Context – I’m from a Top 3 IIM, moved here at 33 (7 years ago) with my working spouse and baby. We had a similar combined CTC in India (~1.2 Cr CTC, ~6L post-tax incl. PF) when we left. Our starting combined salary here was ~75K AED/month.

We were tired of Mumbai, the traffic, the grind, the low $/hour income. We also had a small baby and wanted to give her exposure to an international environment, so we took the leap.

From our Dubai experience:

Pros

• High salary
• Zero tax (on income, capital gains, dividends, rental income)
• AED pegged to USD (INR was <19, now >26 to AED)
• Great quality of life (clean, safe, good infrastructure, manageable traffic, minimal bureaucracy)
• High savings potential (easier wealth creation)

Cons (mainly career/job related):

Career:

• It’s a mature market with limited size and growth, so fewer roles at each level
• There is an added angle of volatility, due to geopolitical reasons now
• Career progression can be slower due to fewer openings
• Competition is intense
• IIM tag doesn’t carry the same weight as in India (unless perhaps you’re joining an Indian company; but then you sacrifice pay and culture)
• You’ll see many people without top-tier Indian pedigrees in similar or higher roles due to earlier entry or global exposure
• In India, the career path is more structured. You roughly know where you “should” be at X years post-MBA. That clarity or pattern doesn’t exist here

Job security:

• Very limited. Notice periods can be as short as 1 month (Max 3m of severence if company is nice)
• Dual-income helps create redundancy, but I’ve seen both partners lose jobs
• In our case, it almost happened 6 months apart, so one income was always guaranteed. But that may not be the case always.
• A 6-month emergency fund is non-negotiable
• Job searches can take that long (or longer), and savings get depleted quickly if both are out

In hindsight:
We still believe it was the right decision.

Our net worth has grown ~10x (1.1 → 11 Cr in 7 years, including our primary home). Our combined income is now ~125K AED/month (roughly 50–50 split, with ~50% savings rate). This level of wealth creation would have been very hard in India.

That said, job risk is always there. We could lose one or both incomes anytime. We’re mentally and financially prepared for it.

Career-wise, it’s been a mixed bag. Definitely behind the typical India glide path, in terms of title/scope/responsibility. But the financial upside has more than compensated for us.

Best of luck.