re: Living in Dubai?

quote:

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Also be aware that in order to be a bona fide expat you have to spend 330 days (this figure may have changed) abroad.

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That's 1 of 3 options

Option 2) Out of the US for a consecutive 6 months
Option 3) You have residency in a foreign country where you pay income tax

If you hit 1/3 your first ~$92,500 is tax free. Then you can start writing off tons of stuff like your car and housing. You really do end up making much more.

ETA: For the OP, I lived in Kuwait for 1.5 years and hated it. We would jump down to Dubai to go party though so it made living over there somewhat bearable. Now I live in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and love it. It's crazy what a little bit of green scenery and a cold beer can do to change your perspective of a place.