Guestworkers. This was the name of the Greeks who, in the 50s and 60s, left their homeland and moved to Germany to find a job and a better life. Al-Younan. This is what the residents of the Emirates call the Greeks who are looking for better conditions and jobs in Dubai. And, as a sign of the times, if the guest workers were working in very heavy, dangerous jobs, like the mines, the Al-Younans are living rather dream lives, working in the most prestigious, most developed, most excessive, according to many, part of the planet.
Doctors, singers, pilots, flight attendants, chefs, engineers, moved to Dubai, being paid salaries, bonuses and benefits that in Greece, but also in the rest of Europe, look like something out of a science fiction scenario.
Somehow, this explains the fact that today there are more than 10.000 Greeks (about half of them are "organized" in the Greek community) living and working in Dubai.
The wave of immigration started during the crisis, but the truth is that it intensified and continues to intensify as the years go by. The cause remains consistently the same. Very competitive fees, which are a reason to leave the Acropolis (and not only, since many left jobs in Europe during the crisis) for the Burj al Arab...
Great demand
On Fridays, flights from Athens to the Emirates do not drop a pin. To find a last minute seat, one has to be very lucky. Young men and women go for the weekend in Dubai. Some for business, others for fun. It wasn't always that way, of course.
In Dubai, where once there was only sand, today extravagance reigns. At the airport, there is a row of mummified (!) palm trees and the famous golden palm in Terminal 3. This introduction to opulence, upon setting foot in the Emirate, is no accident. And this is proven in practice.
Dubai's doors first opened for doctors. The Emiratis quickly recognized the high level of training of the Greek doctors and began to "import" them.
More than 2.500 doctors have moved to Dubai in the past decade. With the salaries being much better than their Greek colleagues (for those who had, in the crisis, a job), but also with additional coverage, such as a luxurious place to stay and means/expenses of transportation, today several doctors work in clinics of all kinds in Arabic Metropolis, from pathologists to plastic surgeons and with their salaries starting from 10.000 euros per month and exceeding - depending on experience - 20.000.
The explosive growth of Dubai and its rapid rise to the financial capital of the Middle East (and beyond) quickly brought other specialties to the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Civil engineers, engineers, shipping and airline executives, began to flock to Dubai. The salaries were and are three times and more than the Greek ones.
On the… wings of Emirates
An Emirates pilot (in which more than 500 Greek men and women work) can get from 14.000 to more than 20.000 euros per month if he makes long haul flights. And tax-free - in Dubai there is no such thing - as well as coverage such as health insurance, paid accommodation and hotels, car, food and free tickets to Greece.
"Nothing is free", comments, however, a Greek pilot. The rewards given are not random, nor are they given to random people. The demands are high and only the best can meet them. It's not that you can only carry 400 souls, it's that if you stray even one squadron from the landing preset, you'll pay a penalty. If you do it again, bigger and, if it happens again, you just won't work.
Of course, this does not negate the fact that the working conditions and wages are very good. The co-pilot - who as a rule has several flight hours to his credit - gets up to 12.000 euros a month. Similarly, the flight attendants and caregivers, whose salaries start from 3.000 (for trainees) and reach up to 9.000 euros per month, go through hard training and have an obligation to be decent and follow specific guidelines for their appearance. But they have private insurance and a house in Dubai.
Many specialties
Specialists of all kinds working in the Gulf get good, very good salaries. A typical example are frogmen and engineers who perform work in oil wells and other projects that are paid not by the month, but by the hour. Because of the danger, but also the expertise needed, a month's work for them can take out years' expenses for living in Greece. And the permanent staff - engineers - of companies in Dubai are paid salaries starting at 7.000 euros, plus the coverage they agree upon when they start working there.
In the Metropolis of the Emirates, where billionaires and celebrities come and go, there are many good jobs for brokers. The investment advisor of a bank that has a branch in Dubai can be paid more than 20.000 euros per month, plus bonuses and benefits (car with driver, house and free flights), while brokers also do golden jobs... of a different kind.
The reason for helicopter and private aircraft brokers, who are 24/7 in a state of...alert, to book a helicopter or aircraft for their client's lightning move. The broker can be paid amounts exceeding 6.000 per hour for a flight, but he will have to "take care" of the client. From passports and luggage, transportation to and from the take-off/landing area, to accompanying the customer on the move to resolve any issue that may arise.
Jobs for… everyone
As the years pass and the relations of the United Arab Emirates with Greece pass from the level of alliance to that of brotherly friendship - after all, Arabs traditionally feel closer to Greeks than other Westerners, due to their related culture - so the number of compatriots increases us who commute to Dubai for work.
