) for a brand new one-bedroom apartment with a car park, new appliances, great amenities and a gym on-site.

“In Sydney, I was paying about $35,000 a year for a studio with no car park. The value for money doesn’t even compare,” she said.

She’s not planning on moving back to Sydney and Dubai now feels like home, but if she did choose to move back she feels like she can get ahead and save a lot of money in Dubai that could set her up to buy in Australia.

Her apartment was one of her favourite things in Dubai. Photo: Supplied

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She said groceries cost her between $60-$125 per week depending on what she got.

Ms Starkey also said that the whole first year of living in Dubai she barely paid for food out as there were groups and apps where women could eat free in exchange for social posts for the business to use for their marketing.

If she did pay, prices were similar to Australia or cheaper, for example breakfast may be around $40 while a high end dinner might set you back $80-140.

Why an Aussie woman earning $100k left Sydney

Before she left, she was forking out $675 a week for a studio in Bondi Junction with no car park.

After paying her steep rent, tax and bills, she felt like there was “nothing left.”

“I was working just to stay afloat. I felt capped at work, asked for a pay rise, got told no, and that was my breaking point. All I could think was … why am I doing this?”

She also felt bored by the Sydney lifestyle, and was single and said dating in the city was also a struggle.

“The dating scene in Sydney sucked. The night-life sucked … Everything was expensive. Fuel was expensive.

“Staying felt suffocating. So I left, because staying felt worse than taking the risk,” she said.

Life in Dubai. Photo: Supplied.

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She also wasn’t the only one and said more Australians were moving there due to the cost of living crisis.

“Australia has become too expensive and (Australians) are tired of just surviving. People want more money, more opportunity, more lifestyle, more excitement. Wages haven’t kept up, everything costs more, and people feel stuck.

“Dubai offers the opposite. No tax, better wages, cheaper rent, better opportunities, a better lifestyle. You can actually save money here and get ahead,” she said.

Ms Starkey knew someone living in Dubai who was travelling around the world and said she felt like they were “really living,” and she wanted to do the same.

Career and wages

Ms Starkey said the job market shifted quickly in Dubai and there were a myriad of opportunities for those willing to network and put themselves out there.

Not paying tax was also a huge benefit, she said.

“If you earn $100,000 in Dubai, you take home $100,000.”

The biggest challenges for Ms Starkey in Dubai were, however, around work.

“Workplace culture here can be very different from Australia. If you’re in a company with good structure and good leadership, you’ll be treated really well. I’m in one of those companies now and it makes a huge difference,” she said.

She said there were also better career opportunities. Photo: Supplied.

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“But not every environment here is like that, and some places run at a very intense pace. I’ve also experienced working extremely long days and weekends and feeling like I was on call all the time, and I’ve seen behaviours, communication styles and expectations that didn’t sit right with me.”

Lifestyle benefits

Ms Starkey felt like there were more work opportunities in Dubai and a better lifestyle.

“Dubai is exciting. People are ambitious. Success is encouraged instead of torn down,” she said.

“If you want to go out all the time and be in the foodie and night-life scene, you can. If you want a life of hikes, horse riding, wellness, Hyrox, pilates and early mornings, you can do that too.”

“Dubai is also built on convenience. Groceries arrive in 8 to 15 minutes. You can get new clothes delivered in two hours. Coffee, breakfast, anything you want shows up at your door in 20 to 60 minutes,” she said.

“People having nannies, cleaners and chefs is normal here, and it’s affordable. I even know people who have nannies just for their dogs.”

She also loved the lifestyle. Photo: Supplied.

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“Dubai can be as cheap or as bougie as you want. It really depends on the lifestyle you choose,” Ms Starkey said.

Tips on moving to Dubai

She recommended securing a job before making the move over, and if not she said it was important to be financially secure and have some savings before.

Updating your LinkedIn profile, joining expat groups, social and fitness groups was also helpful for work and social purposes.

She also encouraged others to reach out to recruiters, CEOs and founders for job opportunities.

“Every job I’ve had in Dubai came through word of mouth,” she said.

“You meet one person, they introduce you to someone else, and suddenly you’re interviewing 25 times in a week. That’s exactly what happened to me.”

Ms Starkey encouraged anyone who was interested to take a leap and do it.

“If you have the urge to move, trust it. You don’t want to blink in ten years and realise you never tried.”

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