Doha

[OhSoTotallyLost]

Husband has another job possibility near Doha and we’re currently trying to decide whether to progress it any further. We have two children, one who would start school next September. Does anyone have any positive/negatives/advice they could give? How easy is it to get a place in schools and are there nurseries?

Gatecrashing- is it easy to make friends in Doha? What's the accommodation Norms for expats is it condos?

My aunt and uncle have spent 20 of the last 27 years in Qatar, (they briefly came home and lived in Greece for a bit too).

They love it there. My cousin is on track for 3 A* at A-level from doha college and has had amazing opportunities out there. Sailing, dancing, riding, music. My aunt and uncle have said how they would never have been able to afford all of that in the U.K.

earlylife I found it very easy to make friends, we made friends with people from various nationalities,
Regarding accommodations, at first we stayed at the pearl , I loved it , lots of expats living there, we then moved as we needed a bigger place and we settled for a villa in a compound in west bay and we like it.
We have friends living at Waab which is next to aspire park , the area has a few compounds that are very popular with westerners. As its close to The American school and Doha collage,

We've been in Doha for almost 6 months and I honestly really love it. Yes the roads are terrible, but it's amazing how quickly you adjust and it becomes the norm. Traffic works are constant, but you'd be surprised how quickly the roads are completed and a trip that used to take 25-30mins now only takes us 12-15mins.
Things (clothes and kids shoes especially) are more expensive, but stock up on visits home and you'll be fine. I do miss fresh (healthy!) food, but we also tend to eat out a lot more now!
Join as many fb groups as you can to get a feel for the place - Expat Women, British and Irish mums in Doha and Where, what, how Doha.

Good luck with the move!

Thanks I've joined all those groups already and we have the school place sorted now so one less thing to worry about. Now it just all the stuff here to sort out before we go!

Some bizarre comments. I have lived and worked here for many years and for at least the last few years there haven't been any roundabouts for a start, everywhere has intersections now. Second, strawberries are about 60p a punnet in my local corner shop. The driving is fast paced and mad, that's true. But about 20% as scary as Riyadh or Cairo. I do think the mummy life is a bit sad and empty. I am lucky that I am the breadwinner and don't have to deal with the career mum types And, w9rse, the ones who drive a 4x4, live in west bay and think they are a desperate housewife. Sorry but you are just someone who is temporarily rich dear. I love Doha. It's what you make it. I don't really know anyone who drinks and goes to brunches every weekend. We tend to do what you normally do, food shop, go out with friends and go to the beach. Its hot in the summer but right this minute, im driving home fromwork and its pissing down. I think packages are really good if you are an engineer or oil and gas specialist. Less so if you are a teacher.

Well we won't be in West bay and we've got a good package (I think...). Husband went out there earlier this week for a visit and everything sounds fine to me so far. I imagine our weekends will be spent much as you say, shopping, parks etc... there seems to be much the same as there is to do where we currently live just with sunnier days. I'm looking at doing an online masters or similar though so that I have something to do whilst kids are at school/nursery. I still don't like the thought of driving but I hate driving here so that's mainly why but I will get used to it. I've never driven anywhere else so can't compare it! I definitely need to go buy some new clothes before we go though as I usually wear jumpers most of the year and don't think they'll be much use this summer!

It's ok to live in West Bay but some people act like they are celebrity because they have a massive house on the beach. We all have nice cars and houses. But it's a temporaryvstate, best not get too used to it 😀

All UK high street shops are here. Mall of Qatar is lovely. When family ask what to bring, I can't really think of anything usually. The only thing I miss is charity shops.

When I lived in Doha and my husband went back to the uk for the weekend he brought back loads of magazines for me and a huge bag of sweets and chocolate, you can obviously pay most of it in Qatar but the cadburys taste shite, and the prices are high. The things I missed most were sweets, chocolate, magazines (I'm obsessed with them) sales in shops and what drove me insane is the lack of school shoes and uniform. But by far the worst thing about the shops is you (I) could never find the opening times on line!!!!

Aless when I left in June last year there were plenty of round abouts and yes, strawberries can can be cheap but on average they were a fair few pounds.