Cost of living in muscat

Hi Sumitran,
I have gone through all your above replies. Still for my satisfaction i have few things to ask you..
Currently I am working with reputed bank in india and have got an offer from muskat for 1000 OMR to be paid lumsum. Probation period will be 3 months where i will be paid 800 OMR. My job would be in sales field and company is providing Family visa, insurance, medical, Car and petrol will be provided from organisation and all other benefits as per omani labour laws. My family dependents are spouse, daughter studying in 1st Year CBSE, 2 year old son. My living standard is avg middle spending not so on levish life style. Looking for your view on how much can i save with 1000 OMR.

Hi kishor_wk,

Your biggest expense would go for housing.

So straightaway reduce a minimum amount of R.O. 300 / month for your house rent – for a 1 BHK apartment, or R.O. 400 / month for a decent (meaning new, well-maintained) 2 BHK apartment. You might get old, poorly maintained properties for lesser, but it is better to avoid such places as maintenance would prove to be a pain.

After school and transportation fee, monthly household upkeep expenses, and other costs like payment of utility, mobile, internet bills etc., and basis the kind of lifestyle that you've mentioned, I think you should be able to save about R.O. 300 / month.

Good luck !

Hi Mr. Sumitran,
First of all I must put my hats off for your such helping attitude. Now, I need your help, as from above posts, I think you would be the best person to show me the way. I hope you don't be bored answering the same type of question. I shall try to clear my needs below.
I have an offer of 1300 OR, company will bear the accommodation, and health only.

I have a family of four with one school going girl.
So, I shall need to know the expenses in the following areas:

1. Utility; I may need to run AC during summer
2. Transport; thinking of getting a car. What would be the adding cost of keeping a driver?
3. School; I would like my child to go to one of the best institutes in Muscat. But I think that is way too costly. Are there and good quality English school which costs less? She is reading here in class 1.
4. I would like to go out with my family twice a month on holidays.
5. I like foods prepared at home, basically subcontinent foods.
6. I don't have any smoking or drinking habits. I only like to have a comfortable life but do not waste money.

What do you think my expenditure would be?
Would I be able to save around 700 OR maintaining the life I want to live?

Hi sayeedkhan,

I'm sure the offer that you have from this company includes providing 1-month's paid vacation for you, plus return airfares to your native country for yourself and your family.

1.    In summers it is impossible to live without air conditioners.  It is a mandatory requirement. The combination of high temperature and high humidity makes Oman a terribly hot place in summers (which is usually from early April until early October !!!). However, the Electricity Bill won't go beyond R.O. 25 / month, even with the ACs on. During the cooler climes the bill would come to about half of that.

2.    In the Sultanate buying a car is very easy. But getting an Omani Driving Licence is not ! Driver's monthly salary would be in the region of about R.O. 150 / month. If you're planning on hiring a full-time driver, then you would also have to provide him with accommodation allowance, medical, annual paid holiday, medical, etc., just like any other employer-employee contract. You need to check the specifics with your local embassy.

3.    Given the huge number of expatriates here in Muscat, Schools for Asians are aplenty. There are 4-5 Indian Schools, a Pakistani School, a Bangladeshi School, a Sri Lankan School, and a Filipino School besides various Playschools. The overall quality of education in the Indian Schools is considered to be lesser here as compared to the Schools in India. The Sri Lankan School is supposed to be good. But do not know about the rest.

Given your lifestyle, I think you should be able to save even more than the amount that you've quoted !

Good luck !

Hi Sumitran,
I am Kishor, I was in forum for which you had replied.
My next question is my daughter is studying in 1st Std CBSE school in india. Do schools take admission in mid of acedemic year in muscat?
Regards Kishor

kishor_wk wrote:

Hi Sumitran,
I am Kishor, I was in forum for which you had replied.
My next question is my daughter is studying in 1st Std CBSE school in india. Do schools take admission in mid of acedemic year in muscat?
Regards Kishor

Hi Kishor,

Yes they do.

Moreover, you shouldn't face any problem since your daughter is only in the preparatory / early stages of her academic life.

Sumitran wrote:

Hi sayeedkhan,

I'm sure the offer that you have from this company includes providing 1-month's paid vacation for you, plus return airfares to your native country for yourself and your family.

1.    In summers it is impossible to live without air conditioners.  It is a mandatory requirement. The combination of high temperature and high humidity makes Oman a terribly hot place in summers (which is usually from early April until early October !!!). However, the Electricity Bill won't go beyond R.O. 25 / month, even with the ACs on. During the cooler climes the bill would come to about half of that.

2.    In the Sultanate buying a car is very easy. But getting an Omani Driving Licence is not ! Driver's monthly salary would be in the region of about R.O. 150 / month. If you're planning on hiring a full-time driver, then you would also have to provide him with accommodation allowance, medical, annual paid holiday, medical, etc., just like any other employer-employee contract. You need to check the specifics with your local embassy.

