MovingToMidEast

Hello:

Any opinions out there favoring one over the other? Doha seems pretty conservative from what i gather.

captaincaveman

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

Desert Shaikh

Is that not also the case with Saudi, not having to work for your money?

Qataruser

Mmmmmm

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

MovingToMidEast

Wow that is pretty intense - nuclear war ... gosh is it really bad..

I am single... is it going to be even worse

nottmbantam

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?

MovingToMidEast

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)..

Qataruser

I am sure just popping round to people's houses oculd get boring but in Doha the only options for drinking out that are any way decent are Sheraton's Irish bar and the Rugby Club.

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

Danajj

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 - it all depends what you're looking for. Doha isn't that bad - and Jeddah/Riyadh isn't that bad either. I'd be happy living in either - but again it all depends on your circumstances and what you're looking for.

kellieb

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.

Qataruser

Agree with the above to a point. All the firends I have are work friends if you don't get on with them u are in trouble as it is difficult to meet new people.

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.

Timmy Molloy - London Boy

Can you really drive to Dubai and Bahrain from Saudi? I never heard of this before

nottmbantam

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?

nottmbantam

I don't feel trapped / confined to the compound, but my wife does at times, as she is not allowed to drive. I work in RIyadh through the week, and at those times, she is reliant upon taxi's to get around if she needs to go out anywhere.

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.

Edo

c'mon thats not fair. How will the other readers get to know your opinion. Cant you post our phone no on here so everyone can get in touch with you?