🌍 Dubai or Houston, what I saved in each and which one I'd pick now

People back home keep asking which country is best for earning, so here's my answer from two of them. I worked in Dubai for four years in IT support and networking, then moved to Houston in 2020. The US salary was almost double and everyone at home thought I'd hit the jackpot. In Dubai there was no income tax and the company paid a housing allowance. I shared a flat in Al Barsha with two colleagues and could fly to Hyderabad for a long weekend. I saved close to 40 percent of my salary. The downside was it never felt permanent, every renewal felt like it could be the last. In Houston the salary looks great until tax, health insurance and rent come out. We need a car each, and when my son was born the hospital bill was a shock even with insurance. For the first two years I saved maybe 15 percent, less than in Dubai on a smaller salary. It only evened out after a promotion and my wife starting work. What the US gives us is the feeling that we can stay and the kids can grow up here. A cousin in Riyadh saves more than all of us, but he's planning to go back to India soon. If someone single asked me, I'd say the Gulf for the first few years. With a family and a long term plan, I'd look at the US, Canada or Australia, and check the visa path first. Where are you working now, and how much do you really save there?

Sir, if earning well is the only goal, there are good chances in India too. Not everyone has to go abroad. With some new ideas, hard work and patience, a business here can pay as well as a salary outside.

My cousin in Austin says the same about the salary looking double on paper. Rent and health insurance take almost 3,000 dollars a month from him, so he saves less than his friend in Sharjah. I asked if he regrets moving. He said no, but he wishes someone had shown him this math before he signed the offer, and he still sends me his monthly numbers.