Advice please
I am a qualified teacher, native English speaker and have been offered a position at Newton International School in Doha. With free accommodation and supposed amenities paid (bills, transportation etc), one air ticket for me (but I think not for my wife and 20 month old child),local medical coverage (again, I think only for me), the offer is 10,000 salary. We are not into a luxurious lifestyle and my inkling is that I could make a decent saving each month. Am I right in what I think? I would like to pay private medical insurance for my child. Any idea how much this would cost? I have other concerns too. The interview when I spoke to a high positioned person from the school, seemed to go well and all seemed well when applying for the teaching job. Since then, I have read a lot of negative comments about the possibility to be shafted financially and that the staff may be unhappy at that school. Does anyone know if this is still the case, as the posts are from a couple of years ago? Also, my wife is a medical geneticist, so she could be interested in work in maybe a year's time. Are there opportunities for professions like that? Thanking you in advance for any info really that can help me to decide whether to take this opportunity or not.
Thank you so mych for the information. I was confused.
Buying/renting a car, a necessity - between 1400 - the sky's the limit (although a loan may work out to cheaper monthly payments depending on the loan - be aware, if you have to default on the loan, you won't be able to leave until it is paid in full).
Groceries, depends on what you and your family like to eat probably close to 1000/month. What about your child's education? What about trips? What about entertainment? Doha is not cheap and Newton doesn't have the best reputation. I know a few people who work there but they are trailing spouses and can walk out if and when it suits them.
Without at least a 2 BR apartment (fully furnished with utilities included), annual tickets and full medical for everyone in the family and the education benefits spelled out clearly in the contract, I would be wary.
Tickets home for 3 people to North America will set you back USD1,500 - 2,000 each depending on the season, and working at a school means you're nearly always travelling in high season.
Ask for 5 K more .............. ........... Fri , 30.05.2014 , 06.35 hrs
Thanks for the advice. Looks tricky so? Do you think its possible to save a few quid, if we keep stuff tight, so?
You need to be VERY specific with your employer, and get them to give you the details of whats included in your offer, because to be frank, QR10,000 a month doesn't go far at all here.
Everything is more expensive here, the only exceptions being petrol and , sadly, labour. Car's, food... everything.
You'll need to get yourselves something of a hobby ( i cycle a lot, despite the heat), because otherwise, you'll have nothing to do with your downtime other than dine out in expensive restaurants, which will eat into your savings plan quicker than you can blink..
It's a great country, and I love it here, but for QR10,000? Make sure you get a car, ALL utilities, decent accommodation and medical for your whole family. Good luck!