theduke

I have been approached by an agency about working in Doha on a new 3-4yr airport project, good money and perks so not a money question or am I that bad I can't work out if the deal is good etc etc.

Question is what is Doha like and is it like Dubai was 10yrs ago(as I have been told) and what about 10 & 12 yrs old kids, better to stay in NZ with mum or for them all to come, i.e. hows the schooling and after school stuff like football(soccer) and swim clubs equestrian etc etc.

Any help is appreciated.

kittycat1

I spent a week in Doha and have sworn never to go back! I'd let your kids stay in NZ. Although lots of people here are in Doha and seem to like it.

littlejimmy

It's fine. It's not as full of flash pretentious gits as Dubai. The best forum for the place is qatarliving.com

Madam Medusa

to be fair, kitty, you don't like dubai either, lol...don't really think it's fair to judge a place when you're on an enforced stopover (if i recall correctly)...

MM, xx

kittycat1

true mm, but there is a damn site more to do in Dubai than there is in Doha! well in my experience which admittedly isn't much but between the two I'd pick Dubai!

gottheTshirt

Nothing wrong with Doha a much smaller friendlier expat community than Dubai. schools etc are fine - no reason not to take it and take the family with you. If you cannot do Doha you cannot do Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait or KSA.

gottheTshirt

PS my kids are grown up and independent (they were brought up in much more difficult places than Qatar: -Nigeria, Ghana, Sudan). When I was working in Doha the guys in the office with kids were involved in very active social lives - soccer, weekend camping etc.

theduke

Awesome thanks for the responses, much appreciated!

Keoic

I live in Doha & involved in hiring & relocating staff into the GCC region.

Doha is definitely not "party-central" -- but adequate social opportunities if you make the effort.

If you have children of those ages, plenty to do in Doha - just the same as anywhere ferrying them from sports to social to meetings.

Qatar continues to boom - so make sure you have school places for them before becoming committed to relocating them. There are so many dreamers & time-wasters that schools will only to meet face-to-face before allocating a place. Definitely a Catch22 scenario.

If you send me a mail - I can give you a list of schools & contact details to make your initial enquiries.

ccmail321

My friends have been in Doha with twin 5 year olds from Florida and they have said it is the best quality of life they have ever lived. The schools are very good and because they have more quality time together they enjoy a better life and don't rely on child minders and after school programmes as you would in the states. We are moving in September and although we have only visited Dubai and Doha, I definitely prefer Doha. I am from Miami so I am not adverse to a bustling city or diversity but Dubai is just too much work!

co durham boy

I currently work on the the new airport project and have been in Doha for 5months.I actually came from Dubai and i personally think it's ok.

It's not a patch on Dubai/Abu Dhabi but you have to remember this place is 15/20 years behind these guys here.

It's typical ex-pat living and i find it good , you need to work at it as it's not all sticking out in your face like Dubai and obviously it's not a holiday resort.

The N.D.I.A airport project is a fantastic project , beats anything i'v been involved in construction with in this part of the world.

People expect like for like with Doha/Dubai and they get a shock especially socially , there's great sporting facilities , i play golf quite often and there's quite a bit to do just don't expect it to be like Dubai , Doha is shit to look at it and you can get pretty bored quickly if you don't get out and about.

ccmail321

schools - thought I would mention, seem expensive. I don't have children so this might not be a shocker but the schools in Doha, I have been told by my friend, start around 10K usd per child. They're employer pays 50% of education costs so that helps and you should see if you can negotiate that.

I am sure there are others on the board that know more about this topic but I just thought I would share what I know.

I spoke to a teacher friend while I was in Doha visiting, and she said that the IB curriculum is becoming more popular so you no longer have to choose which curriculum, i.e. American Schools, British Schools, etc., and the kids today can go around the world with a recognised standard of study/diploma.