how is life in qatar
 

I am from the UK

I have been offered a job in Qatar

I am not sure whether my package shall cover my cost and whether its a good location for me and my family.

could anyone help?;)

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Go to www.qatarliving.com

They will be able to answer all your questions.:)

Re: how is life in qatar
 

thank you:)

i have left a question

anticipating someone shall reply.

would you know of any other ways i can source info?

Re: how is life in qatar
 

visit the place for a short holiday...always a good idea prior to moving;)

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Need to know the following to be able to help really.

What is your package
What do you do
What are your motives for the move .. what is your wifes role
Kids ages
Nationality - or origins
Expected standard of living and what you like to do

Can try and give you some outlines then.

Re: how is life in qatar
 

I am UK national
My role is in corporate finance
My wife may possibly teach (unsure)
we would like to experience a different lifestyle however do not want to compromise education for the children
ages of children is 7 , 4 & 2.
we currently reside in a large 4 Bed detach property, in a pleasant area, we do not drink nor go out clubbing however, do like to be out an about, exploring the country, meals out, family fun days and short breaks.
package 450,000 dhs + 14,000 per child school allowance + Medical + Flights.
I am sure their is room for negotiating.

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Okay, that's 37,500 a month.

It's going to cost you between 30 and 40k a year to have each kid in school here, A 4 bed villa on a compound (aka nice area) furnished is gonna start at 18-20k pcm. Western things and english language goods (books, mags, CDs etc etc) are not cheap and variety is very hard to come by.

Energy is cheap, water is more expensive there is obvioulsy no VAT on anything.

The country is very limited. You have Doha, a few towns, the oil sites, one beach resort and the inland sea ... that literally is it. You need to make things to do here which can become tiresome and frustrating.

Flights from Doha are expensive, I can get to basically anywhere in the world except the GCC, Sri Lanka and India for less from London or Manchester.

If you can get the kids into the good schools they have strong results and plenty of extra curricular activities. There are long wait lists however.

Despite what many recruiters and locals would have you believe, Doha is still lacking in many ways in terms of general infrastructure, services, facilities and amenities and quality of life compared to what you seem to be decribing from home. What we call the bullshit factor is still very, very high and trying to get stuff done here tests the patience of a saint.

I think you're being lowballed for a senior corporate position ... I have a 33 yr old single female friend in media in the region on that base salary.

Have a look at the Gulf Times classifieds on rent costs it will illustrate that 60% + of your salary will go on rent alone. Nursery care is somewhat less cost than in the UK, a fully qualified local teacher my be looking at 10k pcm.

I'm not happy here for multiple reasons so I always sound negative on the board, but no other Brits really post on here from Doha and it's hard to gauge sound feedback from QatarLiving because so many asian expats have no concept of coming from Europe.

People are leaving though, because the vast majority argue without fairly siginifcant take home gains it is just not worth being here. Only you know what your increase in gross income will be and if you'll be making money on a UK home rental. It needs to be HIGH or you risk this adventure costing you money.

Doha is worlds apart from pleasant middle class uk in ways not everyone can deal with, I would strongly advise a recce as a_a suggested.

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Thank you

seems i have a little more to consider

p.s. would you have an idea of the cost of a reasonable lease car?

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Something else you might want to bear in mind is that once you're resident in Qatar, you are not free to leave the country on a whim - you have to get your sponsor's signature on an exit permit. It may seem like a small thing, but to my mind it's a quite significant restriction on personal liberties.

As Tootsie implies, money is king out here. A positive "let's have an adventure" mindset is great, but the cold hard reality is that if you don't have enough money, you will be screwed, and you will quickly come to wish you'd decided *not* to have an adventure. A great many people are carrying a large amount of personal debt as a way of maintaining the illusion of a high-flying lifestyle.

Re: how is life in qatar
 

hi

concerning thought,

are their any positives??:confused:

Re: how is life in qatar
 

A Tiida will cost you around 2k a month if you can get a good deal more like 2.5 if there's none to be had, I'm not sure about bigger stuff.

If you can buy outright new cars are cheaper than the UK, avoid loans here its a real ripoff. You can pick up good deals on expat used but be very careful about it. Ordinary used car sales I dont think are that much better than home tbh.

The reason I asked nationality or origins was because your turn of phrase did not sound english native to me and as racist as this might sound being white here costs you more.

I will take a stab in the dark and say if you've been offered your gross UK salary and some benefits - my advice is don't do it, its just not worth it. If however, you're looking at putting a tidy sum in the bank each month and like a challenge at least insist on a recce from your prospective employer. PM me if you do .. happy to give you info on what you need to see/do =)

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Senior management employees, particularly from the west are often issued multiple exit visas. That is not guarenteed however, and nothing is ever simple here.

Re: how is life in qatar
 

errr no

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Hiya what do you mean by reece.

i might visit in a month, is their an expat comunity i can meet to really get a feel of life in qatar?

Re: how is life in qatar
 

Hi all ..Life in Qatar..

Can anyone tell me have the cables that caused so much disruption to contact via the net and email been repaired yet ?

I am trying to send mail to Doha daily but it is not being received at that end.. my friend lives there and we keep in touch via msn / email I have heard dnothing for nearly 4 weeks now !I am in the UK by the way.

Any news would be gratefully received ..thank you

ps. He seems to love the place..Doha and enjoys living and working there...