sadea

Hi Guys, first post here! I'm sure you get a lot of these threads so apologies if it's been said a thousand times, I have read a lot of this forum but nobody seems to have the exact same situation as me...

I've been offered a position for a year as an Architectural Assistant in Doha, at the company I currently work for in London. They're offering a salary which will probably be around 120,000 QAR as well as a housing allowance and car allowance. We haven't talked exact figures yet but they said the housing allowance should be enough to get a nice flat somewhere in the city (i presume probably not in west bay or the pearl but probably somewhere slightly cheaper) and the car allowance would be whatever I need to hire a car of decent size/capability. So let's guess about 8000-1000 QAR for housing and 2000 QAR for car.

Is this a reasonable offer? I'm a single male, 21, no kids or dependencies. I can live pretty cheaply and I would like to join some clubs and socialize but I don't drink a lot or spend much going out. I would like to travel to elsewhere from Qatar (they're giving me a multiple exit visa) and will be saving up as much as I can to fund a masters degree when I finish. I've used the "is it worth it" calcuator and it seemd to be saying I'll be fine but I'd like to get a human perspective on the issue as well.

Thanks!

ps, if anyone is into cycling/triathlons in Doha please let me know, I'm a bit of a cycling addict and I'm not going to be taking my bike so I might need some help with the withdrawal!

Millhouse

there are some (very ) limited doha events on here:

Premier Online - leading provider of online event registration for sports events

Big_Show

Hi,

Doha Bay Running Cllub meet up on a Friday morning for a social long run, and various members do other runs/speedwork sessions on other days during the week.

There's also a tri club, but I don't know much about that yet - I'm in the same boat as you, I sold my bike when I left the UK last year and I haven't got round to buying a new one yet!

There aren't that many events in Qatar, but you can generally find at least one multi-sport/road race to do per month from October-April.

There are *loads* over in the UAE though, so if you fancy making a weekend of it you can head over there for a visit.

EastWest

120k QAR per month or per year?

Mogs

I'd be impressed if a 21 year old is offered 120k per month

sadea

Thanks for the replies guys

Yes it's 120,000 QAR a year, at a guess, we haven't discussed numbers yet that seems like a ballpark figure. Sorry I mixed up monthly and yearly allowances in my post, I should clarify it's likely to be around 10k QAR Salary, 8k Housing, 2k car per month.

As for the running club I'll check that out, it'd be good to have a way to keep fit that isnt just a sweaty gym! I guess the sea is too salty to comfortably swim in but I'm looking for a gym with a decent pool as well.

And Big_Show is there any sense in buying a bike in Qatar if I plan to do some tri events? or is the expense not worth it? I assume they'd only import expensive models at a huge markup compared to buying them in the UK / delivery from online.

co durham boy

TriClub Doha
http://carbonwheelsqtr.com/

Ive got a basic road bike i use on a Friday but they are expensive , far better choices in Dubai or simply buy online and ship or bring it with you . There's a fair bit going on but it's in it's infancy compared to other places .

The main thing is that it's very very dangerous to ride here , go at the wrong time or wrong place and there's a good chance you'll get hurt . There's a few cycle routes but the decent ones are getting driven on by the local brain dead morons who are late getting nowhere.

Join the Tri Club or the bike club , it's far better if it's an organised ride . I live in a residential area and if i get out at 4.30am on a Friday i can usually get back alive !

Also check out Time Out Doha - City Guide, Information, Events, Reviews & What's On in the City of Doha . They have a lot of info on what's going on . Most things like this here are expensive and hard to come by but once you make the effort getting involved it can be ok .

Best Of luck

sadea

Thanks for the links, I'm sure I'll have a pop into Carbon wheels when I'm there! If I can indeed get a bike I'll definitely join the tri club. Maybe I'll see you there

co durham boy

Plenty going on mate , just dive in and get involved plus it's a great way to meet people and keep off the booze

sadea

Yes it seems like people in Doha are boozing more than back in the UK at times...I guess we all need our distractions!

co durham boy

This place drives you to drink !!!!!

Millhouse

...and then you drive home.

scrubbedexpat141

I don't trust you.

sadea

Well, I try, but I fear that might change!

On an unrelated note, I'm planning to bring my mid-tower desktop pc (with two lcd screens and peripherals) to doha, I'm going to need it for work. After a fair bit of searching around the information seems unclear - there's a separate customs procedure for computer equipment, and it said anything with a value over 3000QAR would have an import tax levied on it - does that apply for personal property? Will I have to pay to bring my own possessions into Qatar? That's nuts!

Additionally the main advice seems to be to pack it tightly in bubble wrap, wrap up the gpu and internals, take the HDD in cabin luggage and pray to the baggage handler gods that it arrives safely. Has anyone else got experience with this? Or just generally taking large/expensive/fraile stuff to Doha.

Also Fedex is asking about £300 to ship it so I'd rather just buy an extra plane ticket for the same price if it comes to that. But ideally I'm hoping that I can check it in. I have the original boxes and packaging but i don;t know if that wil make it seem more like a commercial import.

and before someone says it no i don't want to buy a laptop.

scrubbedexpat141

Why do you need it for work? Surely work will provide the shit you need to do your job?

Sounds like you just want some epic wanks.