How bad is Doha?
 

I have recently been offered a job in one of the american university outposts in education city in Doha, no prizes for guessing in petroleum engineering.

The package is approx
USD 3800p/m
+ free housing
+ relocation
+ car allowance
+ 1 return trip p/a home

I understand the housing is in a compound which has several staff and a shuttle bus operates to and from the campus.

Now I have read quite a few threads on this forum and others about how boring Doha is!

Is it really so bad? What is there to do in Doha for leisure?

As well I would bring my wife (we have no children). She is especially worried about having some difficulty meeting people and filling her time. Is she right to worry about these things?

The salary is approx what I would get in the UK but obv. no taxes and the extra allowances makes it worth a bit more. It seems the cost of living in Qatar is about the same as the UK (except alcohol)? So would it be possible to save any significant amount of money on this salary?

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

It depends what you are used to, I come from a place where nothing ever happened. If you came from a place with plenty of life about it, and loads to do socially, you will be bored as will your wife.
If you make the effort to get out and about you will meet people, and find things to do. I've only been here a month, I've been in worse places.
If your package is fully funded you would be able to save quite a bit of your salary, typically 40-50% is not unreasonable.

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

Not an outstanding salary p/m.( 14,000 QR approx. An alright figure-15 years ago...)

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

salary is not outstanding. Your wife will need to network. There is a meeting of expat wives every other Tuesday at the Ramada hotel. A good start to get to know wives with similar interest. There is probably a community at the university. Within a month of arrival my wife had found enough to keep her busy almost full time. The ones who are bored in Qatar are the ones who have time to respond on this web site. My wife is back in UK so I am filling in the time peeing about on this web site.


We spend out time drinking and eating with friends, but it is not cheap. entertainment: QR 350 is normal. Last month she spent her days watching the tennis, next it is the golf.

We don't find it boring, less exiting than Afghanistan and Pakistan but we are now too old for the exciting postings. This is just fine.


http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/foru...spx?ForumID=24

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

The only real reason anyone would come and work here is the money. They are not paying you enough to even consider it.

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

Do you like shopping malls with plinky plonky muzak and a faint whiff of perfum de toilette hanging in the air?

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

It can be dull , boring and mundane . As the op said , if the money is not right then don't bother.

Money must be your main driver here in Qatar as the country doesn't offer much else .

You can still live a good life here but you must be very well compensated to do so , it's not cheap and everything costs top whack as the Qatari's rip the arse out of everything .

Good luck !

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

That salary is too low by a factor of two, or even three, for a Western professional. As said above, we're only here for the money - not much else to do.

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

I too am considering the move out to Qatar. I am a construction professional and will be offered a fairly decent amount of money - not sure yet, but will check. I have a wife and two children and as you can probably guess, if I came out to Doha it would be to work on the WC Delivery. Clearly, this in itself will turn Qatar as a whole into a large scale construction site, but does no-one actually see this as a catalyst for it to become the "new Dubai", or are the Qataris just not interested in becoming that?

Also, is there much for children to do, or is it genuinely backward in terms of leisure opportunities?

Any help would be appreciated !

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

It all depends what your kids are used to. My kids are still in the UK, but if they were here they'd love it, they love being outdoors and in Scotland it sometimes isn't possible because of the shitty weather.

Where I live in he UK is more boring that here, nothing ever happens there...so again this place would be the winner.

I've not been here long enough to work out what the Qataris want, but with my limited experience of them, if somebody was to do all the work for them they'd be happy with whatever.

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

The whole place is a currently a construction site and will be for the next 10 years , before that it was just a dump .

Qatar will never be like Dubai not in a million years , i believe the Qatari's would like it to be but it's just a loss of face admitting it.

Whether it's tallest buildings , Sporting events , man made islands , oil and gas fields or even rims on your Range Rover Gulf arabs are really just a pen full of strutting peacocks trying to out do each other .

If you're well paid you'll live a decent life here , there's some great leisure and sporting opportunities in Doha.
Have a look through the Qatar threads and you'll pick some useful info up check out www.timeoutdoha.com and www.qatarhappening.com for a basic overview of what's happening in the dust bowl .

One word of advice , don't expect a mini-Dubai , you'll end up extremely disappointed.

Think more Cleethorpes with around a 100 degrees of heat and a few 5 star hotels ;)

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

Fantastic advice CDB, many thanks.

I presume by your statement that I (we) would live a decent life here means that not only can one save a shed load of cash (which is a primary purpose for most I imagine), but would also afford a few luxuries too?

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

Living is expensive here mate and you'll pay a premium for socialising . There's just enough to do but it's going to cost you , the thing is your hemmed in and it's a captive market so you just have to suck it up i'm afraid . 8 quid for a pint of Stella is what it'll cost you in a decent watering hole.

If your package and benefits are good then you'll be fine , remember you can also use Doha as a base to do some travel within the region and also further east or into the Indian Ocean . Qatar Airways have a pretty comprehensive time table .

There's a good golf course , good football leagues and great sporting facilities for the kids but it all costs top whack.

If i wasn't making good money i wouldn't be in Qatar as it has zero to offer in terms of a ' great living experience ' .

Good luck

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

My wee ones did like running around aspire park

My wife did want to try and fill the worlds biggest shopping trolley. If you are in Doha you will know which one I mean.

I did see a different Doha last weekend as we were right in the middle of the nice big compounds near the zoo

Only problems being:

Doha villas have next to no outside space, ****** huge villa and patio sized garden
Central AC is a step into the future for Doha villas. All we went to had split ACs
Big villas in Doha are very expensive
The big compounds are full of Americans, please dont berate me for being racist, I just hate gobby Americans
Compounds full of gobby American kids treating their nannies like shit
Its still Qatar and its still shite
It is currently better than Bahrain because of the peace and quiet but thats like saying 2 swelled to the point of bursting hemorroids are better than 3 swelled to the point of bursting hemorroids

Re: How bad is Doha?
 

Many Thanks,

And where is good to live - i.e. nice private villa or compound communities? Ideally, placed near the sea....