Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Hello:
Any opinions out there favoring one over the other? Doha seems pretty conservative from what i gather. |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Doha positives
Many decent bars Beer shop A range of 5 star hotels with good buffet Qatar airways to anywhere you could want to go - direct Traffic is no bother - ignore anyone who says otherwise Less family expats = less screaming kids No estate agents dubai style You can smoke in the bar Good money to be made Doha negatives Locals = fit all the stereotypes Supermarkets = no waitrose or even spinneys For all the money they have - the majority of the place is a dump have to work for your money - unlike dubai but hey - its not saudi, join the fun:thumbup: |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by captaincaveman
(Post 7920129)
have to work for your money - unlike dubai |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by Desert Shaikh
(Post 7920507)
Is that not also the case with Saudi, not having to work for your money?
I currently describe Qatar as Saudi with out the fun. I don't have first hand experience of Saudi but form what I can gather on from this site it seems it is rather misunderstood. The problem with Qatar is it can't actually decide what it wants to be, does it want to be Dubai or does it want to regress back to the more conservative Saudi. As far as I can see if you are married and don't mind going the extra mile to get hold of booze then Saudi is actually a better place to live. It's bigger for a start, you could actually drive somewhere and see hills or even a little piece of green. You could drive to Bahrain or Dubai. Compounds and ex-pat life seems to be more organized and have better facilities, I also think Saudi would be cheaper. Captain Caveman above is spot on for all the money Qatar is "supposed" to have the place looks like a bloody dump, terrible infrastructure, horrible roads and bad traffic. It's what I imagine the world would look like after a nuclear war and was just rebuilding it's self, the lack of greenery gives it that special post-apocalyptic feel. Drive out of town for 10 minutes and you will see what I mean. Work wise what is the project ? Oil and Gas you might be OK but forget trying to work on an infrastructure project, they are universally badly run, badly delayed and over budget, fancy parachuting into one of those shit storms ? They can't even build a simple 6 lane motorway ANYWHERE in the country without disagreeing and going way over budget. Good luck |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by Qataruser
(Post 7920584)
Mmmmmm
look like after a nuclear war and was just rebuilding it's self, the lack of greenery gives it that special post-apocalyptic feel. Drive out of town for 10 minutes and you will see what I mean. Good luck I am single... is it going to be even worse |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Tried replying to this earlier, but the wi-fi connection in Costa Coffee went all Pete Tong....
We've been in Jeddah for just over a year, and I previously was in Riyadh for four months, and much prefer Jeddah. For me, it feels like a big city - and being a city boy at heart - I love the hustle and bustle of it all. To put it into context, only London in the UK is bigger than Jeddah - a population approaching 4 million, very diverse, and much more relaxed than the capital. Of course , it IS Saudi Arabia, so still conservative at heart, but compound life for many Brits and expats ends to lead to a good social life. I've never been to Qatar, but my sister has worked there for a short term project , for two weeks at a time, and has been out two / three times now to Doha and also describes it as a dump. Don't get me wrong, Jeddah can be dirty, noisy and smelly, but there are also some nice parts to it too. Many Saudi's come here for their holidays, and that I think says it all. It has an historic quarter, and as I said, feels like an established city, whereas Riyadh still looks news and feels like it's still being built. Ideally, you will want a view from someone who lived in both places to give you a truly objective assessment - nothing like stating the obvious eh? ;) |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
hmm its all very interesting.. esp that Doha is a dump.
with Jeddah - do you ever feel confined and trapped in your compound as in you just want to go a bar or a concert or do something that isnt really there in Saudi. I am just thinking about the limitations of Saudi and it just seems that I would get tired of just hanging out at peoples houses (i guess thats why bars and other things are a nice escape).. |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by MovingToMidEast
(Post 7921153)
hmm its all very interesting.. esp that Doha is a dump.
with Jeddah - do you ever feel confined and trapped in your compound as in you just want to go a bar or a concert or do something that isnt really there in Saudi. I am just thinking about the limitations of Saudi and it just seems that I would get tired of just hanging out at peoples houses (i guess thats why bars and other things are a nice escape).. The only place worse than Doha to be single is PRISON. You have been warned Doha suits couples with young pre school kids (as school is expensive) it's safe as long as you avoid the roads, there is no where to go out so that's fine as the kids will keep you in anyway and you won't feel like you are missing out. And if you DO move here make sure your package is excellent and includes a hefty housing allowance, rents may very well be coming down but groceries and Pints (currently 7 quid) are NOT |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by MovingToMidEast
(Post 7919947)
Hello:
Any opinions out there favoring one over the other? Doha seems pretty conservative from what i gather. |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
I have been living in Doha for the last 14 months and I did not enjoy it at all. It really is a great place for married couples with children. Being a childless couple it is difficult to make friends who have something in common with you.