Traders - Greek agricultural products are popular there - executives of extroverted companies and emerging "minds" in the field of technology are rushing to take advantage of the opportunities arising in the Emirates. Even the NATO alliance has opened doors, as there are Greeks - citizens - who have moved to the Emirates as trainers of aircraft pilots and other specialties with salaries starting at 4.000 euros per month and with all expenses paid.
And, if the doors opened in Dubai with the Greek doctors, it is not necessary to heal… people. In the Emirates, the upper economic classes like exotic pets. Tigers, lions, leopards, wolves, hyenas, hawks, eagles, anacondas, are just some of the "pets" that many Emiratis have in their homes. And these exotic animals need care. For their feeding and well-being, specialized veterinarians are necessary. Many of them are Greek, as in Greek university veterinary schools they are taught about animals that do not exist in our country and capitalize on this experience, working in specialized veterinary clinics, with salaries starting at 6.000 euros per month.
Tourism - hospitality
There is a high level of know-how and experience on the Greek side in the field of hospitality and tourism in general and, thus, it is not surprising that thousands of our compatriots live and work in the field of tourism, which is showing explosive growth in the Emirati capital. An experienced hotel executive in Dubai is paid a salary in excess of 10.000 euros per month, a chef in a hotel can be paid 4-5.000 euros and in a restaurant, if it is "named", more than 9.000 euros per month.
And since the Greek community is constantly expanding, so are its "demands". Souvlakers - in Dubai everything is so glamorous that there are no souvlaki - Greek restaurants with bouzoukis and live performances by dance stars (after all, the Arabs also love Greek singers and djs), but also the most famous clubs of Mykonos open one after the other the other, giving a Greek touch to the nightlife of the Emirates.
There are also theater groups that stage Greek plays (such as "Daddy Don't Die Again Friday"), teachers (for the children of Greeks living in Dubai) and of course, a huge number of people from the tourism sector who work seasonally in the summer and holidays .
For the "big names" of nightlife and not only life, such as Nammos in Dubai, the receipts can even exceed 1,5 million euros per week. Which makes sense, when you consider that his clients include the Sheikh of Dubai and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to Stefanos Tsitsipas, superstars of sports and public life from around the world.
Life is not… for everyone
We said, nothing is free in this life. The wages are good and the benefits are terrible, but the cost of living is high. Oil - and fuel in general - in Dubai is extremely cheap. As water is to us. Correspondingly, however, water there is expensive, as oil is here. And, with more than 200.000 new worker arrivals per year (just 15% of the city's residents are Emiratis), it stands to reason that property is in high demand and, as a result, rents are rising.
For a three-room apartment, the average rent costs 2.500 euros, while the cost of living there in general is similarly expensive. To survive, with the cost of living there, one should have a salary that exceeds 3.000 euros.
An average family living there needs about 2.000 euros a month for the two-room house and about 800 to 900 euros for a supermarket. The electricity costs at least 200 to 250 euros every month in the summer due to the air conditioner and a little more than 100 in the winter. To these add about 800 to 900 euros for supermarkets and 650 euros for other expenses, such as daycare for the child. Depending on what kind of life someone leads, the prices of course change...
However, travel is cheap, as a result of abundant and cheap oil, but the lifestyle and living standards are high. With a population of over 3,3 million, Dubai has around 52.000 millionaires and billionaires living and working in the area.
The high concentration of wealth means crime levels are low and high quality services and shops are everywhere. In addition, although the official religion in Dubai is Islam, the Emirate is very tolerant of other ways of life, which is proven by the Greek Orthodox church that exists there. In addition, there is no taxation and bureaucracy, everything works as it should.
On the other hand, installing there is not a simple thing. One needs to issue a number of permits to do anything: Residence permit, work permit, new license (the European one does not allow driving there), permit to buy and consume alcoholic beverages.
It is taken for granted that upon arriving there, someone will pay... a tribute. This is what foreign visitors call the stiff fines imposed by the cameras for violations of the Road Traffic Code. Because, it's almost a given that he's racked up at least one speeding ticket on the roads of Dubai, admiring the… hordes of Maybachs, Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches that roll around there.
So if you're up for the job, get a good deal, and brave the heat – temperatures top 41 degrees Celsius in the summer, feeling like 50 – it makes sense that more and more people are singing "bye baby bye, I'm leaving for Dubai"…
Source: newmoney.gr