Usually, any chance of a "business trip" out of my base at RUH is a welcome prospect.
But last December/January I had a job to do in Doha, which involved a lot of "waiting" (hey! ain't that typical of the region!) and I'm afraid that Qatar just didn't "measure up".
Traffic - yes, heavy, with crazy drivers - not just locals but I had to be a pax in an Egyptian gent's car and we were constantly telling him to slow down, get on the right lane . . . 3 weeks into the job, I commented to my colleague that it was amazing his car was still the same shape
Taxis - They don't sem to know there's a meter, and most of the time they drive straight past anyway! (obviously
they don't need the money to pay the rent
)
Hotels - in early December, a half-decent hotel (eg Novotel-Mercure) was QR525 ($150) a night, but by mid-Jan it had gone up to QR750 ($200) which is an extortionate rate for the region (DXB about $130 a night) - if you could find one with space! Yes, "Asian Games" and all that, but if they don't build some more hotels, the Asian Games is going to be a joke - like the problems Bahrain had with the first Formula One.
Lifestyle - Living in a hotel,with the hotel bar the only entertainment and booze prices that would make a UK publican smile; no fun at all. I ended up flying to BAH for weekends, or any other time I knew that I was not "on call" and the company saved a bomb on BAH hotel rates (I spend BD23 - $60 a night for a nice comfortable place there, just around the corner from an "A&E" (off-licence!) -
Plug for "Diggers" at the Delmon
Sorry, Doha, if you're gonna "make it", you have some serious shaping up to do
Just a thought - Is it feasible, with the size of the country, that you could live "well outside" Doha in a smaller community at a reasonable rent? Might be a solution for a family if hubby does not want to spend a lot of time "in the city" on the p1ss with his mates?? At least "Mrs" can drive there, unlike in RUH
PS - thanks for the villa rates - with more involvement coming up there, our company were thinking of "saving money" by taking a villa/flat, but looks like that ain't an answer either