The traffic is terrible. There is not much to do there apart from visit the bars, eat out and there is not much to see. Only a few good shopping malls to note. The social life is almost non existent - you really have to look hard for it. No embassy functions. I am now in Riyadh and have been here for 3mths (second time here) love saudi. Love the life. Great social life - made loads of friends. Always something to do. Much easier to meet people. Loads of places to shop. Don't drive here so can't comment much on the traffic. So if I had a choice I wld choose Saudi any day over Doha. |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by kellieb
(Post 7928139)
I have been living in Doha for the last 14 months and I did not enjoy it at all. It really is a great place for married couples with children. Being a childless couple it is difficult to make friends who have something in common with you.
The traffic is terrible. There is not much to do there apart from visit the bars, eat out and there is not much to see. Only a few good shopping malls to note. The social life is almost non existent - you really have to look hard for it. No embassy functions. I am now in Riyadh and have been here for 3mths (second time here) love saudi. Love the life. Great social life - made loads of friends. Always something to do. Much easier to meet people. Loads of places to shop. Don't drive here so can't comment much on the traffic. So if I had a choice I wld choose Saudi any day over Doha. Contrary to what you might think there are not a lot of western expats out here, and the ones that are are all in Oil and Gas. Move out here into any other industry and you could find yourself being the only white guy in the office (or portacabin as some unlucky peopel find) you will have company but how much will you have in common with the tea boy from Kerala. |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by Qataruser
(Post 7920584)
It's bigger for a start, you could actually drive somewhere and see hills or even a little piece of green. You could drive to Bahrain or Dubai.
Can you really drive to Dubai and Bahrain from Saudi? I never heard of this before |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Bahrain is very easy to drive to , basically there is a bridge - known as The Causeway - which links Bahrain to Damman / Dhahran. It costs few riyals to cross, but of course, at weekends can get very busy, due to the large volume of traffic. Construction is now underway building another causeway from Bahrain to Qatar. It easier if you take your own car, but can do it in a hire car, providing you have a letter from the hire company, but this can take a week or so to sort out, so not really last minute stuff.
Dhahran is around 2.5 / 3 hr drive hours from Riyadh, so you can get from Riyadh to Bahrain by road. Driving to Dubai is of course over land, and much further, but again, quite do-able. THe Dean I believe drove from Dubai to Riyadh? |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by MovingToMidEast
(Post 7921153)
hmm its all very interesting.. esp that Doha is a dump.
with Jeddah - do you ever feel confined and trapped in your compound as in you just want to go a bar or a concert or do something that isnt really there in Saudi. I am just thinking about the limitations of Saudi and it just seems that I would get tired of just hanging out at peoples houses (i guess thats why bars and other things are a nice escape).. Yes, there ARE limitations as to what you can do in Jeddah, as you say, there are no bars or cinema's ( though there is rumour of an underground cinema? ) , but you make your own entertainment so to speak. Once you get to meet people, the bulk of the entertainment will be on other compounds , embassies etc. We have been invited to quite a few parties, social functions, plays, etc, so once you get to know people, there can be a varied range of activities. THe compound where we are in jeddah often arranges events on the compound, which attracts lots of visitors from other compounds, so it gets busy, and adds to the vibrant feel of the place. On the other hand, it does depend on the industry you are in. If you are in Oil / Gas field, there is no doubt, Qatar offers the best money in the entire gulf. We once were about to interview a guy working in Qatar in the Oil/Gas industry. He asked what we were offering, and then told us he was on twice that salary in Qatar Needless to say, he decided not to come for an interview. |
Re: Doha Qatar vs Jeddah
Originally Posted by Danajj
(Post 7921619)
I'm tired from a good night out in Riyadh and can't be arsed typing a long essay - I'll PM you with my phone number and I'll tell you the pro's and cons of KSA and Doha
|
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