boroexpat_1982

Wondering if anyone can help - I am a single 28yr old British expat and I am moving to Doha the end of this month with our company to work. Just wondering where the best places are to live in Doha. Obviously know West Bay and the Pearl are slightly more expensive. Looking for 1-2 bedroom apartment. Is there classifieds etc over there that highlight all the apartment blocks etc or is it a case of driving around?

Cheers

Blue Cat

try www.qatarliving.com, I am in Dubai so of no help at all, and welcome to BE

MrMark

I just came from Doha after a short visit. I loved the Pearl and If I get a decent position in Doha, I will live there. But that's just me

Alexa

you must be seriously into concrete then...wobbly concrete as it is in Qatar.

Alexa

There are no "best areas" really. Most Western expats live in Al Waab , mostly in villas in compounds, and many in the greater West Bay area.
You have to realize that traffic is murder over here, so you want to live as close as possible to your place of work.

You can look at the Gulf Times classifieds, they do list a lot of rentals.
I'd say most of the apartments are in the towers in West Bay...but am not sure, check GT, gives you an idea about prices too.
Be aware though, if it is inexpensive, it most probably is pretty crappy.

co durham boy

It really depends on where your work will be and what your accomadation allowance is . There is really no ' Best ' place to live here . There's a variety of place that are good but that depends on your budget.

If you know what your budget is then look at the following link http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...1&temp_type=42

Good apartments start at around 8,000 QAR and upwards , forget the Pearl , there's nothing open and it's only a quarter finished , give it 18 months and it'll be quite good but at the moment it's shite really and there's better value for your money elsewhere.

Keep away from wwwqatarliving.com as it's for retards , it'll confuse you . Get the explorer book on Qatar available from Waterstones or Smiths and also check out www.timeoutdoha.com

Try and get as much info before you come as it's not the easiest place to hit the ground running as it's backward
Good Luck

Tockalosh

I would suggest Bahrain or Dubai :-)

Spending yet another week in Doha and I cant get over how shite this place is. I appreciate that I spend the week in various hotels and not on the vibrant social circuit but even by hotel standards this place is dead.
Good luck with the move. I can see the appeal of Doha for an old git wanting to save bucks but for a man of your age I think Qatar will be ****ing awful

co durham boy

You should have been here a while ago mate....it's good now...!

Tockalosh

Lmfao. Doha just seems backward to me. The buildings in West bay and the Pearl screams modern but the actual country and people scream stuck in the dark ages. The plus side is that coming here makes me appreciate everywhere else, even the Intercon in Jubail

Tockalosh

and who thought building the Zig Zag building was a good idea ? It is the worst looking building in the ME followed closely by the place with the concrete tree stuck on the side

co durham boy

It's a tough learning curve for expats that's for sure , i'm here with the missus and we've got a big social circle so we can immune ourselves from the pain .

Pick and choose where to go on a weekend , never venture out during the weekend and i'm in Dubai twice a month with work . Believe it or not it's improved 50% over the last 12 months.

The trouble is Qataris have that much money they'd rather keep the place empty than have a thriving city , if it suits them they'll have it if not you aint getting it.

I find it an easy tour really , iv been to all the really shite places on this planet so Doha's easy for me . The funny thing is that there's an awful lot of people who are going to end up here in the next few years . There's gonna be some tears and tantrums with all the Jumeriah Janes that will be invading Doha...

co durham boy

Yeah and also give it a full glass facade as well , just to create the hardest window cleaning round on the fu**ing planet......!

There's also a saying down here " Kuwaiti's are arrogant , Saudi's are ignorant but Qatari's are both "

txgirl

get a real estate agent...absolutely worst time without one. i have a reference if you need. and if your company gives you a moving allowance, save as much of it as you can to use on an apartment. you can't get an apartment without a bank account and can't get a bank account without a residence permit and can't get a RP.... this one guy at my office has been here 2 months and no RP yet, very unhappy fella. i got lucky and found a place to rent to me without the RP but had to pay 2 months in advance cash.

co durham boy

I got my RP in 5 days ,if you're a British passport holder and you haven't got an RP after 2 weeks then your P.R.O is either dead or your company are just taking the piss out of you.

boroexpat_1982

Cheers for the replies much appreciated

RP is being processed at the moment - just so much red tape though with getting degrees and stuff authiorised by the embassy here in the UK.

Have lived in Dubai before and had family living in Doha so know what to expect. Just seems to be bugger all on the internet regarding apartment rentals. Get put up the first month or two by the company till find somewhere so not all bad. Working somewhere near the corniche but not entirley sure whereabouts yet.

Any decent agents and stuff would be greatly appreciated

Cheers