Relocating to Bahrain

It is a very generic question and the answer is tailored to your lifestyle / priorities.  In addition, we don't know what you make currently after tax, what is the level of your current savings and what are the factors you are looking for in Bahrain (i.e. size / type of accommodation, buy/lease car, lifestyle etc.). 

Generically speaking, for overseas roles, the rule of thumb is:

1) Is it a positive career move for you in the long term? 
2) Are your net take home savings higher vs. where you currently are?   (assuming that you factor in the loss of your wife's income and the potentially higher living costs in Bahrain)

If the answer is yes, then by all means.

There are many threads on the cost of living in Bahrain so I would advise you to do a quick calculation on your own first.

Hey Xtang,

I've been following your contributions to forum during recent months since the relocation thing came up. So i'm a bit familiar with the cost of living in Bahrain. But the answers and questions are varying to lifestyles.

Let's talk about my lifestyle in TR. Our current net household is about USD 2100 total, and house rent is costing us %20 of this amount. We have our own car.  We were able to make savings about USD 200 / month during the last year. We're always going out on weekends and eating outside during weekends. We were having at least 2 vacations every year and one is always going abroad.

It's also a career move for me as i'm jumping to managerial role.

My aim is to have an average life, not surviving. I also want to make some healthy savings, at least 1000 USD per month.

Could it be possible with that salary package?

So 20% house rent @ $2100 works out to be around 160 BD.   And you are saving around 75 BD per month.

You haven't mentioned your category of accommodation but lets assume a 2 bed apartment in a decent expat friendly location (and a good building).  That would probably be Juffair, Amwaj or Seef.  That would set you back anywhere between 400 to 550 including EWA.   

Eating out with drinks every weekend could be up to 200 a month.  Groceries, let's say another 200.  Car lease or purchase, depending on car, could set you back 2-300.  Vacations might end up costing, say up to 2000 BD a year or around 167 BD a month.   So doing rough calculation even on the higher side of this, you should fulfill your goal of saving $1000.   

That's just a rough estimate, could be up or down.

Hey Xtang,

Thanks for your feedback and answers. Could you please let me know about the rent prices? Does all inclusive mean all of the EWA will be covered by landlord or is there a limit?

In addition, how does it work to rent a house? How much i need to pay in advance?

All inclusive means EWA up to a limit, non routine maintenance and municipality fees.   Usually the limit is 50-60 BD a month for houses and 20-30 BD for apartments.   

On houses it varies; you have to go through an agent or look for direct ads on the net.  In most cases, you pay 1 month as security deposit and then rent is as you go (if you get a good deal).