So by saying expat lifestyle what you are saying is you wish to be able to partake in copious amounts of alcohol and partying and boat parties? Why not just go to Hong Kong on POS18, live on peel street so after your 14hr duty and test and hold you can go meet gollum. Maybe grab a Swire house or a junk sometimes when you get bored of the standard street life. Otherwise take a trip to Riyadh. The private compound parties are rather large and always contain copious amounts of snow and other fuel.
Maybe that's your idea of expat life. I already did all that and got it out of my system when I was a 25 year old energy machine in Dubai. I'm finding it incredibly frustrating to get an answer for "how different is it to live and work in Doha when compared to the Dubai I know". I've been an expat for the past 5 years trying to win a transfer to the base of my choice. Command is around the corner so I will go back to the bottom of the list for the base I'm requesting. If I'm going to continue being an expat in a place I don't enjoy (eastern Europe), I might as well try to be an expat in a city where most of the people are expats, money will be good and where I will experience work as an airline pilot, rather than an airplane driver. Emirates appears to be slowing down Boeing assessment so I'm considering other companies in the area. Would Doha be a good option? Is my question really that hard to understand?