To move or not to move...

just check your inbox for your question about accomdation. I already sent you a PM message. I can help you in that..

Just shows how active you are, that's all. Don't think too much about it.

hmm... so what's the point?

Fun points collection.......no return or rewards :)

just ignore it! Welcome to the community!

why do i keep on getting points on my profile??

thank you for all your lovely replies in the forum and in the pm, i'm warming to qatar already :) have been looking for a villa with a 'garden' or potential for one, wouldn't mind putting potted plants in a private courtyard to create that illusion. only found a couple in al waab but they're quite pricy. i really will miss the greenery here and the weird thing is that i've been going to the parks (hyde park, kew gardens etc) and will be going to chelsea flower show this week. never been there before but i'm going (probably just because i can). i've always admired it from afar but there was always something more important that came up and it seems that nothing can stop me from my horticultural crusade now that my days here are numbered. how perverse is that? right i'm rambling. you get a picture of how bored i am without hubby, and just like bridget jones the only men in my life for the last year have been two men called ben and jerry... and i've got the waistline for proof :( no pun intended btw

Don't do it.....

Some things can only be learnt first hand...so go ahead take the dip. Just keep the plan B handy.

Hi, I live in Al Gharaffa, we rent an unfurnished 4 bed villa (two bedrooms with en suite) for 11,000, so definitely within your range. I came over from North Yorkshire, but I'm originally from London. I really like it over here, at the moment, I don't want to go back to the UK. There are a lot of negative things over here, but then again, I found a lot of negative things in London. I find that I feel safer over here, than I ever did in London. I have three children, 20, 19 and 9. The two older ones never played out in London but my youngest is out on the compound all the time and I feel quite safe about letting her out to play. I think this is on of those places where you either love it or hate it and I love it. If you come over here with an open mind, I think you will be okay.

Regards

Valerie

There's hundreds of furniture shops which stock every kind of furniture you can think of. Fully furnished houses tend to have the more over-stuffed, patterned sofa sets but you can easily buy a new one. For a decent 7 seater set you're looking at anything from QR1,000-QR5,000.

i've been looking at the villas that they're advertising for rent and some of the furnitures are absolutely frightful. we wanted to buy the sitting room furniture there and hubby says that there's loads of furniture shops, but considering that he's completely void of any sense of style and colour blind to boot i need to know what sort of furniture they sell and how much??

Don't worry Hannah M, we've all been in your situation before :) Really it won't take you too long to get the lay of the land and what can and cannot be done, and being a Muslim will definitely help you.

You'll be fine finding a house for 13K - I've been house-hunting in a lower price bracket and still found quite a few. 13K in Al Rayyan/Al Gharaffa area will get you a 4 or 5 bed villa on a compound with a pool.

oh dear i've just noticed that there's an actual forum for expats relocating there, bear with me guys i'm a QL virgin ;)

thanks everyone for your replies. i've never been to the middle east and even if some of you might think it's weird i'm a muslim (not converted) and am apprehensive about living in the middle east as i'm used to the freedom here. hubby thinks i'm far too outspoken, made a minor comment (i thought so anyway) about the qatari royal family and he said it's a NO NO over there and that i shouldn't criticise them in any shape or form. hubby has been out there for over a year now and yes expat sueno i have also been digging my heels in. at first i said it's too much of an upheaval and that he should check it out first thinking he would come back within months if not weeks. then i threw the dummy out the pram and that didn't work either. my last card was that i wasn't going anywhere until my daughter got a place in a good school as she's just been going to one of the top 2 in our borough. now she's going to compass and i'm now resigned to the fact we will move this summer. i think i've just painted myself as a petulant 3 year old but i think i'm just scared of the unknown.

Actually there's a bunch of new 4 bdrm villas on a nice compound in Al Ghraffa for 12,000 QR. I don't know how close they are to Compass but they're a 10 minute drive from Education City.

Personally I've been here 4 years and love it, but it all depends. You'll probably hate it for the first little bit cause you're coming in the summer and it's going to be HOT!!! But once winter hits you'll start to love it.

If you come here with your husband, you will like this place.

Suggest to pay a short visit; see the country and experience yourself. As explained by Expat Sueho, you may find this place more safer and peaceful than London!

All the best and Welcome to Qatar in advance :)

I thought it was as well, but sometimes I seem to see it and sometimes I don't so I figured it was something that users could enable/disable - maybe I just have not been looking in the right place.

Now that you mention it, though, I do see it in Hanna's profile :) "Operator error", I call it. . .as in my error :D

How can she turn on 'her' ability to receive PMs? I thought it was a feature of QL?

Hanna - you might want to turn on your ability to receive PMs. There are heaps of women on QL who don't feel comfortable reaching out on the public forum but would be willing to contact you via PM. You will undoubtedly receive some weird PMs from men wanting to be your personal servant, but just delete them and forget about them :)

I would have a look in Al Rayyan and Al Gharaffa for a villa. It might take a bit of perseverance to find a suitable villa for 13k, but they're definitely out there. Beverly Hills Al Rayyan (compound) has a good reputation and there are heaps of families there. I'm not sure of the prices, but someone on QL might know.

Compass is a good school - expensive, but good.

Now to the important stuff. . .I'll begin with my "story". I did not want to come to Qatar. AT ALL. I fought my husband on coming here, was ticked when he agreed to take the position and postponed my arrival for as long as I could. When Hurricane Ike was clearly going hit us in Houston I was actually hoping for a bit of house damage so I could postpone my arrival even that much longer.

When I arrived I was still a bit apprehensive but gave it a go. Within a week I could tell that I would like it and within a few weeks I was fully enjoying it. Doha is not like London/Houston (in soooooo many ways) and there are definitely some things that I don't like about Doha, but on balance I'm enjoying it.

As with any expat move I find you really have to "put yourself out there" - go to the coffee mornings, go back to the coffee mornings, etc. If you are working then it might take more effort, but the various groups also have events at night. Compass is also trying to host some events for parents. In short, there is enough to keep you busy outside of work but it requires more effort than it would back home - so if you come expecting that then you'll be OK.

Will look forward to welcoming you to Qatar :)

EM

When we came here 3 years ago, it was our first foray outside our home come country. We didn't know what to expect except that it would be different, and it sure is. We love it here. New experiences, travel, a different culture all make it well worth it. Yes there is stuff we don't like, but there's stuff we don't like at home too! When we interact with the culture around, we just take a deep breath and see what happens - just when we think we've got something figured out, we learn something new! That's the whole reason we came here - learn!

I don't think you should base your decision on the axis of people on here....some have no imagination, some sit at home, some 'hate' the place because they haven't found their own little corner of Qatar that they adore.

I holidayed alot in Dubai; I love the Middle East and it was my primary reason for coming here.

I too spent all my time in Europe...it is the polar opposite.

You almost have no familiarity, like the Post Office and knowing how your bank works! It is learning everything from scratch, which is exhilerating to me, but maybe not to others.

I echo the sentiment to at least visit here, my only advice would be not to judge on first impressions; you have to plunge below the surface to find a Qatar that you love.

please don't come. It is not a good place and you will regret it.

You need to look at not only culture difference but also at a whole lot of other factors. Have you been to this region before on a visit?