i was in the same boat as you, and ended up finding a wonderful little beachside villa at simaisma for pretty much the same reasons: much lower rent at a very quiet and relaxed little town. simaisma is about 15 kms south of al khor, so it's marginally closer to doha. still, it is a tiny, sleepy village, and much smaller than al khor (1.5 sq. km) so you dont have too many ameneties around. i've been living out of doha for a year now and i love it. I will not go back to the city after being spoilt by the quiet pace of life here.
since the highway's there, the commute is not bad at all (20-35 mins max to anywhere in doha), but you will spend considerably more money if you hire a cab. i would recommend you save that cash and lease a car instead, as that would work out more economical for you.
hello Ryan and welcome to qatar!
i was in the same boat as you, and ended up finding a wonderful little beachside villa at simaisma for pretty much the same reasons: much lower rent at a very quiet and relaxed little town. simaisma is about 15 kms south of al khor, so it's marginally closer to doha. still, it is a tiny, sleepy village, and much smaller than al khor (1.5 sq. km) so you dont have too many ameneties around. i've been living out of doha for a year now and i love it. I will not go back to the city after being spoilt by the quiet pace of life here.
since the highway's there, the commute is not bad at all (20-35 mins max to anywhere in doha), but you will spend considerably more money if you hire a cab. i would recommend you save that cash and lease a car instead, as that would work out more economical for you.
good luck!