Find Budget Accommodation
I’ve thought of not posting any COVID 19 updates about Maldives, since everyone can get an update from news sites. So from this post I’m sharing with you about the accommodation situation in Malé city. Hope this post will useful for the people who are planning to move and work in Maldives, specially in the city of Malé.
Apartment Complex in the city of Malé
As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, Malé is densely populated capital, with narrow allies and roads where mostly all the buildings are squeezed with each other. Since Malé is the capital hub of Maldives, almost all the companies do hire qualified foreigners to work in their companies. These job openings are not only limited to resort related employments but in other sectors as well. If you are qualified enough, you can find a good employment in any sector in Maldives.
Once you have been selected for a certain job, other than the salary you have to get a confirmation about your accommodation facility in the city. If you are hired for a resort job then you do not have to worry about accommodation as you will be given accommodation facility within the resort. But if you are working in the city then get a clear idea about the accommodation facility. If the company is providing you free accommodation facility which operates by the company itself, then ask the HR department or the recruiter to share clear photos of the facility. This is because some of the accommodation facilities provided by companies are not up to the standard, to put it in simple way those are in a mess; hygiene is zero, facility is not painted in ages, bathroom facility you can’t even look at them, I don’t think even a beggar should live like that. You can’t even think of cooking by using those kitchen facilities. But do keep in your mind most companies do care about their foreign employees and provide them proper accommodation facilities, be wise to grab an opportunity form a company like that.
If the company is telling you that they will provide you certain amount of money as an accommodation allowance and asking you to find your own accommodation facility, then you have to check few accommodation facilities online, compare the prices before agreeing to certain allowance. This is because most of the companies are providing a living allowance including for both food & accommodation. Once you remove certain amount as your food allowance the rest will not be enough for you to manage as the rent for the accommodation. Do keep in your mind that you have to pay deposit of minimum one month when you are renting an accommodation facility. Food you can manage with a little amount if you do your groceries at bazar or cheap stores. But rent in Malé city is unbearable.
Most of the companies provide living allowance of MVR 6,000 which equals to USD 400. I’m talking here in general, but if you are going to Maldives for a post higher than a middle manager then you will get a good package, don’t worry. But for other foreign employees this will be the starting living allowance. If you spend the whole MVR 6,000 you can barely get a small room from a shared apartment. That room will consist bed with mattress, wardrobe and attached bathroom facility. Other facilities like kitchen, washing machine and living room you need to share with other roommates. Well for a person living alone this is a good deal, if the other roommates are not so fussy or intimidating. But if you are planning to live with your partner, then it’s a worse thing to live in a tiny room where you need to share utility bills and other facilities. Especially when it comes to utility bills, when you share with few others you will end up paying few extra bucks as you cannot exactly measure your usage, since you are getting one utility bill for the whole apartment floor (one apartment floor will have one electricity and water meter, there are no separate meters for each room). Air-condition facility for MVR 6,000 rooms are very rare. If you are looking for an air-conditioned room, then you might have to spend little more that MVR 6,000 as the rent.
You can also find a room for MVR 4,000, which is the lowest. For MVR 4,000 you can get a room with attached bathroom, where like four to five people live in the same room. If you are planning to save some amount out of your allowance, then this will be the ideal accommodation facility for you. But life will be so hard to live like that. There will be bunk beds and the room will be packed as few people living and keeping their belongings in the same room. Also the security is zero, as you do not know the people who are sharing the room with you. You might end up losing most of your belongings.
If you are going above MVR 6,000, then you will be able to find a good specious room facility from an apartment. If you are willing to spend MVR 10,000 or more you can easily get a better one room apartment.
When you are looking for an accommodation facility, you need to consider the area that you are going to live as well. The distance to your office from the accommodation is an important factor to consider. It’s always better if you can walk to the office; 10 –15-minute distance is an ideal walking distance.
All the foreigners like me do face issues when finding a proper accommodation in Malé city due to high price range. Accommodation prices are not governing by Maldives government and apartment owners do place random prices according to their wishes. When you actually check some places, those are not even worth of paying that much amount.
Well for me, after suffering few years in Malé, finally I’ve got a peaceful one room apartment to live with my husband for a very reasonable price, plus it’s a fully furnished one. The owner is also a kind hearted lady who will give some leniency with regard to payments specially during a time like this where everyone is suffering from pay cuts.
All I need to tell you is this, before arriving to Malé try to arrange your accommodation. You can check accommodation details via below site;
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