help this concerns a lot of us!

i think it is more expensive here i met people who worked there and and most admitted this rent and grocery are more expensive even schooling

don't cell anything in UK. You never know how long you will stay here. It might be 10 years, it might be 10 months.

Hi all,

I have been offered a job in Doha and before I accept I wanted to know what the cost of living was like by the expats who live there.

I currently live in London and have a wife and a 3 year old girl.

Accomdation & utilities has been taken care of by the company ( is there anything I should look out for.)

I will need to lease or buy a car and find a school or nursery fro my daughter.

Also the company have offered me a decoration allowance for the house is better to take this as well as bring all our furniture from the Uk or is it better to sell furniture in the UK and buy everything in Doha

Any comments or help is greatly apprecaited

Thanks pav

who said, that increase cannot be granted in the "middle" of the contract? I got considerable raise in 4-5 months since joining the company. It was 3 years ago, and accommodation was going up and up incredibly.. I just prepared the memo to CEO, showing him absolutely ridiculous housing increase in the last half a year... Company gave me a raise of 35% of my gross salary at once!

The author is just asking people who recently relocated from Dubai to Doha to share their feelings regarding cost of living in Qatar. What’s wrong with that? She doesn’t ask your opinion whether she should or should not to ask for the salary increase. It is entirely HER business, not anyone’s else. All she asked is to confirm her sense that life in Qatar is more expensive then in Dubai. I didn’t live in Dubai, but my occasional visits give me same type of sense. At least in Dubai there is always a choice between expensive and cheap, which is not the case in Qatar.

double post

Ryan_Estrada--You need to find a new watering hole if you are paying 30 a bottle.

Barbara--People are just being snippy here. Plenty of employers here are sensible enough to make inflationary adjustments to salaries outside of what is stipulated in your contract. It really just depends on how much your employer wants to keep you and whether or not they can afford it.

lol ,, so you are comparing alchohol and pork prices?

I would definitely agree Doha is more expensive than Dubai. Price of beer here is around 30 a bottle while in Dubai it's only 12. Price of pork in Dubai is 18 a kilo while here ... Priceless.

fuel is cheaper in Doha, there is no parking fees, there is no paying routes (SALIK).

I find it exactly the same except Alcohol in Dubai is cheaper and found any where

maybe you are eating more in doha than what you used to in dubai...or maybe doha is indeed more expensive than dubai, but either way if your aim is to get a commiserate salary hike then you might as well take a hike unless your employer gives you out of compassion if its a small company. If your employer is relatively big MNC then they adjust the salary based upon international cost of living index surveys rather than internet forums' comments. Just my two cents, I myself found Dubai to be more expensive because I had more vices there.

...and thanks to john for the english lessons...

and Barbara, you shouldn't compare.

LOL John ,, maybe you should give her English lessons while you are at it.

Barbara, if its expensive here, maybe you are eating out at the wrong places. Fast food does get pricey as well. You can always make it with a sandwich for 3 - 4 riyals per meal, a soda/juice for a riyal or two ,, until you save up?

i want to know if for you as well doha seems to be a very expensive place when you arrived from dubai. if you have never been living in dubai you might not have a proper vision on my concerns. thanks anyway

so you are waiting for those shifted from dubai to doha and how they settled their lives over here... its not that everyone would have same situation as that of yours... companies doesn't care how the employees would manage their livelihood...

I do understand too...BUT, as john said, how can you expect your employer to take care of it? The thought alone baffles me...although, I have heard similar things a lot here in Qatar.

So if people tell you there experiences this will enrich you life how? Will it give you a warm feeling inside to confirm Doha is more expensive than Dubai?? You people are strange.

i did not say that i am renegoiating my contract...i would just like to know which the experience for people who moved from dubai to doha in the last months....so no need of advices on how i have to negociate my contract.

Hm... Barbara...No one seems to understand..

when i made my researches almost 7 months ago indeed the living costs were quite similar. so far and since the crisis dubai is getting cheaper and cheaper. i did a very intersting shopping tour in carrefour dubai and did exactly the same overhere in doha. same product same branch...and doha is 30% more expensive...in grocery...as well renting when you have to pay for yourself it takes out half of your salary if you want to leave in a nice place...

i dont like your comment...thanks anyway....probably you dont understand what i am talking about...

Around 20 familes from our company in Dubai have landed in Doha all in the last 2 years.. I have not heard any one complaining that the cost of living is higher than in Dubai in a marginal level... Housing is quite expensive. But usually the company provides the accomodation, and other expenses...

What are the things you find more expensive than in Dubai? Please list them and may be we can help you find cheaper alternatives..

Here is what I do not get, you make the move without researching, then you see it is more expensive, which it very well may be, and go to your boss to get more money??? seriously? You people are amazing.

Our answers won't help.

Make a list of a basket of foodstuffs. Write down the costs in Dubai and Qatar. Same for housing.

Then give it to your company... :O)

He believes you but doesn't care. You've already moved he won't do anything now