Is it a good idea? 38k, Doha
 

Hi Guys,

It's my first post here, hopefully not the last :) I am currently considering an offer I got from a British engineering consultancy. What they put on the table is 38k QAR/month + medical insurance, but for me only. I will also get a relocation package. I will be traveling with my wife and 2,5 years old daughter. All accommodation costs, flights, school, cars, medical insurance for my wife and daughter is on me. I have started adding up the figures using the spreadsheet from this Forum and it looks like it is going to be tight with this sort of money. We are a normal family of 2+1, we live a nice life but nothing fancy, we have one car, 2bed apartment, we go out maybe once every month and go on a 2 weeks holidays once a year. We would like to keep that standard of living, rent a 2 bed apartment in Doha, have two normal cars, go on holidays to a nice place once a year etc. I guess if we were to move and have a little "revolution" in our lives it would have to be a change for the better. This looks like a change to just a slightly better life standard. What do you think? Working hours will be longer, job more stressful. Also I still don’t know what my wife will be doing over there. She is not an engineer, she has been working in administration for a couple of years, she speaks English quite good (we are both Polish btw). What sort of job she can look for?

To be honest the more I think about it the more skeptical I am about the whole idea of “moving to Doha”. Do you think it's worth it?

Re: Is it a good idea? 38k, Doha
 

Hi and welcome to the forums.

I'm guessing you offer is from Hyder or Atkins, and I'd say it is a fair offer based on the details in your post.

Allowing say QAR8-9k/m for a furnished 2-bed apartment and QAR3.5-4k for a decent SUV rental car, then I'd say QAR38k/m is a fair offer and more than enough for you and family to get by on (assuming it is tax free). However, when the kiddie hits school age, expect to outlay QAR5k/m for schooling, which is becoming increasingly hard to come by for English speaking kids.

You'll have to work at finding things to entertain the family, but everything is available in Doha if you put in the effort.

There's a massive investment programme taking off in Qatar, so you will be busy as an Engineer, for sure. There is even talk of relaxing the Sponsorship system, so moving between employers may become easier. International experience on your CV is also a good thing, who knows where it might lead in future. If things don't work out with your prospective employer, something else will crop up, for sure. Such is the high demand for Engineers in Qatar.

Good luck with your decision.

[J]

Re: Is it a good idea? 38k, Doha
 

Your offer depends on what the job is and your experience / qualifications. Without this information it's difficult to answer.

Re: Is it a good idea? 38k, Doha
 

Many thanks. The job is for a Senior Engineer. I have 11 years of international experience and a CEng title.

My biggest concern is the school fee/availability for my kid as you mentioned, and my wife finding a job. I am uncertain about my possibilities of renegotiating an allowance for school in the future, once I get to Qatar. I guess it's nearly impossible unless I change jobs. Which is another thing that worries me. I read somewhere that due to the whole visa sponsorship I can not change my employment quicker then after 2 years. And even then I need to get ‘permission’ from my employer. I am not sure how it looks in reality but I guess these rules are being followed.

My wife will most probably struggle in finding anything decent with her background so we are looking at a scenario with her sitting at home and probably getting crazy quite soon. I know I sound very pessimistic :) But I want to be as realistic as possible now and not to get super excited.

In terms of school how difficult it is to get it? Am I looking at being on a waiting list for like 2 years? If we come down, I would like to put my daughter in the kindergarten asap so that she can start picking up the English language (we are in Norway atm so she speaks little Norwegian). How realistic is that? Would I get a place for her quite soon after arrival? I guess by the time we are all there it will be September, she will be almost 3 years old (Oct.7).

Thanks for help.

Re: Is it a good idea? 38k, Doha
 

Without the accommodation and schooling and on costs it's a crap deal IMO . Housing and schooling is extortionate here , it will eat massively into your money .

There's a lot of these deals around at the moment and they're just trying to get blokes on the cheap to be honest . The deals 10-15K light . Without a good decent package don't bother your arse coming here . Doha is no holiday resort and the more you get the more easier your life is .

Go for more

Re: Is it a good idea? 38k, Doha
 

No way - 55k minimum.