j4mi3... everyone is entitled to their own opinion regarding a place to work, a place to live etc. I'm not going to criticize your post or start singing the praises about Qatar telling you you're wrong and to come here.
However in all honesty Black Pudding has hit the nail on the head and a mate of mine is saying the same and has been encouraging me to come to Qatar for a long time. He's not necessarily talking about the country itself but the accommodation, roster, pay, aircraft etc. You mention accommodation but (as an example) I was in Dubai the other week... Is company accommodation at other airlines any better and is company accommodation available? Most of the time the company accommodation is not available anyway or people choose to stay elsewhere to be where they prefer or even to make money out of the allowance. Also just one more thing, you mention about cost of living... is it better to earn (let's say) £50k a year - a standard FO wage (or £100k if you're a Capt)... so around £4k or £8k a month in the UK? It's taxed, you have to pay your accommodation out of that.... or earn double in Qatar - it's tax free, the accommodation is paid (either way if you take company accommodation or the allowance - which should take care of the accommodation and some are even making money from it!). Food, utilities etc are not gonna cost you several thousand... so cost of living is not really a factor... you should think of how much you save after your expenses or 'net'.
I talk to colleagues about going to the ME all the time at my place as well as monitor these forums... some of the best advice people have said is that, in any country... you can either look at the positives or the negatives If you keep comparing it to your life back home, nobody would ever leave. At the end of the day, most people are in the Middle East to earn money, earn your money and if you need a 'UK' fix or fresh vegetables from time to time... go home to the UK, once/twice a month (which is possible with the roster and good staff travel as Black Pudding said, not to mention if you're flying a Type that goes to the UK) and just suck up the rest. It's up to you... but I presume you were just trying to get a balanced view as after all you are posting on a Public Forum.
All the best!
Last edited by bananaman2; 18th Oct 2015 at 02:40.