Thinking of moving to Dubai...

[jaylin]

I am really impressed (and appreciative!) of the amount of wonderful, helpful information on this site. I am a secondary (high school) teacher in Australia who is discussing with my partner a possible move to Dubai. He is an environmental engineer who would also be seeking employment. We would love to find out as much information as possible about how to get started - we don't even know where to begin! Is there an agency that helps teachers find jobs OS? Do we find jobs before we go, or save up a bit of cash and then just wing it? My cousin worked as a teacher over there (we've yet to hook up to discuss his version of things...) and he and his wife had a car, a maid, a massive house and an alarmingly active social life with other expats! So it is a little contradictory to other experiences I have read about on this forum...
I am a bit concerned about the amount of conflicting info we have heard - some people can't rave enough about the opportunities presented to them in the Middle East, but others are miserable and desperate! We need help to figure this all out!
We'd love to hear from ANYONE!
Thanks
Jaylin

[julio]

I don't think there're many problems for teachers getting jobs. My girlfriend's a primary teacher and after a quick look on expatwoman she got a bunch of connections in various schools. You'd want to get here for the start of the school year in September, though.

What exactly do you mean by "environmental engineer"? I'm in a similar field and know it's a very broad term that means different things in different countries, but if you can tell me what he does I may be able to offer some advice.
Thanks
Julio