Qatar and Singapore... Expect Major differences?

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I say that the 'be warned' message is an exaggeration. :P

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Singapore and Qatar is definitely poles apart. It will take some time for you to settle down here and get used to things. Last annual vacation we (wife and kids) visited singapore and fell in love with the Greenery and the opportunities around. U better be warned. It;s not goign to be easy for you and for your wife. However, the place is very safe and personally i think that whereever u are, if you have the right kind of friends around you, it will definitley be good. Cheers! all the best.

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I'm glad to help. I'll always give information based on my experience and opinion.

1) Qatar in general is a bit cheaper than Singapore. As everyone will tell you, the only major problem is with accommodation. But once you get accommodation and benefits, you're pretty much set!

2) I know what you mean, I'm not allowed to run around in my pink thong anymore :( (JUST KIDDING! I don't want any strange people sending me pms :S)

3) Well if she's got the experience, she doesn't need to work in her field exclusively. To be honest, I've seen people study IR and go into Management, and seen teacher's become IT specialists. :)

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Comments coming from a nationals helps... given that i would assume you know the place better than any of us... Thanks

1) So you are saying things in Qatar are actually cheaper than in Singapore?

2)darn... she likes to dress in bikini for her afternoon tea with the scantily clad friends! hahah.... actually as long as short sleeve and jeans are fine, it should be ok. That is why most of us wear anyway.

3) getting a job is not essential... especially if i just got there... eventually she will want to get one, coz it can get really bored staying at home. She is pretty well qualified, but unfortunately what she does is pretty specialised, and AFAIK, middle-eastern banks are not quite demanding for her kind of position. That is my worry.

And yes! you did help. Thank you!

Well, Pai seh or not, unless i am 70% sure i will be going over, taking the trip is both wasting employers time and money, as well as mine. But if i am sure i will be going over, that trip will definitely be necessary. Unfortunately in this line, it is hard to even take a night off, not mention a week.

40k is about what my wife and I earns now in combination. So while in absolute figures, I am getting a pretty good increase, but if i look at household income, we are only slightly better off. That is why it is not exactly so good a deal that i had to fly over immediately.

Becoz in Singapore, my car and house are fully paid up (i stay in a HDB BTW) so really, i am not rich, but i am quite comfortable. in fact going over there might actually eat into my saving pie! hahah

Thanks though, for your advice

oooh I love singapore. Lived there for 3 months.

Here's my experience.

1) Cost of Living: cheaper in most things (depends on what but other things are about the same as Singapore)

2) She'll be fine. As with all countries, you always get some guys that want to hit on a woman, but the nice thing about Qatar is that there is always help at hand. My relatives look foreign and sometimes they'd get hit on, but a simple "no thank you" gets rid of unwanted hitters. She can dress however she likes. It's an open country. I would advise against, skin tight spandex and super short shorts :P You'd get alot of stares. I speak english more than Arabic to be honest, everything is fine.

3) Getting a job at the end of the day is the hardest answer. So many people come to Qatar in search for a job. If she's qualified and has the skills, I don't see any reason why she should have any trouble. You mentioned Islamic banking, but that only applies to Islamic Banks. It's not 'very' different though. Islamic banks pretty much work in the same way as normal banks however they have some different processes. For example, a bank can't take interest, but it can buy what you wanted to do with a loan, give it to you, then charge you a monthly set price at a slightly higher amount than what it really is worth (still interest but is done a different way).

4)Driving: There are some bad drivers here (as with all countries). Qatar has imposed some new VERY strict rules so I hope to God things will change. I've never had an accident myself, but I can say that in the UK I've had 2 thanks to some drunk drivers and some close shaves to do Boy Racers.

5) Pay Scales: I'm sorry I have no information about your job.

Hope I was able to help ^_^

Edit: oh if you get 40k a month, that's great. I'm a national and get around 15k plus allowances and so on.

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Henry, if I were you, I would take the orientation trip offer right away. I heard for senior executive positions, it's not an uncommon practice for companies to arrange for this kind of all-expense-paid orientation trip to prospective employees. Maybe as a Singaporean, you feel "pai seh" to accept this trip offer, but come on, you owe it to yourself. This maybe just too good an opportunity to give a miss. Just take a week off, pack your suitcase and see for yourself how life is there. :)

By the way, if I read you corectly, you wrote the offer is about QR 40K (presumably a month). Personally I wouldn't worry about housing at all with that level of income.

so i gather that working life in Qatar is quite laid back? Wow.. that is the first good thing i have heard about working and living in Qatar.

maybe i need a break man... running hard for the past 8 years is not easy.... most of my colleagues have daughters... i suppose the stress contributes partially to it... not that i mind having daughters... hahahh

SOMEONE... Tell me what is it like working in Qatar... in terms of work cultures, in terms of remuneration (ie increment, bonuses..etc..etc) and the attitude of people working there.... very important...

