I love you, Q5!
Meanwhile, time has been messing with my brain. It's driving me crazy. I like to think that I'm a carefree, spontaneous, and patient person who's ready for anything but in all honesty I'm not. This waiting game, this not knowing when I'll be departing for the UAE is killing me. I feel like a sea otter floating in the ocean, not knowing what danger lurks beneath me or what treasure awaits my discovery. Sometimes I feel there is so much to do but so little time to do it. At other times the urgency to pack and get ready is missing. Time seems to be moving slowly but passing quickly all at once. If the limbo in the Inception was real, I'm in it.
Reading others' blogs, watching YouTube videos, and researching information on forums have proved to be extremely useful. I learned that getting an international driver's license is pointless when you arrive with a visa in the UAE so save your $15 or $20. It's probably best to just utilize the cheap cab fares to get around Abu Dhabi in your first month or so there until you get your resident visa and local driving license. Other things to consider and accomplish in your home country before leaving it include:
1. Purchasing VPN service to couple with your local internet connection in the UAE if you want to watch your home country's television shows and movies via Netflix, Hulu, etc. I've heard that Witopia, Astrill, and StrongVPN are decent providers with relatively reliable connections while PureVPN and others are not.
2. What electronics to bring with you and what adaptors, converters, transformers, or power strips you'll need in order to utilize your items in the right voltages - thus not frying your precious straightener, curling iron, or computer!
3. Downloading Skype in your home country and setting up an account before you leave. From what I understand, Skype is no longer banned but Apple's FaceTime and other VoIPs continue to be restricted.
4. Make a plan for your money. Yes, a plan for your money. How much money in the form of cash or Visa gift card will you bring with you to the UAE? Where do you plan on exchanging your home country's currency into AED (UAE's dirham)? At a currency exchange or a bank? (Either way don't use the ones at the airport.) Do you plan on using your debit card to punch out dirhams at an ATM? If yes, do you know the various fees for such transactions? With TCF Bank (available mainly in the Midwestern states of the US), there is a $5 international ATM fee + the local ATM's fee + "3% on the amount you withdraw" fee. Plus TCF has a $520 withdrawal cap per day. Assuming that I take out the max, $520, in one transaction, the fees will total to about $25. Sad but necessary, unfortunately.
5. Then there is the wiring of your money to ponder. Your employer will likely have you set up a local bank account and pay you in dirham. Let's say you didn't squander all your money on fancy trips and things and actually put away 50% of what you earn each month. By the end of the year, you have a nice hunk of money in dirham in your local piggy bank. But then your little piggy in the US needs some lovin' too so now you need to wire some money into it by having your local bank converting the moolah from dirhams to dollars and then depositing it. This will once again cost you in fees. There will be a fee from your UAE bank, I'm assuming equivalent to $15, AND a fee from your home country's bank, also around $15. My plan is to wire the max once or twice a year to cut down on fees.
As you can see ladies and gentlemen, doing your homework, having a plan, and managing your finances are crucial to fattening your wallet. So make sure you communicate with your bank and ask, ask, ask away!
Finally, if you haven't thought of it already, make sure your mail is going to the right places, bills have been arranged to be paid, and certain accounts and services that you will no longer be using in your home country have been closed out. All logistics and technicalities aside, don't forget to spend some quality time with your love ones and give out plenty of x's and o's!
