I’m the wife of a former Qatar Airways pilot. Hopefully you’ll find my experience helpful.
We were in Qatar for five years. My husband was on the 777 - a fleet which started out with fairly quiet rosters but gradually became hellish. He was home for just 8 days some months, and the rostering was brutal - flying east then west with less than 24 hours between. There were also cargo trips of up to 2 weeks, with very little flying (so v little flight pay) and lots of positioning (which they didn’t use to pay for, incredibly!)
Talking of pay - it’s pretty good, and allowances have gone up in recent years. I believe you can find a decent place to rent for the allowance, but food prices have gone up, and so have school fees. If you’re going to try to commute home, bear in mind that you’ll have to pay for business or first id90s (the crew cannot upgrade you from economy) and taxes for premium class in the UK and elsewhere are high. It’s not cheap.
Many people also get sucked into the expat lifestyle - expensive boozy brunches, large car loans, etc - and I do know people who have hardly saved in Qatar. It is very possible, but you have to be careful, particularly when choosing accommodation and schools.
It’s also worth noting that Qatar has some of the most polluted air in the world. The government never admits it, but the data is there for all to see. It’s not a great place for kids to grow up for this reason.
In the end, it wasn’t life in Doha which sent us home though - it was the stick not carrot management who seek to divide and conquer. You have no rights, really - the company can do what it likes to you and the QCAA will not object. Staff are so scared to speak out about the way they are treated they will rarely post on here, even anonymously. The cyber crime laws in Qatar also have caused many to fear speaking out (with good reason.)
We left because my husband was exhausted and demoralised. The company took all it could from him. You are not a valued employee - you are a number on a roster.
Money is not everything - we left for a country with decent employment rights, trustworthy healthcare, cleaner air, culture and beauty. There are some things you simply can’t put a price on.