Henry, if you plan to have kids, Qatar maybe a good idea for you and your wife. As Jackmohan said life is laid back in Qatar. You know, how stressful corporate life in Singapore is usually. With cruel uncaring bosses whom we have to liase with in the office every single day, we reach home everyday emotionally drained with unhealthy high dosage of adrenaline running in our bloodstream. It's tough for working couples to conceive in such an environment, don't you think so? So who knows you might become a dad after a few months living in Qatar. ;)

hahhaha...

things are not that easy... if god bless... we would have had kids 7 years ago when we got married... unfortunately this is not that case... so it leaves us with the next best thing.. see the world :)

btw ... i dont think you can find any gym for QR 5 per entry ...

Just my opinion, if your wife dont work ... i think she need to find a job like raising kid/s ...

henry2703....what about Climate?

Even under shade in 34C you will still be pespiring.

Except for the Hustling with cars in traffic things are laid back.

Office hours usually have a break in between, (which means you could be occupied from 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening) even though you have a 8hr work schedule. 6 days a week.

.....Oh yeah!...the dough will bring you here.

Yah.. the company did try to arrange for an orientation trip for me, but I don't want to go on the trip unless i am 70% convinced that I will be heading there.

I am actually fine with a apartment or a landed property (villa?) but with that heat, something with a swimming pool sounds mightily good! hahah. I stay in an apartment in Singapore, so its really not a big deal if i don't get a house. In fact, I am more particular about the money i will be getting, since my wife will be jobless if we do go....

As it is, the offer on the table is what my wife and mine current income combined. which is about 40k the local currency, plus all the extras that i haven't really negotiate about.

My approach is that if i am not interested in the place, no point going into finer details with them.

My type of job probably involved sitting in front of bloomberg everyday, hence i suspect it would be a shirt and tie scenario. More concern about the wife bit.. short sleeves and jeans sound pretty alright.

Both my wife and i are 32, i think we are quite young still.. we want to be more flexible and work in a more dynamic environment.

The hidden agenda is that personally i feel that islamic banking will be one of the next big thing that will happen in the financial sector, and I would want to go there and learn everything, so that it will value add to my resume when i eventaully move on.

What is the typical work attitude the people there has? any experience? are the the typical "live and let live" type? or are they they typical singaporean " work till you die" type?

My only suggestion ... if you not making alot more money than what you can earn in Singapore ... DONT COME HERE !!!

The temperature at the moment is 40 degree plus ... sometimes during the hot day reaching to 50 degrees ! But today as i type it is a bit cloudy and overcast outside ... unusual for this time.

As a woman i dress up modesty here ... Qatar never enforce the foreigner to wear abaya like in Saudi which i am very greatfull. I normally wear something short sleeves and 3/4 light trousers. In Singapore i can wear bra strap top without thinking twice :D, no one will even look twice at you.

My husband spend alot of time on site ... he normally wear his short and shirt plus flip flop and change with his overall at work. But some people wearing shirt and tie to work (when they spend time in the office more).

Yes pls if you do decide to come here ... you must ask a house not acommodation. I dont know how wealthy you are in Singapore ... i am fully aware that landed property in Singapore cost an arm and a leg, so maybe you can stated to your employer that you want a house not an apartment or a flat. There are alot of nice compound over here ... as far as you can afford the $$$ (in this case your employer). I can mention some of them if necessary for the referral to your employer.

Anymore question just ask away :D

PS: Some companies normally bring the employee for the look-see trip. I think you should ask for one :D

Well, I am Singaporean, Born and Bred here... except for a few years spent in Australia getting my degree.

You are right. Why would i want to go to Qatar, when everythign in Singapore is suppose to be nice and good.

First of all, I do not have much debts with me. The idea is to make a few years of good bucks, so that I can call it quit as early as possible. I figure out that with SGD 2 million I would be able to call it a day, and enjoy my current standard of living until we both eventually kick the bucket. Lives in Singapore is much too stressful.

