Apartment

My apologies if you came to this half-written post earlier.  It's safe to say I was called away while writing it and thought I clicked "save" instead of "publish."  Ooops.

Another subsidy is my apartment itself.  Some employers give their workers a stipend and basically say, "Go find housing yourself."  The economist in me should prefer that but I'm happy that my employer provides with housing.  Here's why:

I've heard two numbers for what the University pays for my apartment per year:

Dh 60,000 ($16,334)

Dh 80,000 ($21, 781)

To make it easier I'll pick a number a little less than half-way between.  We'll say they pay $18,000 per year, which equals $1500 per month (more than twice my monthly house payment back in the US.)

If the U gave me $18000 and said go find housing for yourself I'd probably be able to find a decent place for $12,000 per year.  I would then be able to do whatever I wanted with the extra $6000.  If I really wanted a larger place I'd fork out the $18,000 on this apartment.

But here's the thing:  I know I'd never knowing pay $1500/month for a place to live.  That's a good-sized house payment in the US.  I couldn't do it.

So by the U giving me this apartment I have no choice but to accept a place larger and nicer than I would rent for myself (oh, the agonies).  For that I'm grateful.  I like my spacious apartment out in the boonies, but if I were footing the bill I'd have never picked this place.