expattobe

Hello, I'm new here. I will be working in West Bay near Doha Bank. I'm looking for a 1-bedroom apartment with budget QAR 5,500.00 or less. I know with this budget, it has to be somewhere outside the city centre. So, may I ask where is the best area to live in with handiful public buses that ply between West Bay and the suburb? Is the public bus reliable and safe? Do you guys usually drive or take public bus to work?

Thank you in advance for any tips and advices.

DXBtoDOH

I'd move this thread to the main ME page, for few people bother to look at the job discussion page and this isn't a job discussion topic, anyway.

You can get a room in a flatshare in West Bay for 5500 QAR. That's what I'd do. Then walk to work! Public transit in Qatar is dire. Very dire. Buses are infrequent and frequently late, although the bus that loops around West Bay itself is decent enough from what I'm told.

Go to propertyfinder.qa and do a search for 1-bedders in your budget. The property market is struggling so it's a renter's market. I should think you can find a 1-bed hotel apartment, serviced, in the older parts of Doha for 5500-6000 a month if you haggle, and it'll include all the expenses. I can't give you names and you'd have to do an online search. Look at Sadd, Bin Mahmood, Al Nasr, Muntazah, old Airport, all the areas that string along the C-Ring Road. 15-20 minutes to West Bay depending on traffic. But, and this is a big but, those areas are definitely outside the comfort zone for most Brits. Not dangerous at all, but a bit chaotic and a hodgepodge of older and newer buildings, Delhi next door to Beirut, you get the idea. But scores of cheap and cheerful eats.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful. From Sadd to West Bay is about 15 QAR including the tip.

Living further afield will get you cheaper accommodation but you're more isolated and public transit really not feasible. Don't think of Doha as a single city centre surrounded by easily distinguishable suburbs, each with its own set of amenities and retail. The city's properly thought of West Bay, Pearl and the rest as an anonymous mess, with nicer buildings and nicer compounds intermingling with crap.

Speaking of flatshares, you'd be surprised at how many Brit expats in their 30s and 40s flatshare in Doha. No shame in it, unless you have a spouse coming with you. It's just the economics. 1-bed in West Bay averages 9-10K, while a 2-bedroom averages 12-13k and 3-bedrooms 15-16k. You do the maths.

expattobe

Thank you very much for the detailed tips. Is Al Kheesa precinct nice and safe to live in? And, how much does a second hand car usually cost?

DXBtoDOH

Never heard of it.

Looked it up. One of the new areas on the dreary outskirts of Doha. My previous comment still applies: some nicer compounds/apartments among all the crap, and Doha being Doha, everything covered with a thick layer of dust. No landscaping. You get what you pay for.

You can live the cheap life but it's cheap for a reason and won't be cheerful. Long commute to West Bay for you.

How much does a secondhand car cost? How long is a piece of string? With expats leaving in droves there's many good deals around. Be aware that British expats can no longer automatically convert their licence into a Qatari licence but must take an expensive test and sequence of driving lessons and the word is that the driving schools deliberately fail everyone a few times just to make money.

Then there's the driving standards in Qatar. Less said the better. I take taxis / ubers / careem and private hacks all the time. It's cheaper than renting or owning a car.