3.    Given the huge number of expatriates here in Muscat, Schools for Asians are aplenty. There are 4-5 Indian Schools, a Pakistani School, a Bangladeshi School, a Sri Lankan School, and a Filipino School besides various Playschools. The overall quality of education in the Indian Schools is considered to be lesser here as compared to the Schools in India. The Sri Lankan School is supposed to be good. But do not know about the rest.

Given your lifestyle, I think you should be able to save even more than the amount that you've quoted !

Good luck !

Thank you very much. That was really of help.

Sayeed

Hi Sumitran,

I am getting an offer of 550 Omani rials in muscat so just want to know how much i will be able to save with a comfortable lifestyle and whether its a good offer to accept .

nishant25 wrote:

Hi Sumitran,

I am getting an offer of 550 Omani rials in muscat so just want to know how much i will be able to save with a comfortable lifestyle and whether its a good offer to accept .

Hi nishant25,

I'm currently vacationing in Sri Lanka.

Will respond to your post on my return to Muscat, in early September.

Bye !

Hi,

You do need to double check school fees

I had my son (9 yrs) here for two years and the school fees (private school) were double that of my home country (South Africa)

Also school books tend to be expensive.

All this would be available on the net under the school address

good luck!

Hai Mr. Sumitran,

I have a job offer with a company in Muscat. They are offering me OR 450 per month + Fully Furnished Family Accommodation + Conveyance + Soft Furnishing + Utility Allowances + Free Medical Attention + Free school bus facilities for children  + Gratuity + Annual Bonus + Incentives + Free Air Passage for Family + Annual Leave.

Kindly let me know what would be normal cost of food for 2 people when prepared at home.

Regards,

chetanbr wrote:

Hai Mr. Sumitran,

I have a job offer with a company in Muscat. They are offering me OR 450 per month + Fully Furnished Family Accommodation + Conveyance + Soft Furnishing + Utility Allowances + Free Medical Attention + Free school bus facilities for children  + Gratuity + Annual Bonus + Incentives + Free Air Passage for Family + Annual Leave.

Kindly let me know what would be normal cost of food for 2 people when prepared at home.

Regards,

Hi chetanbr,

R.O. 450 / month in hand will be just about enough for you to lead a life without any bells and whistles.

Monthly provisions would cost you approximately about R.O. 150 / month. If you are careful, then you could control your expenses at even R.O. 100 / month. It's entirely up to you.

Best wishes !

Sumitran wrote:

nishant25 wrote:

Hi Sumitran,

I am getting an offer of 550 Omani rials in muscat so just want to know how much i will be able to save with a comfortable lifestyle and whether its a good offer to accept .

Hi nishant25,

I'm currently vacationing in Sri Lanka.

Will respond to your post on my return to Muscat, in early September.

Bye !

Hi nishant25,

Though I'm still on vacation thought I will give you my response.

Unless I know what this R.O. 550 / month includes / excludes I cannot give you any useful advice.

For example, if the house rent is going to be on you then it is not a good deal at all.

Also, what about the white goods, furnishing your house, etc ? If that is also going to fall on you, then I would suggest that you just forget about this offer.

If your company will take full care of you like provide you with a rent free company provided apartment and furnish it completely with a fridge, washing machine, bed, mattress, TV, etc., then you will be able to manage.

Else, it will become very difficult on you and will defeat the very purpose of your taking up employment in Muscat.

Take care.

Hi I'm Harshal from (City: Mumbai)India, I'm a Chartered Accountant by profession and I've got this opportunity to work in a CA firm in Muscat, they have offered me 700 O.R inclusive of all expenditures. According to them my cost of living would be as follows;

Accommodation: 75 on sharing
Travelling: 50
Food: 50
Miscellaneous: 25

So the total comes to 200.

They have told me to get a car on rent and that would cost me 50 OR per month, is this figure true? . Also can you tell me the petrol price in Muscat.

My main reason of coming there is 'savings' but  I don't wanna compromise on my lifestyle and want to enjoy!

Can you please give some guidance.

Also I would like to mention that I'm a 26 years old guy so would like to enjoy my life there as much as possible. And ya I'm pure vegetarian and I don't consume alcohol or tobacco so that might also help in savings I guess!

Thank you very much.

Hi Sumitran,

   Myself Ganesh, I am in Engineering Sales, I got offer of 800 RO with company batcheor accomodation, Car, Petrol, Mobile, Laptop. Only food charges i have to take care. My life is not lavish, Please guide me what will be the food expense in oman per month & how much i can save per month. Please guide.

