Living and Working in Doha (advise please)
I am a British National of Pakistani descent and would like to find work in Qatar. Last year around summer I took the opportunity to work in Doha for two months. I stayed in Copthorne hotel near the airport and it was paid by my employer who I work for in the UK. However, I was still paid my usual salary in UK but I was also given 200 riyals per day as an allowance.
I actually loved working there, the people and the atmosphere are wonderful (not the heat though!). So now I am thinking of moving there for a bit longer, perhaps 3-5 years.
But before that, I have some questions which I would appreciate a precise answer for.
1) How much salary will I be paid in QAR? I have 8 years experience of Bridge design and I am currently working as Senior Engineer. Even an estimate would do the job for now.
2) For how much I should be able to accommodate myself? Not looking for a lavish/expensive apartment. An average single bedroom flat in an average area would be ok too. What would be nice money-saving option for me considering my wife/kids will visit me there once/twice in a year but because kids are in school in UK, they wont live with me the entire time.
3) If we decide for our kids to get education in Qatar instead of UK, would that be a wise decision?
4) How much would I spend on my daily food, again I know some average restaurants where you can eat healthy/hygienic food for around 50 riyals. Is this normal daily routine?
Thanks
Edit: I appreciate this would have been asked many times but please save me from wasting my time searching these entire threads! Thanks again.
Here are my views regarding your questions:
1) Since you hold a western passport, you can expect a good salary which would depend also on the company you are joining. Since, you were already here, possibly you may have got some feel about the salary structure in your field of work here in Qatar. Try contacting some of your colleagues at your company you worked for here and they could guide you best. 2) An average single room flat would be around QR 5000 per month. You could also go for studio apartments which are furnished but since you plan to bring in your family for a month or so, these apartments may become too congested when they are here. 3) From what I have read at QL, schools are costly here, especially those which are managed by westerners. The decision of putting your children in a school here can made only by you after you have weighed all the options such as cost, standard of education, and your income. 4) If you do your own cooking you can manage easily within a 1000 Riyals per month. Most foreign workers here prefer to cook at home as a cost-saving measure.