Abu Dhabi employees in fix over losing Dubai life | Reuters

Abu Dhabi employees in fix over losing Dubai life | Reuters:

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Buildings are seen at Sowwah Square on Marayah Island in Abu Dhabi's 

new central business district May 7, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Ben Job

When American Stephen Perry lost his job at a bank in Dubai following the emirate's debt crisis in 2009, he was lucky to be hired by one of neighboring Abu Dhabi's government firms.

He didn't move house, so it didn't disrupt his wife's job or the kids' schooling, despite the daily 130-kilometer (80 mile) commute each way. That was still better than the nearly 200 kms he used to put up with in the United States, and he considered it a price worth paying to keep the liberal, cosmopolitan lifestyle in Dubai.

But now Perry is in a dilemma and might not be able to manage the commute after all.

Last September, Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven Gulf emirates, told state employees that if they lived outside its city limits they would not be eligible for housing allowance, which accounts for about a third of their salaries."

'via Blog this'