Cost of Living and accomodation
Hello everyone,
We are planning to move together with my spouse and my son, to Qatar. In order to help me to take the right decision, I would appreciate some advise from the active people from this community.
My company is offering me the following package on a permanent basis for a senior position that includes:
Basic salary: 34K/month
Transport allowance: 1800K/month
House: 12K/month
Plus medical assurance, return ticket per year for the familly, school fees.
We would like to live in a villa in a coumpound with nice facilities. I know Doha from previous business trips and it does not seem to be the paradise on earth...
However we are tempted by the adventure, but based on the above information, I would appreciate any advise based on the current cost of living.
Many thanks in advance.
RENT: 13,000 QAR
FULLY FURNISHED LUXURY COMPOUND VILLAS
GHARRAFA NEAR LANDMARK / LULU HYPER & EASY ACCESS TO QATAR FOUNDATION (EDUCATION CITY)
CONTRACT DIRECT WITH OWNER (Please contact 33432037)
double storey with area of 143.32 Square meters (1,542.68 sq. feet)
4 bedrooms, 1 sitting rooms, 5 bathrooms, + External area for each villa
Swimming pool / Club house with large lobby / gym / sauna
Covered private parking
Maintenance & pest control service provided
24 hour security service
Please contact 33432037
Hi, my names Craig and i'm MD of Mirage Properties, a well established real estate agent here in Qatar.
The overall package you're being offered sounds decent enough with schooling included, but as you say, the housing is on the lower side for a decent quality western compound.
Depending which area you wish to live in you can find 3-4 bed compound villas ranging from QR11,000 upto QR25,000, with the average price being around QR14-16,000. For a good quality villa on a well known/well established compound you will be looking at QR16-20,000. You also need to consider if you need semi or fully furnished accommodation.
Please take a look on our website:
www.mirageproperty.com
which has a good selection of properties, both from independent landlords and our own wholly owned properties.
Our property portfolio is constantly changing so, once you've had a look, please feel free to contact us through the site and one of my agents will come back to you, keeping you updated with what's out there. Once you arrive here in Qatar we can then arrange to show you around a few options.
Please also be advised we do not charge for our services as all our income comes from the landlords side.
I hope we can be of assistance in helping you find the right home.
Kind regards
Craig at Mirage
"I have the impression that moving to Doha would mean an overall decrease in quality of life for the familly and I'd like to make sure we make the right decision when estimating the financial benefits."
Your impression is right. If they want your expertise, let them bleed!
for a villa inside a compound u have to keep a budget of Q.R.15,000/- per month u can check with asmakh real estate and alemadi
Thank you for the responses so far.
To Jim Mc, our son is 8 years old, and the company covers for the school fees. Although we did a pre-registartion back in May already with the Bonaparte French school, the issue we have is that it does not seem to be immediate availability. But we are working on this.
To Boer and Osamabawab: Our plan is to rent a villa in a coumpound not too far away to the french school. What would be important for us is : safety/security, good maintenance, and facilities such as swiming pool, idealy tennis court. etc ... Living in a coumpund offers more possibilities to meet people.
From what I have seen advertised the monthly rent would be raher in the range of 20K/month (Which I find an absolute rip-off), or am I wrong ?
We have been living in South-east-Asia for a number of years and now back in Europe. I have the impression that moving to Doha would mean an overall decrease in quality of life for the familly and I'd like to make sure we make the right decision when estimating the financial benefits.
How old is your son? If he is of school age you need to think about school fees which can range between about 22k to 60k a year. Choice of school will also influence where you live but you should not have too much of a problem with a 12k allowance.
the overall package seems to be Good.
basic will be sufficient for decent life style of a small family.
the transportation allowance can be negotiated coz if u want to buy an SUV it will be min. 120K which means approx. 2,500 per month as per Qatar central bank (4 years installment) plus fuel and service (approx Q.R.500 monthly).
house allowance will be enough to get 2 rooms deluxe apartment in good place and additionally u can ask them to provide furniture allowance.
good luck
is enough for a 4 bedroom standalone but in a compound you would probably need a bit more. You could probably sacrifice a bit of your basic if the company is not willing to increase the housing.
Sorry, I just noticed a typo in my previous post.
Transport allowance is 1800/month. (Not 1800K/month, like I wote above).
In fact, I'm a little concerned about the house and car allowance that seems to be on the low end from what I have seen, based on western expats standards.