Apartment in WestBay or Villa near Villagio?

WestBay is better- Near to city centre mall( groceries, cinema ) & to your office.

have replied to your PM.

Kind regards

Craig

Thanks Craig - I'm contacting you guys now :)

My names Craig, MD of Mirage Properties here in Qatar.

Regards your queries I can pretty much second what most others have said so far. If you're a single person working in West Bay area then you're better off finding an apartment in a good quality building near to work.

Villa compounds here are usually geared towards family living as most are 4-5 bed+ properties. However, saying that we have just released an apt compound, on Al Waab St, which would give the best of both worlds. Sadly for you, these have all been leased i'm afraid.

If you do opt for a Pearl Apt, or one of the better towers in the business district, you will usually get all the facilities you would find on a compound and be living with like minded people.

When searching for property please be aware that there are 3 types of furnished basis here in Qatar:

Unfurnished (U/F) - means you get nothing, not even kitchen appliances and sometimes no AC either, in very extreme cases and usually in older properties you don't even get kitchen cabinets.

Semi Furnished (S/F) - Kitchen appliances, A/C's and sometimes curtains.

Fully furnished (F/F) - Kitchen appliances, Furniture, Curtains, TV, DVD and sometimes bedding, kitchen utensils, crockery, cutlery etc (but not usual).

Price difference between S/F & F/F is usually around QR1,500 - QR3,000 extra per month.

If you'd like to get an idea of what's available in the market at the moment, please take a look on our site www.mirageproperty.com, which lists a whole range of properties, both exclusive to ourselves and from the open market.

If you see anything you like and want more info, please feel free to contact us through the site and one of my agents will be in contact.

I hope we can be of help.

Kind regards

Craig at Mirage

haha - thanks Mary - I'll try to get those things last minute here...

Most of the furniture here is either overpriced and third rate quality, or extremely overpriced but fairly good quality when you can find it.

Most of it is not to North American taste/style - a lot of it is very over the top.

One thing to be aware of is that mattresses here are for the most part very uncomfortable unless you pay an arm and a leg for them - and there's very little selection at the top of the range.

Most of us are sitting back and hoping that IKEA will open soon - granted, not top of the line stuff, but for the most part comfortable, priced fairly for what you get, and doesn't look like a drag queen's dressing room.

Thankie! Will do UKEng!

As I mentioned above have a look at the Pearl.

just thought it would be hard to find an uf place :)

and if the prices are different, i might get a better place for cheaper with my own things - thanks!!!!

in Westbay area? Of course, however the money you'd be investing in buying your own furniture i think it should be worth it.

much of a price difference between ff and uf places?

It depends if you are getting allowance or a company villa, if allowance then try to get a fully furnished place to reduce your headaches of setting up your place but if you want to give it a more personal touch then by all means go ahead and buy your own furniture here rather than getting it all the way from US and then taking it back again if thats what you plan to do.

Jeez - that's way too much time to sit in traffic :/

I'll look for a place near west bay on my own and tell the company thanks but no thanks :)

Now - should I buy furniture or not?! (I'm in the US and planned to)

Most decent towers will have a pool as well as possibly a tennis court. Or you could join one of the nearby hotel clubs. The villa compound life is more suited towards families. Think suburbia vs. city life. It can easily take 45 minutes to get from Villagio to West Bay. Traffic is the #1 headache in Doha.

Exactly,

The pool, the out door BBQ, the walk around the compound, tennis courts etc etc.

Btw- what is "villa life"?

I've been to a few villas and ADORE the pools :D

And tennis courts :D

Regarding the Apartments in Westbay, most of them are fully furnished. I hope you can find a semi furnished apartment to bring in your own stuff. Try the Pearl.

haha - thanks guys!

Now, to set out and find a place on my own (compound is company-sponsored ;))

if your work place is in West Bay.

I suggest you choose the apartment in westbay, cause you heard it right, traffic is realy terrible from Villagio to WB. If you do not want an early everyday headache, you choose the apartment near westbay.

better to stay in westbay if the same location with your jobsite or near.

there are lot's of nice apartments in West Bay. Check out Ambassadors Road, behing W Hotel, ASAS Twin Towers, Beach Tower and others.

If you work in West Bay, don't think about a House around Villagio, the info you got is correct - Traffic is horrendous

Well if yer office is in Westbay and you is single then better option to stay in West bay, unless you want a villa life..:)