Living in Qatar?
Thread Starter
Living in Qatar?
Have been asked to consider a management position, based in DOH, but not working for QR! Monthly salary will be around QAR 28000, with another QAR 18K for housing, 10K for schooling of two kids, 5K for a car and 1K for utilities.
On top of that, the wife will also be offered a part-time job in the company as my PA, earning around QAR 10K a month.
Now Qatar is not, not even by a long shot, anywhere near the list of places I desire to live. Rather the opposite, actually. Therefore, unless this is a deal that will enable us to save up a substantial amount over a period of 2-3 years, while living very comfortably, I'll give this offer a miss.
Question is, will this make for a comfortable living for a family of 4, including 2 kids of 10 and 15, and offer the opportunity of building a nest egg?
On top of that, the wife will also be offered a part-time job in the company as my PA, earning around QAR 10K a month.
Now Qatar is not, not even by a long shot, anywhere near the list of places I desire to live. Rather the opposite, actually. Therefore, unless this is a deal that will enable us to save up a substantial amount over a period of 2-3 years, while living very comfortably, I'll give this offer a miss.
Question is, will this make for a comfortable living for a family of 4, including 2 kids of 10 and 15, and offer the opportunity of building a nest egg?
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Living in Qatar?
Qatar is not a bad place to live, at all. Very sociable people with not a lot of poverty but expensive rents and although a Muslim country, there are very few radicals. Good provision for education and lovely, low taxes. Be prepared for stinking hot summers though.
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Good luck finding school places.
6 months in country before you can sponsor your family and get their RP's. Kids cannot get a school place without an RP, whilst many schools have been relaxed about this the SEC are now clamping down hard and some schools have been ejecting pupils without RP's.
Even if you get over the 6 month hurdle there is a waiting list of 2 years+ for places at the decent expat schools.
In addition the SEC has recently introduced a rule whereby kids can only enter or change schools at the start of the school year and you'll have to be very lucky to find places.
Even worse, if you happen to be Indian you can forget about bringing your family (no matter what your income is), very recently the government has put a block on family visas for Indians (I'm guessing other nationalities too).
In essence Qatar wants to develop and to do that it needs an ever increasing expat workforce. What they are not so keen on is what has been referred to as 'incidental population increase'.
I.E. families.
6 months in country before you can sponsor your family and get their RP's. Kids cannot get a school place without an RP, whilst many schools have been relaxed about this the SEC are now clamping down hard and some schools have been ejecting pupils without RP's.
Even if you get over the 6 month hurdle there is a waiting list of 2 years+ for places at the decent expat schools.
In addition the SEC has recently introduced a rule whereby kids can only enter or change schools at the start of the school year and you'll have to be very lucky to find places.
Even worse, if you happen to be Indian you can forget about bringing your family (no matter what your income is), very recently the government has put a block on family visas for Indians (I'm guessing other nationalities too).
In essence Qatar wants to develop and to do that it needs an ever increasing expat workforce. What they are not so keen on is what has been referred to as 'incidental population increase'.
I.E. families.
Last edited by Strangeways Southpaw; 11th Feb 2014 at 11:19. Reason: Expanding on response
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Is the schooling allowance monthly?
The 18k will get you a comfortable villa or flat but rents are rising. The utility allowance should pay your electric, water and your internet. The car allowance is sufficient also in my opinion. Take what you have left and decide for yourself if you can save money from the remainder of your pay.
I don't mind Doha but then I get to leave fairly often. I preferred living in China as far as culture and daily life go. The school my children attend here is better than the international school in China.
Your mileage will vary depending on what your expectations are.
The 18k will get you a comfortable villa or flat but rents are rising. The utility allowance should pay your electric, water and your internet. The car allowance is sufficient also in my opinion. Take what you have left and decide for yourself if you can save money from the remainder of your pay.
I don't mind Doha but then I get to leave fairly often. I preferred living in China as far as culture and daily life go. The school my children attend here is better than the international school in China.
Your mileage will vary depending on what your expectations are.
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Housing allowance is enough, if it is per month, you will get a nice villa in a compound, but rents are out of control
If the school allowance is yearly, u will end up with almost no savings, good schools are very expensive and most wanted, so there is a loooooooong waiting list, the rest of the schools are horrible, very poor standard and disorganized.
Utility allowance and transportation is enough.
Qatar is a third world country, pretending to be the best of the best, which is in reality the contrary. A lot of constructions going on, very dusty, traffic hell, law enforcement almost not existing and depending on their mood
General living costs very high, even though they say it's all tax free restaurants very expensive, clothing and rest of your needs very expensive (never saw such an expensive ikea)
Cars cheap, petrol very cheap.
Generally prizes are increasing rapidly the last years and they will continue to increase, as there is no official control
Good luck with your decision
All the best
If the school allowance is yearly, u will end up with almost no savings, good schools are very expensive and most wanted, so there is a loooooooong waiting list, the rest of the schools are horrible, very poor standard and disorganized.
