Thanks for your responses, Alexa and Amnesia! It's very consistent to what I'm hearing from other folks.

The offer I've got is from a bank. I guess this won't radically change your answers. However, I think I may have a choice about living in either Qatar or Oman. I guess this is a silly question (seeing as this is QL), but what is better about Qatar when compared with Oman?

And how far away, in kilometres or miles, would I have to live from the centre of Doha to be able to realise the cheaper accommodation rates of about 15,000 QR? I've always had to travel at least 15 miles (24 km) to get to any place I've worked in London, so I bet Qatari commuting won't be as bad.