Job offer.. need some advice

Hello rahgu_uncle and welcome to Expat.com

Maybe you should also take into consideration what else comes with the salary (extra benefits) such as: accommodation, school fees, transport, etc.

Hope this helps
Arlette

Thanks FeeAcer, I wish they include these benefits separately, but as I said, the salary is all inclusive, so no housing, school fees, etc. There will be a free return ticket for family to India once a year, and medical is also included, but that's same with both offers. 

By the way, which one you think is better? I have read somewhere that cost of living in Bahrain is less than Qatar, but not sure whether that's on its own is enough to jutify the salary difference.

Please advise.

Thanks!

Oups! wrote you a reply last night but for whatever reason it wasn't published

I was saying that I do not know about Qatar as I haven't lived there but for me Bahrain seems to be as long as you are respectful of the locals and their customs. Don't know about cost of living though as I haven't been there since more than two years.

Howeverm I'm pretty sure some other fellow members will soon come up with their comments!

Have a nice day further

Arlette

Thanks for your help Arlette!  I am also hoping to hear more from the members here. Have a nice day!

Hello Hello... I need some advice on salary, etc... please help!

I also wanted to know whether its possible to get a visa / residence for my family as part of with my work visa, and can employer arrange that as well. I undersatnd that for Qatar family residence could get 6 months from the start of employment, so what about Bahrain? I am currently renting a flat in Mumbai, and if family can move with me, then I will save my rental expense in India.

Please help this new member

Hey hey hey Raghu !!

Sorry for the "late answer" (2 days without reading the forum... must have been out of my mind :p )
It's not that easy to answer you ! To be accurate in the answer require to be an average Indian family who lived both in bahrain and Qatar ! 
What I can tell you for sure :

- French and English people I know who lived both in Bahrain and Qatar said Bahrain was more easy to live, especially for non muslim expats.
- I don't have a clue of the "average Indian lifestyle" but I think you can make a decent living in Bahrain with 1600 BHD. You can check the rents over the internet to know what you get for the money you plan on spending. As far as day to day life is concerned, the newspaper Gulf Weekly publishes every week the prices of some common items. Here are some for the week of the 14th of Sept. :

- Carots 1Kg ==> 0.445 BD
- Potatoes 1 Kg ==> 0.520 BD
- red grapes 1 Kg ==> 1.290 BD
- Garlic 1 Kg ==> 1.340 BD
- Milk al Maraj 2L ==> 0.950 BD
- Tea Lipton Yellow Label 100 bags ==> 1.330 BD
- Chocolate bar Nestlé Aero ==> 0.165 BD
- Baby powder J&J 200g ==> 1.290
- Shampoo Dove repair color 400ml ==> 1.370 BD
- Fabric softener Comfort 1L ==> 0.690 BD
- Powder milk Coffeemate 400gr ==> 1.170 BD


- As far as the visa thing is concerned, I'm afraid regulations are different according to nationalities 
Check with your employer but as per my experience, you have to live sometimes in Bahrain before you could bring your family there. I think that one or two month will be a minimum.
I suggest you check that point with your employer or you might find some useful information on the LMRA (Labour Market regulation Authority) website : http://www.lmra.bh/

Here it is... Hope this was useful !

regards

Olivier

Hi Olivier, that's very helpful... it was definitely worth waiting... thank you!

I will check with my employer about the family visa bit.

The prices are not that bad... and its good to hear that they get published in the paper as well.

Just one more question... how much you think I would need to leave for the accomodation... say for two bed room furnished apartment.

Thanks again for your help!

Hi again Raghu,

You're a man with tricky questions 
Again it depense on the level of service you expect. For two bed rooms you can find some old, sad flats for 100 BHD. If you want to go for some comfort and a nice building with some good "extras" like pool & so you'll have to spend more.
Maybe you'd get a more precise idea on the website bahrainpropertyworld.com you can select your price and the type of property you're looking for it's quite convenient.
Don't forget that the real estate market is quite depressed here and you usually can bargain easily.

Hope this will meet your expectations...
Have a nice day in Mumaby

Olivier