Utility allowance and transportation is enough.
Qatar is a third world country, pretending to be the best of the best, which is in reality the contrary. A lot of constructions going on, very dusty, traffic hell, law enforcement almost not existing and depending on their mood
General living costs very high, even though they say it's all tax free restaurants very expensive, clothing and rest of your needs very expensive (never saw such an expensive ikea)
Cars cheap, petrol very cheap.
Generally prizes are increasing rapidly the last years and they will continue to increase, as there is no official control
Good luck with your decision
All the best
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Qatar is not a bad place to live. Your salary seems to be fairly reasonable and will suffice and you should be able to live well and save.
However - Beware! They can turn off your contract at the slightest whim and leave you without pay and debts to pay. You will also need an exit visa and if your sponsor chooses not to give you one then it can get very precarious! You will be the sponsor for your wife and family so they will not have a problem leaving.
Just do some research first, look at the problems some of the expats are having or have had. I was one who suffered and had to wait 3 months for an exit visa and they owe me $30000+ with no chance of getting this money. Some consider extreme ways to "escape" the country without a visa.
Nice big salaries, promises of luxury living (not maybe what you consider luxury). More or less everything in Qatar is a facade. If you decide to move there, my advice is to save as much as you can and send it home regularly.
All I'll say to finish is: Money isn't everything!
However - Beware! They can turn off your contract at the slightest whim and leave you without pay and debts to pay. You will also need an exit visa and if your sponsor chooses not to give you one then it can get very precarious! You will be the sponsor for your wife and family so they will not have a problem leaving.
Just do some research first, look at the problems some of the expats are having or have had. I was one who suffered and had to wait 3 months for an exit visa and they owe me $30000+ with no chance of getting this money. Some consider extreme ways to "escape" the country without a visa.
Nice big salaries, promises of luxury living (not maybe what you consider luxury). More or less everything in Qatar is a facade. If you decide to move there, my advice is to save as much as you can and send it home regularly.
All I'll say to finish is: Money isn't everything!
Thread Starter
Thanks for the feedback all, much appreciated. Indeed the allowances listed are all on a monthly basis, otherwise it would be impossible.
Since I will be the local director of the company, granting myself an exit visa should not be much of a problem. Part of the deal is also that my wife will be hired as a part-time admin assistant. She's not the type contend with minding kids, home and garden. She's got a very good head, and if it's not used properly she'll go mental. I guess that should solve the 'minimum 6 months before you can sponsor a family' issue. I mean, a mother is allowed to bring her kids, right?
One major concern is schooling. We are, perhaps foolishly, telling ourselves this would be an excellent chance for the kids to get out of the bubble they live in now, and see what other places, cultures and habits are like. If nothing else, they'll come back with an excellent command of a very useful 2nd language (English, not Arabic, in case you wondered). However, if a decent school is right next to Unobtanium in the periodic table, then that's a definite deal breaker. Any recommendations for good schools?
I'm off late February/early March, planning to stay for a couple of weeks and see if the shoe fits, so to speak.
Since I will be the local director of the company, granting myself an exit visa should not be much of a problem. Part of the deal is also that my wife will be hired as a part-time admin assistant. She's not the type contend with minding kids, home and garden. She's got a very good head, and if it's not used properly she'll go mental. I guess that should solve the 'minimum 6 months before you can sponsor a family' issue. I mean, a mother is allowed to bring her kids, right?
One major concern is schooling. We are, perhaps foolishly, telling ourselves this would be an excellent chance for the kids to get out of the bubble they live in now, and see what other places, cultures and habits are like. If nothing else, they'll come back with an excellent command of a very useful 2nd language (English, not Arabic, in case you wondered). However, if a decent school is right next to Unobtanium in the periodic table, then that's a definite deal breaker. Any recommendations for good schools?
I'm off late February/early March, planning to stay for a couple of weeks and see if the shoe fits, so to speak.
Thread Starter
However - Beware! They can turn off your contract at the slightest whim and leave you without pay and debts to pay. You will also need an exit visa and if your sponsor chooses not to give you one then it can get very precarious!
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you will still need a sponsor for residency, they will be ultimately responsible for issuing a visa. However as you are the "boss" you could get them to authorise a multi-exit visa in which case you can keep it up your sleeve in case you need to make a hasty exit
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SMT, would you share some details? I would also like to move to Qatar. Not for the money, I am not mercenary. I would like to move there for the sheer joy of living amongst such polite, humble native people with such good mature sense of restraint and responsibility.
I enjoy interacting with people who have good manners and grace and so Qatar is the place for me and this is more important to me than any amount of money.
If I can live with peole who demonstrate good courteous sense of decency on the road in their tinted 4WDs, this is enough in life for me; who needs money??
