Thank you all for some great insight and advice on the salary topic. This discussion has ventured into other areas like housing and schooling, which has been doubly-helpful, so thanks again.
Many on here expressed concern about housing and school costs. Those were also my main concerns from day 1, and to some extent, still are. A I said, the company shall provide housing allowance and school reimbursement for the kids, and through my research, I believe the amount I'm getting will cover 100% of those costs. I could eventually choose to live in a better house or in a better location, and have to cover the difference from my base salary. That decision can only be made once I find out how much of my base salary is left after all other expenses are covered.
Some here see the glass half full while others half empty, and I appreciate the diversity in opinions. Different lifestyles amongst the members here will usually yield varying opinions. The consensus here however is that with housing and education covered, my expenses should realistically not have to exceed 10K/month with moderate spending. Some expenses like home internet, mobile phone, and gym membership are also covered by the company, so that should help even further. I am also getting a car allowance, which should take care of one car in the household.
Answering some of your questions:
@CDN - You bring some fanatastic points. I would certianly be missing out on my 401(K) contributions from my employer right now, so yes that would be something to consider. I tried to offset that part of the equation with the end of service payment in Qatar. Another great point you bring up are taxes. Taxes are part of my equation, although I believe for FY 2015 the first $105K earned out of the US are not taxed. Although a smaller hit compared to the tax liability while working here in the US, it's a liability nonetheless and should be considered.
@QUFac - You are correct that spending knows no limits. You can probably easily spend all 20K or more on clothing, toys, electronics, entertainment, eating out, etc, and we could probably spend just as much here in the US, but we don't. Not because we can't but because we wisely choose not to. If I can live a comfortable life in Qatar with my family for around 10K/month, and put the rest in savings then I would be happy with that.
@QUFax - Nursery is not covered. Child has to be atleast 4 years for school allowance to apply. Both of my kids are older than 4, and we do not plan on having any more kids. However, things don't always go as planned :)
Thank you all for some great insight and advice on the salary topic. This discussion has ventured into other areas like housing and schooling, which has been doubly-helpful, so thanks again.
Many on here expressed concern about housing and school costs. Those were also my main concerns from day 1, and to some extent, still are. A I said, the company shall provide housing allowance and school reimbursement for the kids, and through my research, I believe the amount I'm getting will cover 100% of those costs. I could eventually choose to live in a better house or in a better location, and have to cover the difference from my base salary. That decision can only be made once I find out how much of my base salary is left after all other expenses are covered.
Some here see the glass half full while others half empty, and I appreciate the diversity in opinions. Different lifestyles amongst the members here will usually yield varying opinions. The consensus here however is that with housing and education covered, my expenses should realistically not have to exceed 10K/month with moderate spending. Some expenses like home internet, mobile phone, and gym membership are also covered by the company, so that should help even further. I am also getting a car allowance, which should take care of one car in the household.
Answering some of your questions:
@CDN - You bring some fanatastic points. I would certianly be missing out on my 401(K) contributions from my employer right now, so yes that would be something to consider. I tried to offset that part of the equation with the end of service payment in Qatar. Another great point you bring up are taxes. Taxes are part of my equation, although I believe for FY 2015 the first $105K earned out of the US are not taxed. Although a smaller hit compared to the tax liability while working here in the US, it's a liability nonetheless and should be considered.
@QUFac - You are correct that spending knows no limits. You can probably easily spend all 20K or more on clothing, toys, electronics, entertainment, eating out, etc, and we could probably spend just as much here in the US, but we don't. Not because we can't but because we wisely choose not to. If I can live a comfortable life in Qatar with my family for around 10K/month, and put the rest in savings then I would be happy with that.
@QUFax - Nursery is not covered. Child has to be atleast 4 years for school allowance to apply. Both of my kids are older than 4, and we do not plan on having any more kids. However, things don't always go as planned :)
Vincent