...if it sucked THAT badly, we'd all be leaving. But especially when you consider the current economy, living in Qatar is definitely do-able, no matter how much we complain...
The things we all winge and moan about are annoyances -- and as tallg and others have said, it's more irritating when you look around and see how much money there is and the kinds of resources this place has. Then there's really no reason why some things should be managed as ineptly as they still are in this day and age. Coming from the west, a lot of us see the potential this place has, how great it really could become, and we get frustrated at the missed opportunities.
My personal pet peeves: traffic/poor infrastructure; rude drivers; Q-Tel; the hubris (and poor work ethic) of most of the younger generation of Qataris; lack of customer service in most companies/industries (brought on, no doubt, by limited competition and govt. monopolies on many things); ridiculous rise in cost of living here; rude children/parents who don't properly supervise their kids; mid-day breaks when shops/business close so you can get nothing done; lack of a good Mexican restaurant; City Center's lack of parking (lack of parking everywhere really); no theater/arts/clubs for live music -- no real cultural life beyond shopping; no library/decent bookstores; no pork; censored internet/movies/news reporting...
(Again, as tallg said, it's easier to think of the negatives, unfortunately...)
But things I really like about this place: great sunny weather most of the year, decent shopping, safe place to raise a family, international population/getting to meet and know people from all over the globe, the truly generous nature of the locals, camping in the desert, how people genuinely love kids here, so many opportunities I would never get back home just because Qatar is relatively small (seeing big name athletes play, etc.), Doha is a great starting point to travel to many regions of the world, petrol is dirt cheap, I can have someone clean my house for me (something I could never afford back home), just being able to provide a better standard of living for my family here...
I've been here longer than most (16 years now), so I've seen this place blossom from the flat, undeveloped "armpit of the Gulf" (as it was fondly referred to by some) that it was into what it is today. Though I miss the days when I was able to get anywhere in the city in 15 minutes, I still like living here.
...if it sucked THAT badly, we'd all be leaving. But especially when you consider the current economy, living in Qatar is definitely do-able, no matter how much we complain...
The things we all winge and moan about are annoyances -- and as tallg and others have said, it's more irritating when you look around and see how much money there is and the kinds of resources this place has. Then there's really no reason why some things should be managed as ineptly as they still are in this day and age. Coming from the west, a lot of us see the potential this place has, how great it really could become, and we get frustrated at the missed opportunities.
My personal pet peeves: traffic/poor infrastructure; rude drivers; Q-Tel; the hubris (and poor work ethic) of most of the younger generation of Qataris; lack of customer service in most companies/industries (brought on, no doubt, by limited competition and govt. monopolies on many things); ridiculous rise in cost of living here; rude children/parents who don't properly supervise their kids; mid-day breaks when shops/business close so you can get nothing done; lack of a good Mexican restaurant; City Center's lack of parking (lack of parking everywhere really); no theater/arts/clubs for live music -- no real cultural life beyond shopping; no library/decent bookstores; no pork; censored internet/movies/news reporting...
(Again, as tallg said, it's easier to think of the negatives, unfortunately...)
But things I really like about this place: great sunny weather most of the year, decent shopping, safe place to raise a family, international population/getting to meet and know people from all over the globe, the truly generous nature of the locals, camping in the desert, how people genuinely love kids here, so many opportunities I would never get back home just because Qatar is relatively small (seeing big name athletes play, etc.), Doha is a great starting point to travel to many regions of the world, petrol is dirt cheap, I can have someone clean my house for me (something I could never afford back home), just being able to provide a better standard of living for my family here...
I've been here longer than most (16 years now), so I've seen this place blossom from the flat, undeveloped "armpit of the Gulf" (as it was fondly referred to by some) that it was into what it is today. Though I miss the days when I was able to get anywhere in the city in 15 minutes, I still like living here.