Much has been said about the joys and benefits of living the expat life in Dubai. The sun shines almost every day of the year, the shopping, leisure, sporting and entertainment facilities are world-class, and best of all - the salaries are tax-free. Of course, there are hassles and annoyances associated with living here, but for an increasing number of people these are outweighed by the positives.

However, with Dubai's dizzying growth and rising popularity, the expat experience has changed in recent years. Whereas once it was easy for an expat to walk into any job, nowadays more competition means that employers can be more choosy. And with so many candidates from all over the world looking for a slice of the action, who have equal qualifications and experience, salaries are dropping. That said, because of the continuing expansion there are still plenty of opportunities, particularly in the engineering and construction sectors.

The cost of living is on the up too, with rents in particular seeing significant increases over the past couple of years. To make it worthwhile you may need to hold out for a good expat package with housing, schooling, and medical expenses all included. These generous packages are not as common as they were. Before jumping on the first plane, test the job market by sending some emails to potential employers and monitoring the overseas appointments pages and recruitment websites.