Doha?

[jugglingmonkey]

DH has been offered a job in Doha.

Can anyone tell me about it? Good places to live? West Bay would be most convenient for his work but seems v expensive? I like the look of Al Jazi but can't actually find any properties to rent there, so no idea on their price range.

We'll have 2 young children (pre school), and would be okay in an apartment I think.

Would we make friends easily enough?

For info, we like Dubai (Arabian ranches for example), started exploring options there, and then this came up!

cross post sorry -Al Waab is family compound area .A trek to WB but plenty do it .

On 70k a month I would look at a villa in West Bay lagoon, "easy" commute into West Bay and one of the nicest settings in Doha

Al Waab is a great area but it's quite a long commute into West Bay. That said I know several people who do it. You can have a good life in Qatar on that money. Just be warned that if you want to save enough to pay for an extension (presumably around GBP 100k) over three years you will really need to watch how much you spend. Try not to get caught up in keeping up with the Joneses - designer handbags and holidays in five star hotels. We save a similar amount a month on a similar package (sort of) but need to watch what we're spending a lot. Will you still need to pay the mortgage on your place in London?

Ask for school fees in the package. I know you don't need them now but as I heard my boss say earlier 'I'm now six years into my two year plan'.

Hi Juggling, I am also moving to Doha soon. Also a bit anxious, and I am coming from another Gulf country. Have visited Doha once or twice and very different from where I am. My husband has just secured a house on a Al Fardan compound. Have been assured this is one of the better compounds to do the hellish school run to Sherbourne.
I will have little ones at the Sherbourne Infant campus and an older child at the senior school. Does anyone know if a school bus goes to the Fardan compounds? Thanks for any help

Hi Juggling, I will also moving to Doha in the summer. Very anxious. I am coming from another Gulf country and must admit Doha is very different from where I am. On the positive side my husband has secured a house on one of the Al Fardan compounds, and it seems really nice.I have been assured that this is a good location for the hellish school run?
Can anyone advise if there is a school bus that does the rounds of the compounds? I will have children at both Infant and senior campuses. Any advice appreciated.

Sorry, realised have posted more or less same thing twice, sorry! Didn't think it went the first time

Thanks everyone.

We need to cover the mortgage here but luckily the rental market is great and we're hoping that the house will more than cover itself.

Al Waab looks good, so do some of the villas in Abu Hamour/Salwa Rd? I think if the budget would stretch we'd try for West Bay Lagoon as that's very close to where the job is.

And hello Boys! I'll let you know if we decide to make the move! Good luck with yours!

Yes, do let me know.

Abu Hamour's good to. I know that you want to plan but honestly you have to wait until you get here to find something! As long as you know you have 20-25k in your budget for housing you'll get something - it's a good budget.

No idea on Sherborne buses (call them) but be aware that the buses can take a very long long time because they go all round the houses. Worth considering a driver.

too and probably other typos too numerous to mention.

juggling you can live in west bay lagoon on that kind of package, just depends how much you want to save. PM me if you want more details.

If you have 2 children a driver is probably more convenient and cost effective . School buses frighten me .They use Coasters with inefficient seats and belts.Some companies have adult monitors but I also see children unrestrained and dashing all around the buses ( There is no law on seatbelts for kids )

Hi OP I live in Doha too. You've been given some great advice on this thread, I agree with it all, especially Jebel at 06.15 and Living at 12.22.

The Al Fardan compounds are generally very highly regarded and beautifully maintained with great facilities - definitely amongst the top end of compounds but they are not cheap and some of them are in bloody awful/awkward locations. Al Saad no, not really, unless you are on an extremely tight budget and don't mind being in an old build apartment. West Bay Lagoon is indeed lovely but it is very, very expensive and although it's handy for the Pearl, Katara, the Golf Club and all the 5 star beach hotels (you would not believe how much our social lives revolve around high end licensed hotels) it isn't an especially practical location for all the normal day to day stuff like big supermarkets and doctors etc. Personally I much prefer to live somewhere homely and practical and drive to the glamorous end of town when I need it, rather than the other way around.

I live in Al Waab which is probably the most popular area for British and European expats. If you have young children you would be pretty happy in this area I think. It's extremely practical, clean and attractive for the most part and you won't be stuck for friends. Everything is on your doorstep that you are likely to need with a young family, decent health centres, parks, malls etc. Gharaffa and the area around Landmark and Ezdan Malls is not too bad, and is generally cheaper than Al Waab.

Al Jazi is very central but again, personally I'd rather drive into the city than live there day in day out.

For a generously sized (compared to the UK) 3 or 4 bed family villa you will see things advertised on the internet at anywhere from 11k per month upwards but please be aware that the the quality/standard of the different neighbourhoods around Doha vary MASSIVELY and there are some areas that you really don't want to be stuck in. You definitely get what you pay for where housing is concerned. As you won't need a massive place I'd say you will get a great quality, decent sized house in a nice area (but not the biggest house with it's own pool in the best area) for 15k-20k. You can pay alot more than 20k but if you are wanting to save I would argue that you really don't need to pay more than that.

I can recommend some really nice compounds that aren't too far out in the sticks if you like.

Also there is lots of building going on at a new area not far from West Bay called Lusail and there will be masses and masses of new accommodation coming on the market in the next couple of years over that end of town.

Personally I wouldn't live on the Pearl as it's one road in, one road out and can get a a fucking nightmare a bit gridlocked with traffic at busy times, and it's not even at full occupancy yet. And as someone upthread said, there are lots of boy racers in flashy cars screeching around at night. It's almost all apartments, very few houses and they are REALLY expensive (private beach frontage etc)

Thanks to everyone who has replied here, such useful info, I really do appreciate it.

