Hi - new to BE, but have been trolling through a few threads. I note the search function is down, so have a few Qs

I should be heading out in Jan 2014, with wife and young son (4yrs). Will be working in Education City, so will need to live nearish there, but also by a decent school.

My package will be all accomodation, education, transport (car) costs covered- or near as dammit (plus a few thousand for flights per year - per person i think).

So, question is, whereabouts to live? I have read with increasing dispair the opinions on traffic, agents etc. Al Waad? How bad a commute, or how much of a s***hole would that be?

Thanks for any help!

To be honest with you you're not moving until Jan 2014 , that's a life time away in Middle East terms , unfortunately whats relevant today will not be tomorrow and that goes for everything .

I'd go out and get The Explorer Book on Qatar , you'll find it in Smiths or a Waterstones and just get some general info about the country and life here and general .

Traffic will be horrendous for the next 10 years here as they're tearing the place up totally re building the country so it's difficult to view where to pitch up . Wait until you get here get some temp accommodation then do the leg work . That might seem daunting but believe you me it's worth it , there's some shit holes here and you want to make the right choice , you'll never get anything that ticks all the boxes but you'll get something that suits your lifestyle.

The main thing would be the school places , there's just not enough places in quality schools and there's a large waiting list , do your homework on that and the following might help http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/mont...fees_6129.aspx

Good luck

Thanks CDB. The schools do seem a real challenge. We would be going for three years (I'd be on secondment) so need to get that right!

Reading some threads, i wonder if it's worth the effort!

It is worth the effort if your package is right and you get to grips with all things Middle East . Just remember it's not all beaches and brunches , especially here in Doha . You'll get out what you put into Doha , you can live a cracking life here but you must be prepared to put the effort in .

Doha is changing but it's no Dubai but on the other hand it's not Saudi . It's also relative to where you're coming from , the cynical expats like me who have been round the block can tell a different tale to a young family straight off the plane from a cold and wet UK .

I just try and be objective , i don't really care what they do here as i'm only here to work , getting parochial about tin pot Gulf countries is a waste of time. The majority of us will be gone when our time is up , we all leave sometimes and believe you me our hosts are happy when we do .

Try and take the best it has to offer and leave the shit at the door , sometimes that is hard because we're all swimming in the brown stuff sometimes

Quite possibly the best way to sum things up.

Thanks both

As far as The Package goes, I think that we are fairly lucky in that all the accom, car leasing, education etc is covered, and so I am less price sensitive that I might be if it was my own money! It looks as though we won't have to do much apart from buy food out of my income (though there are surely going to be a bunch of unexpected surprises). I think we know there will be a lot of adjustments, but feel it could be a very interesting 3 years.

anything good takes a bit of hard graft and effort ..... schools - I'd say keep going, don't take no for an answer, keep door knocking and eventually you'll strike lucky (or admissions will get pissed off with you and give you a space)

Doha's not for everyone, however we are having a laugh and making a bit of cash along the way

Heh heh - well, I hope it is a laugh! Thanks for the advice on schools.

it's about how you approach things - adventure or obstacle

think of getting your residence permit as an adventure and you'll be fine - keep smiling and remember everything is good story later in life or when visiting your family back in the UK who haven't left the same street they were born in!

Very true!

Actually, I was just corrected as to where we will be working. Initially it will be around Al Wakra, and Education City a couple of years later.

Then I'd suggest you look at accommodation in Abu Hamour or Al Wabb, both are fairly central and have nice new villa compounds at a reasonable price. The whole area to the south of Doha, including Al Wakra, is undergoing massive development, so expect chaos for the next 5-10 years.

Salwa Road and F-Ring Road upgrades should be finished when you arrive, which will help with transport links.

[J]

Thanks - that looks a good bet. What sort of commute time would that be? Also, i hear good things about the Al Faradin (sp?) properties - anyone with any experience of those?

Im in Al Fardan Gardens 3 in Abu Hamour - its OK, nothing special but is clean and well maintained with good security. I get a four bed villa of good size for 15,000 QAR a month unfurnished. The facilitites are quite good, pool, gym etc. The location is excellent for all of Doha its pretty central. There is also Al Fardan Gardens 4 just down the road.

You can deal with Al Fardan direct on leasing and cut out any agent & fees.
Contact: Marwan Tamim +974 77207961 & get your name on the waiting list.

Thanks Abbey08 -duly noted. Would you say then that 15k is a minimum for a decent 4 bed in that area?

13,000 upwards for a 4 bed , look around there's deals to be had , if you go 3 ks either way you could take 2,000 off the price .

Standards here are crap for the prices but don't get mugged into paying high end for pure crap , take the time out and have a good scout about .

If you're getting an allowance , a saving of 2,000 is better off in your pocket per month , that's 3 flights to Dubai