Qatar vs Australia
Sep 27th 2020, 11:42 pm
#1
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Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 2
Qatar vs Australia
Hi. I am a GP with 4 years experience post mrcgp and 15 yrs experience as adoctor overall. Considering working abroad.
The choice is between Australia and Qatar. Not sure which one to pursue at the moment.
1) Which one is more expensive in terms of living costs for a single person and other costs eg, utility, rent, food, indemnity, car etc
2) Qatari agents are offering 33000QR this time which is less than what they have been offering in recent years and I dont know if any other perks are included. In past they used to offer 41k for a specialist and more for consultat post. So i am not sure if its worth it financially given the agent's offer of 33K Qryals?
3) whats the difference in duties between a consultant and a specialist?
4) Australian has familiar systems similar to UK i am told?
5) Australia agents give a range of earnings depending on how many patients you see and the split..! Does that mean you have to work like a conveyer belt to generate a good income?
6) Australia and tax: is that a big factor?
The choice is between Australia and Qatar. Not sure which one to pursue at the moment.
1) Which one is more expensive in terms of living costs for a single person and other costs eg, utility, rent, food, indemnity, car etc
2) Qatari agents are offering 33000QR this time which is less than what they have been offering in recent years and I dont know if any other perks are included. In past they used to offer 41k for a specialist and more for consultat post. So i am not sure if its worth it financially given the agent's offer of 33K Qryals?
3) whats the difference in duties between a consultant and a specialist?
4) Australian has familiar systems similar to UK i am told?
5) Australia agents give a range of earnings depending on how many patients you see and the split..! Does that mean you have to work like a conveyer belt to generate a good income?
6) Australia and tax: is that a big factor?
Last edited by Hilmy; Sep 27th 2020 at 11:45 pm.
Sep 28th 2020, 11:02 am
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 4,017
Re: Qatar vs Australia
Hi. I am a GP with 4 years experience post mrcgp and 15 yrs experience as adoctor overall. Considering working abroad.
The choice is between Australia and Qatar. Not sure which one to pursue at the moment.
1) Which one is more expensive in terms of living costs for a single person and other costs eg, utility, rent, food, indemnity, car etc
2) Qatari agents are offering 33000QR this time which is less than what they have been offering in recent years and I dont know if any other perks are included. In past they used to offer 41k for a specialist and more for consultat post. So i am not sure if its worth it financially given the agent's offer of 33K Qryals?
3) whats the difference in duties between a consultant and a specialist?
4) Australian has familiar systems similar to UK i am told?
5) Australia agents give a range of earnings depending on how many patients you see and the split..! Does that mean you have to work like a conveyer belt to generate a good income?
6) Australia and tax: is that a big factor?
The choice is between Australia and Qatar. Not sure which one to pursue at the moment.
1) Which one is more expensive in terms of living costs for a single person and other costs eg, utility, rent, food, indemnity, car etc
2) Qatari agents are offering 33000QR this time which is less than what they have been offering in recent years and I dont know if any other perks are included. In past they used to offer 41k for a specialist and more for consultat post. So i am not sure if its worth it financially given the agent's offer of 33K Qryals?
3) whats the difference in duties between a consultant and a specialist?
4) Australian has familiar systems similar to UK i am told?
5) Australia agents give a range of earnings depending on how many patients you see and the split..! Does that mean you have to work like a conveyer belt to generate a good income?
6) Australia and tax: is that a big factor?
Sep 29th 2020, 2:04 pm
#5
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Qatar vs Australia
Sorry, I asked for a pint not a thimble....Australia is a super place but the big cities are far from cheap for living. Qatar is a dump but it's an experience and it's miles closer to home for trips back etc.
Australia is full of Australians, which isn't really ideal. Qatar is going to net you more cash in your pocket (probably?) but is certainly a 'harder' place to live than Oz.
It's two very, very different prospects.
Oct 7th 2020, 9:23 am
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2016
Location: SYD again, formerly PRG, LON, HKG, SIN, SYD & DOH
Posts: 145
Re: Qatar vs Australia
Hi - I live in Qatar and lived in Australia for 5, so I can help on the non medical questions.
Housing is expensive in both places. Depending on level of quality you want, there is a wide range of options but you are looking at 10-12k/month at the top end (e.g. a serviced apartment). In Australia your accommodation depends on your location. Eastern Suburbs Sydney is a very different price point compared to a rural location. https://www.propertyfinder.qa/ for Qatar and Domain.com.au for Australia are good places to start.