It would do me more honour than money could allow for to step back in a bank (or other) queue and let my gracious host surge ahead of me as I know it's only fair.
If I can get this job, I will work for nothing which is more than I could ever expect from my hosts.
I enjoy interacting with people who have good manners and grace and so Qatar is the place for me and this is more important to me than any amount of money.
If I can live with peole who demonstrate good courteous sense of decency on the road in their tinted 4WDs, this is enough in life for me; who needs money??
It would do me more honour than money could allow for to step back in a bank (or other) queue and let my gracious host surge ahead of me as I know it's only fair.
If I can get this job, I will work for nothing which is more than I could ever expect from my hosts.
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SMT,
The American school is quite good and your allowance would cover most of the expenses. It is one of the most expensive. Most schools are running waiting lists now. At least at the American School older kids have a bit of an easier time getting in. If English isn't their first language and of lower standard they may have trouble with the admissions. ACS was our backup and quite a few of our neighbors like the British schools.
The American school is quite good and your allowance would cover most of the expenses. It is one of the most expensive. Most schools are running waiting lists now. At least at the American School older kids have a bit of an easier time getting in. If English isn't their first language and of lower standard they may have trouble with the admissions. ACS was our backup and quite a few of our neighbors like the British schools.
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American School.....
If your education allowance is 18K for the year...best to have a look at the ASD website...It is really expensive and your allowance won't pay for it....
American School of Doha >tuition>fees
Hope it helps
American School of Doha >tuition>fees
Hope it helps
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Short answer
SMT,
Doha is not a place for kids, full stop.
I've lived in the UAE for many years and my kids had a great time there with many activities. In Doha, I live by myself while my family is back in our home country. An interesting statistic; out of 10 families in my department with school aged children, 6 of the families choose to have the wife and kids live in their home country.
There is little/nothing to do in Doha, your kids will be bored stiff unless they love playing X-Box all day.
IMO, unless you need the job you're offered (legitimate concern) I would pass on this one.
Doha is not a place for kids, full stop.
I've lived in the UAE for many years and my kids had a great time there with many activities. In Doha, I live by myself while my family is back in our home country. An interesting statistic; out of 10 families in my department with school aged children, 6 of the families choose to have the wife and kids live in their home country.
There is little/nothing to do in Doha, your kids will be bored stiff unless they love playing X-Box all day.
IMO, unless you need the job you're offered (legitimate concern) I would pass on this one.
Thread Starter
777AV8R
Thanks for the link; tuition truly is eye watering expensive, particularly when you hail from a place where all tuition, up to and including university, is free of charge.
the Shue
Thank you for the warning, which we've taken onboard. Thing is, I will not be working for an airline, and thus all except 2 trips per year will be on own expense with no chance of cheap ID tickets. Given that, and the demands of the job, an arrangement whereby wife and kids stays at home, could result in us only seeing each other 2-4 times a year. And that, if anything, is a surefire way to ruin a relationship.
I don't need the job, the only attraction is the chance of building a nice nest egg over a 3 year period, then retreat to civilization and use it to fund the downpayment on a home.
Thanks for the link; tuition truly is eye watering expensive, particularly when you hail from a place where all tuition, up to and including university, is free of charge.
the Shue
Thank you for the warning, which we've taken onboard. Thing is, I will not be working for an airline, and thus all except 2 trips per year will be on own expense with no chance of cheap ID tickets. Given that, and the demands of the job, an arrangement whereby wife and kids stays at home, could result in us only seeing each other 2-4 times a year. And that, if anything, is a surefire way to ruin a relationship.
I don't need the job, the only attraction is the chance of building a nice nest egg over a 3 year period, then retreat to civilization and use it to fund the downpayment on a home.
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Dammed if you do and Dammed if you don't
There are good points raised above in regard to spouses and kids living on site in ME.
Some take to it, some hate it.
Unless you are very lucky, do not expet to make your fortune and go home rich.
Just my little input.
Glf
Some take to it, some hate it.
Unless you are very lucky, do not expet to make your fortune and go home rich.
Just my little input.
Glf
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I think that the cost of living here with a family will reduce the possibility of saving a substantial amount. Your housing allowance will cover rental of a reasonable villa, but education and activities for the kids will eat into your potential savings. Transport will be an issue - if your wife is working, then you will need a driver service to get the kids to and from school and ferry them around for after-school activities. There is little to no safe public transport here - I wouldn't recommend taxis for the kids or wife, too many scary tales.
You might like to come here for the experience, but don't count on saving a heap of money.
If you can handle the separation, you could come here on your own, pocket the housing allowance and live in a much cheaper apartment etc - then you could probably save money, but at what cost in quality of life?
You might like to come here for the experience, but don't count on saving a heap of money.
If you can handle the separation, you could come here on your own, pocket the housing allowance and live in a much cheaper apartment etc - then you could probably save money, but at what cost in quality of life?