oasisuk

Hi ! I am new to this community and seeking advice and information.
I shall be moving to Doha in March to start my employment in the health sector and will be living in Barwa City. Can someone please advice : 1 what is Barwa city like in terms of facilities and things to do, 2 is there a dry cleaner/laundrette (washing and ironing shirts, trousers etc!) and the cost, 3 how much is taxi fare to west bay /pearl etc, 4 good hair dressers for men, 5 things to do and where to make friends (m/f), 6 what to do in the evenings
Thanks and apologies for the long list ! you can imagine the nervousness of moving into a new environment !

fezzer

Hi! Welcome to Qatar. Unfortunately i dont know much about Barwa city, but it's about 15km from West Bay, and a bit further to the Pearl. A taxi would probably cost 70-80 QAR but dont under estimate how long it will take to travel there at peak times. That would probably be the limiting factor rather than the cost.

Brains1983

how on earth did you get to the stage of moving to Doha without knowing/checking those things?

oasisuk

long story !

martinbkk

It's probably a bit late now but might be worth bearing in mind for others treading a similar path. A ticket to Doha and 3 nights in a hotel here with no other pressures other than to "Check the place out" would in my opinion be a very worthwhile investment. If you're coming here to work the chances are it's for decent money so the cost will be recovered in short order and if you learn it's not for you then that was a very worthwhile price to pay indeed.

Tatooine might sound exotic but would you go live there with out seeing the place!

My opinion is that Barwa city, a collection of block house apartments and not a great deal else from what I saw of the place, is not somewhere I'd want to live. At least not without a car. Out in the sticks with not a lot of facilities. was my impression.

FWIW, I have a car, still wouldn't want to live there.

Johnnyboy11

Never been in Barwa City itself, but did visit the construction site a couple of times. Here's my take:

New development of apartment blocks, maybe 3 years old.
From outside it looks ok, for Qatar.
Next to a huge graveyard, which is flooded with rising groundwater (Not kidding).
Near the only booze shop in Qatar (QDC), which covers your question about what to do in the evening.
Near Safari Mall, which is no longer smelly inside, since they covered the meat counter
Huge roadworks nearby - Muntazah St. being upgraded to motorway
Traffic nightmare getting to West Bay, easily an hour during the rush hour(s)
Near Industrial Area, so lots of heavy lorries around (You won't believe this place until you see it, or worst still try to drive in it).
Guessing that a 2-bed furnished apartment including utilities will be about QAR7.5k per month

[J]

co durham boy

Back of the industrial area and for a new development it's a shit tip , best part is that it's 10mins now to the airport , great escape times .

I wouldn't live there rent free

Alexa

Exactly. I went there once, just to see it, hoofed it out of there asap.

CountingStars

Is this where your permanent accomodation is going to be based or your initialy temporary accomodation? I understand that some of the health organisations provide expats with temporary accomodation (which is usually out of the way) until they receive their Qatari resident permit. Once you have your resident permit, which usually takes about 3 months, you should be in a position to choose your 'permanent' accomodation.

britexpat76

Apparently a shop has opened now as before there was literally nothing.

co durham boy

Yes mate a Lulu has opened to terrific fanfare , fill your boots on a Friday in there eh !

oasisuk

Its temp accomodation till other formalities complete, any suggestions as to where to apply for perm residency after, I was lookin ginto west bay, Al Waab and MAdinat Khalifa (in that order)

CountingStars

I don't live in Qatar but from what I have researched West Bay and The Pearl are the most popular locations - it reflects in their high rental prices as well if you look on any letting agents website.

Venezuelan007

westbay 12000 for 1br furnished (zig zag tower) to infinite and beyond

Al waab, 13000-15000 k mostly villas compounds 2-3 bdr

madinat khalifa 8-9k... i actually prefer duhail than madinat khalifa, and its almost the same location, traffic and commute wise