Ganu_Mech31 wrote:

Hi Sumitran,

   Myself Ganesh, I am in Engineering Sales, I got offer of 800 RO with company batcheor accomodation, Car, Petrol, Mobile, Laptop. Only food charges i have to take care. My life is not lavish, Please guide me what will be the food expense in oman per month & how much i can save per month. Please guide.

Hello Ganu_Mech31,

I can give you a ballpark figure of how much food cost will be in Muscat for a month.

But I cannot tell you how much you can save out of your monthly salary ! That's entirely up to you.

However, if you read through my numerous other responses on the same subject you will get the drift.

Regarding food here is some information :

You could opt for the parcel service through any of the numerous Indian / South-Indian restaurants in Muscat.

For 3 meals a day the rates vary anywhere between R.O. 32 – R.O. 35 per month.

For 2 meals a day the rates would be around R.O. 26 – R.O. 28 per month.

Rates outside of Muscat would be lesser.

Best wishes !

Thank you very much Mr. Sumitran for your prompt response. So roughly i can save 700 RO per month is it right?

Dear Sir/Madam,
My husband has been offered a job in Muscat for 500 OMR a month. The company is also providing a one bed room apmnt and a car .The medical insurance for my husband is covered by the corporate but he needs to pay the premium for the spouse and child.We have a middle class south-indian life style and we do not spend much on entertainment.I have some questions regarding the cost of living and such-
1. We have a young child(to be admitted to LKG next academic year). How much fees do Indian CBSE schools charge?
2. We have to pay for the utilities- water, electricity,telephone etc, how much would they amount to?Do veg/groceries cost a lot?
3. I am a preschool/playschool teacher.I intend to look for a job there. How much do kinder garden teachers get paid, generally?
4. Can we save at 1/3rd of our income? We do not a have a extravagant lifestyle.
Thanks,
Ruhi agarwal

ruhiagarwal wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam,
My husband has been offered a job in Muscat for 500 OMR a month. The company is also providing a one bed room apmnt and a car .The medical insurance for my husband is covered by the corporate but he needs to pay the premium for the spouse and child.We have a middle class south-indian life style and we do not spend much on entertainment.I have some questions regarding the cost of living and such-
1. We have a young child(to be admitted to LKG next academic year). How much fees do Indian CBSE schools charge?
2. We have to pay for the utilities- water, electricity,telephone etc, how much would they amount to?Do veg/groceries cost a lot?
3. I am a preschool/playschool teacher.I intend to look for a job there. How much do kinder garden teachers get paid, generally?
4. Can we save at 1/3rd of our income? We do not a have a extravagant lifestyle.
Thanks,
Ruhi agarwal

Hi ruhiagarwal,

(1)    Monthly fee for LKG would be between R.O. 25/- to R.O. 35/- depending on the school you choose, excluding transportation. Transportation cost every month would depend on the distance and whether it is pick-up and drop, or just drop service, as you choose. Initially for registering your child the school would charge a one-time fee of about R.O. 100/- to R.O. 150/- again depending on the school of your choice.

(2)    Utility bills would come to about R.O. 20/month for electricity and water. Telephone bill would as per your usage. Pre-paid would work out better for you as you don't have to waste on the monthly rental fee of R.O. 3/month levied for post paid connections. Vegetables and groceries for a small family would come to about R.O. 75/- to R.O. 100/month.

(3)    Kindergarten teachers make about R.O. 150/- to R.O. 250/-per month depending on their experience. Usually for new recruits the amount would be closer to the former than to the latter. But landing a job might prove to be a bit of a challenge since the supply is greater than the demand.

(4)    If you live conscious about ‘saving' money, then I'm sure you should be able to put aside more than what you've projected.

Usually when companies provide an employee with family status it is invariably including medical facilities for the employee and his family of wife and 2 children below 18 years of age. Perhaps your husband should ask for a full family medical insurance. It will hardly cost the company anything.

Trust the company is providing all of you with annual airfare at least.

Good luck !

Dear friends,
I want to know how much money is enough to earn for a couple in Muscat.
I am engineer. control project expert.
I want to live simple. not high class. economic life is ok for me

please guide me.
I have to negotiate for monthly salary.

Thank you my friends.

arsalan.j wrote:

Dear friends,
I want to know how much money is enough to earn for a couple in Muscat.
I am engineer. control project expert.
I want to live simple. not high class. economic life is ok for me

please guide me.
I have to negotiate for monthly salary.

Thank you my friends.

Hi arsalan.j,

A good amount to pitch for would be R.O. 1,000/- per month nett salary in hand, complete with the company providing you with furnished accommodation, footing your utility bills, transportation cost, et al.

If it's going to be a gross salary, then ask for at least R.O. 2,000/- per month.

Annual paid vacation with return air ticket and medical cover for employee and family must be provided by the employer as per the Ministry of Manpower rules. Nothing to be negotiated there.

Good luck !

