cost of living

Whether you have enough to live decently is a hard question to answer. life style is an individual choice. you could live in a villa costing 16k or you could downgrade to a decent apartment costing 12k. Similarly all costs varies depends on your choice on which you find it more in par with ur home living condition at minimum level. definetly you will able to save if you are willing to adjust to the new place after assessing what is best around you

I second to what Bobb said above- its very true that many people(not all) splurge on big cars and loans end up in mess once they loss there job out of blue moon. yes , it might not happen but you can implement a slow and steady approach . qatar is still very much a young country in gcc. we cant predict what will happen tomorrow. what the ruler says is the law of the day:). it will be unreasonable to any qataris that we expect them to follow international hr practices in jobs cos they hardly care unless its a state owned jointventure companies like ras gas, qp . you could see a qatari who have little experience is your boss just come to sign papers. then the next u will see him will be next year. all he want to know is whether u finish the project. :) all these are pleasant surprises or may be a cultural shock

regards

you couldn't have gotten a better package.

u'll manage just fine , don't worry.it's not as expensive as u think.especially that u'll bring ur wife here so she's gonna do the cleaning,cooking and taking care of the kids, that's if u don't want her to work as well and then if she will then u'll get a maid and that's it.

Good luck

Thanks Bobb. I believe the company is stable enough as been going for over 25 years. Loads of expansion especially with all the infrastructure changes in doha. It is also owned by a member of the royal family with over 600 staff in Qatar

The most important issue here is not how high is ur salary, and 40K is pretty decent one, even for Qatari standards, but how steady ur company is. U don't want to end with a big car loan after a few years or even months without a job, or with a reduced salary.

It u gonna work in a reputable international company, i see no problem though.

Hi grdekgod28

Thanks a lot for the Info below. It is very useful. The offer is made of a basic at 20 roughly and then various allowances making it up to 40 k QAR a month.

Based on a 16k house and a 12k schooling fee a month, will there be enough left to live decently?

this 40k inclusive of all? dont they provide schooling for ur children? flight ticket for all and any other benefits?

Education is expensive depends on which school u get them, 16k a villa is an easy go. car- yes 2k+ depends on what u want,eg suv 4x4,prado,hummer. if its new maintenance will be covered for 3- 4 yrs. if its old its unpredictable. food cost and cloths based on ur likes..

internet depends on data speed, utilities for a family might be 500qr min depends how u use. if u r a brit, or any other european comparing with qatar is hope less. yes they have malls, they have deserts. they have all types of houses, cant be extremely hot to mild winter. if u go for life style just forget it for couple of years. if u go for more money. endure all unpleasant things come across and enjoy just diffrenec the host country offered u in comparison to ur home country.

40k is a very good deal but again it depends on ur past experience and income to judge whether its fair.i dont think u save much if u really live ur life style unless u deprive urself on things u find it ridiculously expensive. its best if your wife too could find work just to supplement if she likes then it will offload half of ur reflex actions on ur head :).

qatar has a nonsense Noc system which ties u to the employer.in the worse scenario, if inflation is too bad then it will take a toll on ur take home pay. qatar has the highest inflation rate in GCC. Dont over spend beyond ur limit.even if the loan is intrest free.imagine what happen when dubai meltdown seen in 2008. expats just dump cars houses and run to there home land.but qatar wont let u go without paying back.. just plan ahead because u have kids and wife to look back. its not a discouragement but just keep this mind too.. god bless regards

Ok. Thanks for all your help.

No I don't have family here, so I can't help too much on the children's side of things, but I know plenty of families who are very happy here. I'm sure you will be fine.

I have been here 4 years. And no the activities are very reasonable.

How long have you been out there? Are all these activities expensive?

It's getting a bit hot to be outside now. But this year has been a lovely long winter. The climate has been almost Mediteranian since November. There is plenty of sport for them, and plenty of clubs to join. Football and the likes gets played at night during the warm season. There is a good size ice rink (although I don't know if it is open or not at the moment), and I highly recommend the sailing clubs. They are great for all ages. Equestrian activities are also available. You will find plenty for them to do.

Thanks for this. I was looking at al waab and abu hamour as an area. When I came over I stayed in najma, and I was so not impressed. Do you have family there? What is there to do for 3 boys aged 9, 6 and 4. Take it riding a bike or play outside is out of the question with the heat coming.

Yup 16k is sufficient. As regards area... well to be honest I have no idea. I live in the Abu Hamour area and there are plenty of Brits here. But I can't comment about anywhere else. You will probably be better off going somewhere short term for a month or two while you find your feet. Don't enter into a long term agreement until you have found what you want.

Thanks. What would you recommend in terms of places to live. I would like an area where there are a few brits which will help for the integration of the family . Is 16000 enough for a fully furnished villa?

Yes indeed. You will live comfortably on that and should manage to save some as well.