Aloha Lisa1004 :-) Yep, you are right on your assumption that I am a westerner- I am from the US, currently living in Hawaii.
I've heard that it is against the law for us to live together in Qatar if we are unwed... I am not quite sure what we're going to do about that yet- definitely one of those issues that my boyfriend and I will have to figure out before I come out there! If all goes as planned, he'd be going out there in several months, and I'd join early next year.
Do the laws vary in application depending on if you're a westerner or not? That seems so interesting to me...I definitely need to learn more about the laws.
As far as the visa, according to my boyfriend his company will provide me with a longterm visa of some sort. I am not sure how they do this- I'll get more info on it, but I sure hope it actually does work that way!
I'm really glad to hear that there should be good housing options for that housing allowance :-) A bit off-topic, but as far as the housing compounds, do many of them have a gym of some sort? I'm interested in how I can work out once I move over there. I usually either go to the gym or go for jogs, but it sounds like it gets far too hot over there for me to jog many months out of the year. Also, with the stricter rules (or at least norms) on what women can wear in public, it sounds like I'll have to wear a lot more than my typical shorts and tank top to go for a run!
I definitely appreciate your advice to study up on the culture before I move out there. Do you have any ideas of where I should go to gain some good information on Qatar? I agree that I should do some reading before I go just to know what I'm getting into... I know that the culture there will be very different from here, and I'm excited for the experience of living in a different culture and learning from it :-) Thanks again!
~Lacey