It is advisable to all the new expats to mention their job catagory (e.g Teaching, OilGas / Engineering, Accounts&Finance, any other) as well before asking the cost of living or the salary advise.

It basically clarifies the people who answer your questions.

schaz wrote:

It is advisable to all the new expats to mention their job catagory (e.g Teaching, OilGas / Engineering, Accounts&Finance, any other) as well before asking the cost of living or the salary advise.

It basically clarifies the people who answer your questions.

this advise makes sense, because it would be different for a salary living expectation of an engineer from a teacher and so on.
Also quoting your present salary makes sense to reply. e.g. if you are offered 1000 RO, but are already earning 12 lakhs (which a 30+ qualified IT/Engineer/MBA) earn these days- then no point taking the trouble of making a shift for no real salary difference.
Ideally speaking, as Senior memebr Sumitran says- a qualified MBA/IT/Engineer of mid 30s family person should quote at least 2000/2500 RO as gross salary. Not less.

hi all,

i just want to know that is it 300 RO is a good salary for me. I am a fresher and bachelor. can i save something from it?

rahulryan wrote:

hi all,

i just want to know that is it 300 RO is a good salary for me. I am a fresher and bachelor. can i save something from it?

hello

300RO not enough
better to look for more pay

respected sir,
they are giving me with accomodation and 300 ro.

rahulryan wrote:

respected sir,
they are giving me with accomodation and 300 ro.

what about breakfast,lunch and dinner they will provide it for u or not??
and transport from accomodation to ur work office?

300 RO you wont be able to manage single persons requirements. You would need at lease 750 RO plus office transport plus furnished house.

respected sir,
I am fresher thats why they are giving me less salary well waht do you think there is good future for fresher i am b.tech in e&c and mba in marketting

300 RO is not for fresher B tech + MBA salary. It should be 900/1000 RO for a B Tech + MBA fresher.

respected srinirajan,
If there is any opportunity for me please let me know.And please guide how can i apply for the company in uae and oman through india.Thanks for your reply.
Thanks and Regards,
Rahul kunmar gupta
[email protected]

rahulryan wrote:

respected srinirajan,
If there is any opportunity for me please let me know.And please guide how can i apply for the company in uae and oman through india.Thanks for your reply.
Thanks and Regards,
Rahul kunmar gupta
[email protected]

Rahul!
bro, ur a fresher with no experience. You should not at all consider any savings at this stage and grab the opportunity that is knocking your door.  Your company is giving you accommodation. This is a blessing to u. Trust me! People are literally struggling to get an opportunity. Its good to gain an experience to start ur career. You still can save 100 rials from this salary.

Focus about the next 5 years and then plan your career. Don't think about any savings at the moment. A brotherly advice for u!

Cheers!

RESPECTED SCHAZ,
Thanks for your suggestions i really appreciate it but many other said that its a very costly country.

rahulryan wrote:

RESPECTED SCHAZ,
Thanks for your suggestions i really appreciate it but many other said that its a very costly country.

Offcourse its a costly country and none can deny this. All those comments and suggestions are for those people who are having their families/priorities and secondly, they are joining with a relevant experience (Or ill rather say mid career). For you, since having no experience at all, the basic task should be to grab an opportunity to enhace your expertise to the next level. Trust me, if you're a dedicated and matured enough to understand your needs and living, you can easily carry on yourself in 100 Rials (Inclusive of food/entertainment). What else you require when you don't have a worry of accomodation ?

End of the day, the decision is purely on one's own wish and noone can superceed the same!

Regards,
Shabbir.

at 300 RO and no house or transport, you may have to sleep under the tree at night and take bath in the sea every morning. alternately, try and get at least 750 RO plus house and transport.

srinirajan wrote:

at 300 RO and no house or transport, you may have to sleep under the tree at night and take bath in the sea every morning. alternately, try and get at least 750 RO plus house and transport.

I would suggest you to talk "SENSE". May be you had started your career long ago as a FRESHER with 2500 OMR (Or even more), but not everyone can. So please, if you can't be supportive, don't advise too.

hi

Can any one guide me ,  I got offer 2400 OR (which includes housing) ,  Is it  good offer  to take ?  i have  son  who is  5th std  ,  what wud be cost of school admin + yearly fee +transport .

nwpr wrote:

hi

Can any one guide me ,  I got offer 2400 OR (which includes housing) ,  Is it  good offer  to take ?  i have  son  who is  5th std  ,  what wud be cost of school admin + yearly fee +transport .

it is very good offer
for more info about Indian school visit this link

http://www.indianschoolmuscat.com/htm/contact.php

and u will get every things  about  Indian school

You will be able to manage a decent living in 2400 RO with family and one school going son. Your id says you are from Seria ?!? Is it Syria ? In that case you are moving to a better living place as well.