I only use the chat app on my phone so I can't send/receive PM's (I prob can if I use a desktop), but a list of good compounds in Al Waab would be very welcome.

I agree in that our aim in moving to Doha is to save, for me to spend some quality time with our DC rather than working, and hopefully enjoy a couple of trips to India (a country we love). With that in mind, it seems silly to blow the budget on a west bay villa when Al Waab would seem to offer a more real and homely experience. We're commuters so a long-ish drive doesn't phase DH too much.

Of course though you're right, we'll have to wait until we arrive to find the right house, so will look for an apartment to rent for the first few months...

I'll re-instate this thread once we know we're coming (hopefully we'll get this visit agreed by DH's company) and can start the ball rolling. In response to a PP, yes the job is a transfer within his company, so in theory he has a role to return to in the UK!

The traffic here is pretty bloody awful but to be honest nowhere is very far from anywhere else in terms of distance. My DH drives from Al Waab into the city centre each day and even on a bad day it's nowhere as long as his old train commute to London.

Also as others have said, the lifestyle here is more laid back and less flashy than Dubai with an infrastructure that is very much a work in progress. This has its pros and cons. There is a less sophisticated and established social scene in terms of variety of places to go, to eat, to shop, and the shopping here can be frustratingly limited and expensive (especially clothes and furniture) although it's getting better all the time. Lots of people do regularly jump on a cheap flight to Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Bahrain for a weekend of fun and shopping or for big events/concerts etc.

But, and it's a very important but, Doha still has a very personal, inclusive and friendly small town feel about it, unlike Dubai which has become quite impersonal in the last 10 years. Everyone here is still pretty welcoming and helpful towards newbies and we inevitably all end up knowing the same people via one convoluted route or another (at least if you don't know someone personally you will hear their name mentioned all the time, and when you make a friend you will go somewhere full of total strangers and find that three of them also know your friend! It's like a constant, giant game of six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon - quite bizarre at times, but strangely comforting!

Yes,thanks for the advice.I may well look into getting a driver. My son takes the bus here,and yes,goes around the houses for about three quarters of an hour before heading to school.he understandably hates it.

The trouble with the school buses is that they stop at every compound known to man and it takes an age. I'm lucky that DD goes to school really close to home and I can leave home, drop her and be back home in under half an hour. It's worth getting your school place first and picking a house nearby to it, although that is less easy than it sounds!

We are in the same situation here, my youngest two in one campus and my son on the other over half an hour away. He gets the bus but no not ideal, he has to go to at least 6 other compounds before heading to school. Unfortunately I don't think from what little I have seen that the area Sherbourne is in does have any compounds around there. Once term ends here I think I will head to Doha for a few weeks to sort residence permits, unpack boxes etc, so will try to sort driver etc at same time.can imagine it will be a very boring time as everyone else will have escaped the heat!

Sherbourne is in the middle of nowhere - highly inconvenient for almost everybody!

Evening everyone,

Reinstating this thread as we are heading to Doha this weekend, with a view to moving in August... Having made a few contacts now and done some further research, we are very excited!

Just wanted to pop back and say hello - I know one or two of you kindly offered to send over the names of nice compounds in Al Waab? That would be much appreciated!

I'm also going to join Doha mums...

Can't help you on compounds but welcome. There should be more space everywhere than a few months ago: loads of people have lost jobs in the last few months.

Hello again juggling how did you get on with your visit?

There is a brand new facebook page called Doha Property Exchange where people can advertise villas and apartments they are leaving mid-contract and need to get taken over so they don't get charged for the remainder of the term, which can be a very useful way of getting in before somewhere is advertised.

You can also ask questions about the various compounds and areas, the breakdown of nationalities/families etc. It's quite a new page so don't expect too much yet, but I'll recommend another page in a minute that is much busier, although not specifically about housing, you can still ask the same things on there too. Lots of people leave at the end of the school year so August is a good time to find somewhere, although an awful time to arrive because of the heat!

At least the roads will be quiet and you'll have a chance to get your bearings without the usual nightmare traffic/driving to content with. do make the most of that, get driving as soon as possible, as scary as it is, there is no point in putting it off. And once you get the hang of it it's fine.

The other very useful facebook page is called When, Where & How in Doha.

You can ask all sorts of questions about anything Doha related on there and people are extremely helpful.

Also expatwoman.com

Presumably your company will put you up in a be serviced apartment or hotel for the first month while you find a house? I would really recommend that you don't sign a lease on a villa from August to August if you can help it. It makes it very difficult to look for a new house and move at a time when you would normally be away for the summer and they are unlikely to allow you to extend by a couple of months unless you agree it at the beginning. Try to sign something from around October if you can, or ask that the first year be extended to 14 - 18 months so that it doesn't end in August or early September.

With regard to compounds it really depends whether you want any sort of decent sized outdoor space or not - the ones with gardens and grass cost more. Most places in and around Al Waab are fine, but some nice compounds to try are Palm City Gardens 2, (beautiful kitchens and some have really good sized gardens) most of the Beverly Hills Gardens ones (there are loads, all slightly different from each other, some nicer than others) Nine Pearls, Champs Elysees, Al Waab Oasis, Al Mirqab, Green Village, La Mirage to name but a few of the nicer ones. As mentioned upthread the Al Fardan compounds are very nice but not always in the most convenient locations. Y Village is nice too, but ditto. There are also loads of small compounds that are perfectly nice, but too numerous to mention! PM me if you want more specific info.