I did read somewhere that accomodation is a pain there, and it seems best that we get the company to provide housing, instead of giving allowance.

Schooling isn't an issue.... The only kid at home is me, and i think i am quite done with school :)

As for dune bashings... hahaha.. sounds fun.. i might jsut try when i get there... The last time i did it, i was in Perth, but someone else was doing the driving....

What is the temperature there like? in the seasons....

How do people usually dress when they go out on weekends or in the evenings? and for work? etc..etc...

So many questions... don't know what to ask... i guess it will be best if i can afford the time for a trip there for survey....

May i ask are you a singaporean?

The only thing that you can not do in Singapore but you can do in Qatar is dune bashing. In this case you will need a good 4 X 4.

It is so wonderful there in Sing City. Why would you wana move out? Unless of coz the package is better elsewhere that you want to forgo the efficient customer service, reliable public transportation and in the company of relatives and friends.

Anyways, I am working in Saudi and like you is in discussion with interested party in Qatar.Have been to Doha for a couple of days and also in the stage of "intelligence gathering" of the place. My short stay there gives a a better impression compared to where I'm working now. It is more open society, more things to do and metropolitan in a way similiar to Singapore. And from what I gathered so far, costs of living is slightly higher for most stuff compared to Singapore but most dreaded of them all is housing. Next to consider will be schooling for the kids. Back home you have the CDA account to cover the school fees..:>

Agree with novita on the driving. The culture in GCC is dat the bigger ur vehicle, the more right of way u have on the road. U juz need that extra care when ur on the road.

Chek around QL, you'll definitely find useful information to make an informed decision. and of coz u have lovely people like novita & others whom will be glad to provide relevant information and guide for you.

Thanks for your comments.

Yep... the pay has to be better than Singapore. Given that, my wife will have to quit her high paying job in the investment bank to go over with me. My starting point would be really, what both of us are getting now, plus CPF, before I would even consider the offer. To this, they seems to have no problem matching.

My problem is, i do not wanna go over there and enjoy the same pay, lest 1 person working. It is just not good enough. I am hoping to put in some extra savings if i ever go there.

I guess singapore is expensive, in terms of travelling. It has gone worst recently.

I don't mind if she do something that is not productive (in terms of money) but keeping herself at home everyday will be a dread... she can go work for red cross or whatever.... as long as she can find something. Hopefully with a bit of international community mingering...so that she will fit into the new place easier...

Food is not much of a concern as we do cook quite a bit and we enjoy going to the market and stuff...

We were hoping to get a 3 series BM if we get there... i guess we might need to relook at that option and perhaps consider a 4X4... ha ha...

any other things i should look out for?

about getting a job ... as soon as you got your working permit in Singapore, your wife will get her 'dependant pass holder', she can apply any job easily. The only problem ... most probably she will be offer a contract as a local employee with about 12 days leave annually, while your package will be at least a month annual leave. You might find it a bit hard to go on holiday ... :D

I lived in Singapore before we came here. If you earn about the same money between Singapore and Qatar, i would suggest you take Singapore job offer.

Cab is very easy to find in Singapore ... mostly Singapore cabby are local (Singaporean) they know their way around Singapore. Here in Qatar cabby are foreigner, very often they just been here few days and straight into the road, hence they have no clue where the passenger wants to go.

Bus services and subway also very reliable ... travelling around Singapore are very fast and easy.

Driving of course better in Singapore ... but things are expensive there. From petrol, parking fee starting from around 1 riyal every half hour, then you have to pay ERP (Electronic Road Pricing), car tax and petrol are not cheap.

Driving in Qatar is like law in the jungle ... the bigger the better :D

Car prices here alot cheaper compare to singapore, petrol cost cheaper than a bottle of water ... , and we dont have parking fee here (apart of the airport).

My husband paying around 18 percents income tax in Singapore ... and if you applying for PR (Permanent Residents) you have to contribute to CPF (Central Provident Fund) around 20 percenst of your monthly income.

Food in Singapore cheaper ... you can walk into any food court and can eat out around 10 riyal. Can't get those in Qatar ... even if you can get those kind of food pricing it wont as much variety as singapore.

To go somewhere in Qatar you have to fly out ... unlike Singapore you can drive down to KL or take ferry to Bintan / Batam (Indonesia). After staying here in Qatar for few years you will running out of things to do.

Dressing out ... you will feel alot comfortable in Singapore.