That's great info, deedee -- thanks. He will likely arrive around the third week of April and hopefully I can convince him of the importance of getting our son signed up (or on a waitlist) somewhere.
My husband's predecessor, who is still in Doha, sent us an e-mail last night (see below). Let me know if you have any thoughts on it. Again, many thanks for any/all advice. For what it's worth, we "qualify" for the "premium" housing. . .but I suspect that "qualify" by no means can be translated as "you are guaranteed"
He said:
On your question of coming solo until ummer is over really depends on your personal/family situation. Personally would think about bringing them along in April to try to get them cclimated and plugged into the network (pre-schooling/maid/etc). Schooling is tight (even at the American School of Doha), but I have confirmed that
it should not be a problem to get your child into pre-K provided they are age qualified (I think it's 4, but may be birth date specific - HR should be able to advise on this and getting the paperwork in). Nursery/day-care schools are more challenging and hence this is where the network can help.
Summer is when most of the movement happens so you will be able to possibly
pick up a maid from a departing family (good to be here in advance to get
the network built and word out that you are looking). It is not easy to
find live-in maids, but you will eventually be able to. We struggled for a
short time, using others' maids to clean house a couple days per week for
the first couple of months. We ended up finding our live-in by "word of
mouth" referral from a neighbor whose maid knew of someone coming from the
Philippines. We've had her with us the whole time we've been here and she
is quite good, but she is not going to be available as a live-in once we
depart (she may have part time availability). With your kids ages I would
highly recommend the live-in to give you and your wife maximum social
flexibility.
On Housing, it will be up to the housing committee. That said, they have a
process (not 100% clear to all, but they try to be consistent). CL 31 or
above qualify for "premium" housing - essentially 2 open houses in Laguna
Beach and one in QIPCO (both of these are in the West Bay area close to the
golf course. CL 28-30 can still get into some nice new units in the West
Bay area as I know some are available. If you come solo, you will likely be
in corp/apartment housing until closer to when the family comes out in
August. That said if you are only a month ahead of the family they will
probably just put you into your house. The risk of the family coming later
is that you will be in the summer crush and others may get here sooner and
scoop you on some nice available homes.
That's great info, deedee -- thanks. He will likely arrive around the third week of April and hopefully I can convince him of the importance of getting our son signed up (or on a waitlist) somewhere.
My husband's predecessor, who is still in Doha, sent us an e-mail last night (see below). Let me know if you have any thoughts on it. Again, many thanks for any/all advice. For what it's worth, we "qualify" for the "premium" housing. . .but I suspect that "qualify" by no means can be translated as "you are guaranteed"
He said:
On your question of coming solo until ummer is over really depends on your personal/family situation. Personally would think about bringing them along in April to try to get them cclimated and plugged into the network (pre-schooling/maid/etc). Schooling is tight (even at the American School of Doha), but I have confirmed that
it should not be a problem to get your child into pre-K provided they are age qualified (I think it's 4, but may be birth date specific - HR should be able to advise on this and getting the paperwork in). Nursery/day-care schools are more challenging and hence this is where the network can help.
Summer is when most of the movement happens so you will be able to possibly
pick up a maid from a departing family (good to be here in advance to get
the network built and word out that you are looking). It is not easy to
find live-in maids, but you will eventually be able to. We struggled for a
short time, using others' maids to clean house a couple days per week for
the first couple of months. We ended up finding our live-in by "word of
mouth" referral from a neighbor whose maid knew of someone coming from the
Philippines. We've had her with us the whole time we've been here and she
is quite good, but she is not going to be available as a live-in once we
depart (she may have part time availability). With your kids ages I would
highly recommend the live-in to give you and your wife maximum social
flexibility.
On Housing, it will be up to the housing committee. That said, they have a
process (not 100% clear to all, but they try to be consistent). CL 31 or
above qualify for "premium" housing - essentially 2 open houses in Laguna
Beach and one in QIPCO (both of these are in the West Bay area close to the
golf course. CL 28-30 can still get into some nice new units in the West
Bay area as I know some are available. If you come solo, you will likely be
in corp/apartment housing until closer to when the family comes out in
August. That said if you are only a month ahead of the family they will
probably just put you into your house. The risk of the family coming later
is that you will be in the summer crush and others may get here sooner and
scoop you on some nice available homes.