The Australian health system is a very good one with most people covered by Medicare by the Government and supplemental private insurance if they are higher earners. For a GP, most surgeries offer "bulk billing" which from the patient perspective means that they don't pay for a consultation in most circumstances and the surgery is paid directly by the Government (I think its c. A$37 for a standard consultation). Qatar has either the public system via Hamad and the Primary Health Care network or private clinics for which people either pay or claim from health insurance.
Taxes in Australia are clearly there, what you find though is that you don't need to spend so much there.
- Frequent travel home or overseas (ticket prices from Doha and Sydney back to the UK are were similar pre-COVID). People try and fly out to escape, especially if they are single. Travel is clearly limited in both countries at the moment.
- Qatar's population is small and the "Western" expat/Qatari population is much smaller, as a result things that need to imported are expensive and some services are very hard to find. As a result you can end up spending obscene amounts on Aramex and Amazon shipping costs
- You can do a lot in Australia for free (bushwalking, going to the beach etc) There isn't much you can do in Qatar for free....
Other observations -
- Cars and petrol is much higher in Australia due to petrol taxes. Driving though is much safer
- Food wise, compare supermarket costs (https://www.coles.com.au/) / https://www.carrefourqatar.com/, our shop in Australia is cheaper
- Higher quality clothes, sports equipment, electronics are more expensive in Qatar, if you can find it. Otherwise you are looking at Amazon (and shipping costs)
- Booze and eating out is cheaper in Australia, especially comparing QDC vs the bottle shops
- Fast Food (eg Maccas) is cheaper in Qatar
- Finding a decent Indian curry in Australia is hard, in Qatar you have plenty of choices.
- Finding good Chinese and Thai food in Australia is easy, in Qatar you are stuck with very limited choices
Gut feel is 33k / month (all in) in Qatar, as a single expat is doable, but you wont be having a luxurious lifestyle
In Australia, GPs do ok, but not sure about earnings. That said they're not on the breadline
If I was single in my mid 30's, I would opt for Australia to have a "normal" lifestyle even if the money was a bit less. Both locations have tons of British and Irish medics running around.
Housing is expensive in both places. Depending on level of quality you want, there is a wide range of options but you are looking at 10-12k/month at the top end (e.g. a serviced apartment). In Australia your accommodation depends on your location. Eastern Suburbs Sydney is a very different price point compared to a rural location. https://www.propertyfinder.qa/ for Qatar and Domain.com.au for Australia are good places to start.
The Australian health system is a very good one with most people covered by Medicare by the Government and supplemental private insurance if they are higher earners. For a GP, most surgeries offer "bulk billing" which from the patient perspective means that they don't pay for a consultation in most circumstances and the surgery is paid directly by the Government (I think its c. A$37 for a standard consultation). Qatar has either the public system via Hamad and the Primary Health Care network or private clinics for which people either pay or claim from health insurance.
Taxes in Australia are clearly there, what you find though is that you don't need to spend so much there.
- Frequent travel home or overseas (ticket prices from Doha and Sydney back to the UK are were similar pre-COVID). People try and fly out to escape, especially if they are single. Travel is clearly limited in both countries at the moment.
- Qatar's population is small and the "Western" expat/Qatari population is much smaller, as a result things that need to imported are expensive and some services are very hard to find. As a result you can end up spending obscene amounts on Aramex and Amazon shipping costs
- You can do a lot in Australia for free (bushwalking, going to the beach etc) There isn't much you can do in Qatar for free....
Other observations -
- Cars and petrol is much higher in Australia due to petrol taxes. Driving though is much safer
- Food wise, compare supermarket costs (https://www.coles.com.au/) / https://www.carrefourqatar.com/, our shop in Australia is cheaper
- Higher quality clothes, sports equipment, electronics are more expensive in Qatar, if you can find it. Otherwise you are looking at Amazon (and shipping costs)
- Booze and eating out is cheaper in Australia, especially comparing QDC vs the bottle shops
- Fast Food (eg Maccas) is cheaper in Qatar
- Finding a decent Indian curry in Australia is hard, in Qatar you have plenty of choices.
- Finding good Chinese and Thai food in Australia is easy, in Qatar you are stuck with very limited choices
Gut feel is 33k / month (all in) in Qatar, as a single expat is doable, but you wont be having a luxurious lifestyle
In Australia, GPs do ok, but not sure about earnings. That said they're not on the breadline
If I was single in my mid 30's, I would opt for Australia to have a "normal" lifestyle even if the money was a bit less. Both locations have tons of British and Irish medics running around.
