Marianina

Hello everyone, my husband has been offered a job in Doha which we accepted and now waiting for things to get rolling. The company is providing us accomodation which (we have been told so) will most likely be in the zig zag towers or The Pearl - alternatively we can opt for a housing allowance which would be 4000 QAR. Now my question is, as we have been reading quite few negative things about the Zig Zag towers, is it really that bad? Should we go for the pearl or rather the housing allowance? Would be thankful for any review or more information! It's just the two of us, we have no kids.

Also OH needs a police clearance certificate - we are both British but have been living in New Zealand for the last 11 months - any idea from which country the PCC should be?

Thanks a lot for any info

flares

Alexa

I do not think you will find anything on The Pearl for 4000 QR. I have not heard anything good about Zig Zag.

Marianina

Thanks for the reply, Alexa. I haven't heard (or read) anything good either.
I know we won't find anything for 4000 in the pearl (unfortunately lol), What I meant is we have either the option to take one of the companies apartments (which are in the zig zag tower or the pearl) which will be fully paid by the company (means we don't have to pay any rent) OR we can choose something on our own anywhere in Doha, in this case we would get a house allowance of 4000QAR and the rest we would need to pay out of pocket. We would like to go for option 1 but not sure yet - probably we will wait until we get there and look around.

OriginalSunshine

well, if Saudi follow through and embargo Qatar, then I'm sure you'll find something in the Pearl for 4000 QAR

Venezuelan007

Hi...

If you go to the online sites for rent and stuff, you'll realize a 1 br in either the pearl or zigzag is 11k...ish...12k So all in all, either are better than 4000QR.

With 4000QR you'll live in wakra.

Now... I also read zigzag has problems with the elevators, and lagoona mall is still finishing touches, i went there last week and still some construction in the piazza side. The pearl, is also finishing touches, but, what isnt in qatar?

The only reason I would choose zigzag over pearl is the supermarket just right there.

And the only reason I would choose the 4000QR over the pearl or zigzag is, if I were crazy

britexpat76

Sounds like he is Government, my Wife has free accommodation or 5k per month which will get you nothing.........

Pearl and ZigZag is no difference to me - wouldn't want to be in either by choice but they are OK and you can walk to restaurants etc its just a bit far out.

Marianina

Thanks so much for the feedback guys.
OriginalSunshine, well if that happens I would run...as fast as I can

Venezuelan007 thank you, I guess the supermarket nearby is important, don't know how long it takes from the pearl to a supermarket.

britexpat76, ha ha how quickly did u figure that out, yes it's a public sector.

Well decision will be made once we are there, I am so excited, our actual plan was dubai but it happened to be qatar, I know its not great but we will make the best out of it

P18PPS

There is a couple of supermarkets on the Pearl as well. These costs at both though are more than the larger supermarkets as they are either the small Carrefour or a Spinney's.

I would definitely go for the Zig Zag tower as well $k will get you nothing here and at least you will have several restaurants to chose from in Lagoona, the Pearl and then there is the Grand Hyatt and Ritz Carlton nearby as well as the Golf club.

Almost forgot that the Maserati dealership is at the Pearl so you can get your car serviced there without having to go to the industrial area!!

Where in NZ were you and what brings you to Qatar?

Johnnyboy11

I'll raise britexpat76's bet...

Sounds like your hubby is joining Ashghal, but which Department, hmmm, let me think...

Utility fees on the Pearl are mandatory and about QR1500/month in the Summer, so factor that into your budget.

captainjack

Like everyone said 4K will get you absolutely nothing in those areas, thats a token gesture of an allowance tbh. Accommodation for say a 3 bedroom apt is approx. 12K standard. Obviously the further out you go the cheaper it gets but you have to be here to understand this line: get a place as close to work as possible! Traffic is absolutely awful and just getting worse daily. If they were still riding camels it would be better cos if a camel is abt to collide into something, it will stop beforehand!

As for police clearance, dont complicate your lives. Just get it from the UK period; that will be sufficient.

flares

Crewegirl

Hi Marianina, I live on the pearl in a 2 bed apartment that's huge and we only pay QAR900 per month for Qatar cool,electric and water just for your information. We love it here as it's easy to get to everywhere and the added bonus of being able to walk around the marina for something to eat etc.
There is a big spinneys opening here and it looks ready to go but who knows when.
Time to travel from the pearl to supermarkets depends on which one but we can get to LuLu in 20 mins, city centre in 20 mins,lagoona mall in 5 mins,landmark in 15 mins obviously traffic depending just like the rest of Doha
Anyway good luck with it all.

Crewegirl

Also if your husband is going to be working at the PWA the journey into Westbay from the earl and zig zag at 7am can take anything from 20 mins to 40 mins depending on which road they decide to dig up that week.

P18PPS

Re read your post and now changed my mind - I would go to the Pearl rather than Zig Zag - no motorbikes anymore as they are all around West Bay Lagoon now, all night long.