Help on accommodation costs in Doha...

[socmonster]

Hi ladies

I'm moving to Doha in June (the heat, I know we must be mad!) with husband, almost 4 year old and will then be 3 month old. A million questions I'd like to ask others already living out there, but my main worry at the moment is accommodation and what we can get with my husband's allowance..

He'll be working in Education City, and we've been given an allowance of 13,000QAR a month. They'll put us up for the first 4 months but then we've to sort ourselves out. My husband seems to think that we'll easily get something decent for that price (even though it's me doing the research) because he knows a couple out there (no kids) who are renting a 2 bed apartment for that price and have told him that we should still be able to get a house in a compound for the same.... Eh? Doesn't make sense to me obviously!

So basically I'd really appreciate it if anyone could give me a bit of realistic guidance on what we actually could afford. From what I've seen on forums etc. the very least we'd get away with paying is 15,000QAR for a decent villa in a compound. I definitely want to live in a compound with 2 very young children, preferably with good facillities (play ground, pool maybe, good maintenance etc). 3 bedrooms would be fine, and I'm not expecting top end luxury!! Just really want somewhere nice so that I won't be going out of my mind being stuck at home for the next year or so. (I'm a teacher so might look for some part time work or possibly tutoring when baby is about 18 months).

I know price depends on area - but may have a place for son in Parkhouse so could anyone also recommend any nice compounds between there and Education City (Sorry have no idea how big an area that covers!)

Thanks in advance, from a very baby brained mother! : )

I'm a bit out of tune of house hunting as we've been in the same house for 3.5 years but didn't want you to go unanswered. The good news is that rental prices have dropped a bit in the last year and there is less competition for houses, 18 months ago you would have struggled on 13000 but I think you might be ok now.

We're in a 4 bed on a mid-sized compound in Al Waab (which is kind of mid-way between Education City and Park House) and the current rental price for new tenants is 15000. The 3 beds are less (maybe 14000). I have friends nearby who I think are paying 13000 for a 3 bed. There are lots of smaller compounds around in Abu hamour/ Thumama which are closer to Park House but would mean longer traffic to Ed City. Just in case you haven't been warned, traffic will be the bain of your life if you don't situate yourself carefully.

Oh, and you're more likely to get a shared pool than a good playground I think (more useful in the summer months anyway if you make sure the pool is chilled)

Thank you so much for your response escapetheinsanity.
Wow I hadn't heard that rental prices have dropped, that's good news then! Can I ask what size is a mid sized compound? What would be the things to look out for when choosing a compound? Particularly for a young family..

Yeah I've definitely read about the traffic. Dreading it- have had an easy commute for the last 6 or 7 years! Is the worst traffic during the school run do you think? Would it make more sense to live closer to school or husband's workplace in terms of traffic?

Thanks again!

Thank you so much for your response escapetheinsanity.
Wow I hadn't heard that rental prices have dropped, that's good news then! Can I ask what size is a mid sized compound? What would be the things to look out for when choosing a compound? Particularly for a young family..

Yeah I've definitely read about the traffic. Dreading it- have had an easy commute for the last 6 or 7 years! Is the worst traffic during the school run do you think? Would it make more sense to live closer to school or husband's workplace in terms of traffic?

Thanks again!

There are 50 houses. For us it's perfect as it's not too quiet yet not so busy traffic wise that we can't let the kids do their own thing (they are older than yours now). Some of the larger places have a lot of traffic.

We chose to live close to school, particularly as the youngest was still at home when the others started. We moved as we were looking at a half hour come either way in good traffic and i didn't want a 2 yr old in the car for at least 2 hours a day! Husband has a dreadful commute now after a job location change.

50 houses sounds nice, plenty of friends for the kids I'd imagine. Living closer to school sounds like the best idea now that you say it. DD will be very young so definitely don't want to be stuck in car for too long!

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Feel like we're walking into the great Unknown - which I guess we are - so any little bit of info on the way helps a lot! : )

We left Doha in 2014 and were paying 14k a month for a 3 bed in a nice coumpound (Tebah in Al Waab). Easy access to Parkhouse, I'm not sure how the traffic is to education city from there these days but it was maybe about 15-20 minutes then. Al Waab would be a good location for you.

Tebah has a huge pool, two good tennis courts and a shop.

Search on property finder Qatar in the Abu Hamour , Al Maamora, and Al Salata areas. The areas have cheaper compound villas and are near Parkhouse . Best to be near the school and grocery shops rather than your husbands work.

I know this a couple of months old but I was paying 14,000 for a 3bed apartment in Al Waab last year, most friends were paying 17-20k for 3 or 4 bed villas. Driving is awful, stay as close to the Scholl as possible. Is education city housing an option? Good community feel there if there was also a suitable school near by.

Oh and I've left now but the summers aren't that bad, plenty people stay. Join Doha mums and ghanem gardens playgroup, there's other facebook groups for playgroups too.