The big move

the book you bought is very good. Grab a copy of "Marhaba" when you get here, and all will be covered between the two.

Veni, Vici, viva.

dudenogood - sorry mate. Last few days the traffic has been insane, back to where it was when I arrived in June. Summer is over, so 40 mins to travel 3km, topped last night by 20 mins to go 300ft to a roundabout. It's not all like that, but one has to be very selective about which route to use.

Be careful about where to live. West Bay is very nice (we live there, at the Dafna end), but it is very much the 'millionaires row'. We were VERY lucky with our villa. If you don't live in such an area at home, you'll be paying away for a prestigious address. Doha is a safe city, with no dodgy areas I am aware of. Focus on convenience of commuting, and I would suggest parking also. Living outside a compound is easy, we do it, but we do not have any neighbours we can talk to - but lots of nodding and smiling. The compounds are often full of Dutch, French or Scandies, so no guarantees there either.

QIS is a great school, founded by an Englishwoman to accommodate non-Brits. Her grandchildren go to school in Sydney! Bear in mind it seems to be the school of choice for the large cohort of Egyptian and Indian professionals here, and whilst lessons are in english, that might not be the language spoken in the playground.

Freehold is a bit of a myth. They are available, but only in selected hi-rise developments that won't be complete for some time yet - maybe 2008/2009.

If there's anything else, let me know.

Veni, Vici, viva.

Hey Kiwibird - we are also from Auckland with an offer at hand for Doha but facing the same schooling issues. Our kids go to a great state school here, so I feel nervous about shifting them to something that might not be so good - very hard to glean information from the very limited websites. I keep hearing about Newton but know little about Compass as it's that much more expensive - do your friend's friends think the extra money that this school costs represents value and is it worth the spend over some of the others. Thnx - let me know.

Hi Kiwi Bird, I'm moving to Doha myself with my wife and 2 yr old daughter. I was in Doha in July for four days to explore the city, and my feedback is, don't expect a lot from Doha, good place to raise kids though, better than UAE and Dubai to be more specific. Look for a place in West Bay area. If you plan to take an appartment in a building then facilities like pool, gym, kids area, suana, steam room etc etc are available in the building and at no extra cost, which is not available in townhouses in compounds, maybe just a pool or gym. Also, ask your husband to look for free hold peoperties, you can now own a house or appartment in Doha, lease period is 99 years, just like Australia. And the rate at which property prices are hiking, you will get a very good price if you plan to leave after a couple of years.

Hey this Forum is great for getting info.My husband leaves in a few weeks now and although i'm dreading him leaving us for a few months i am looking forward to him getting there so he will then know more about the place. It looks like we can get the kids in to Compass International school so even though it costs a fortune it's very nice to know that i won't have to home school them !!!!We have spoken to a few people (friends of friends who live in Doha) and they all say very postive stuff.Still don't know what we are going to do furnture wise, some people say take it and make it a home and others say leave it at home. Hopefully once my husband is there we will finally make a decision.We brought the book The Complete Residents Guide to Qatar by Explorer which is pretty good reading.Hopefully we can confirm school placements soon and then we will know which areas to look in for a house.It sounds like it's best to live in the school area as this makes the travel time etc more bearable.I'm hoping we can find a 4 bedroom place in .a great compound so we can start the process of making new friends

I am moving there in early November and my wife and 2 kids (boys 9&6)are coming at the end of the year.

My company informed me that the waiting lists move quickly because people are on 2-4 lists and once they get the school they want they take their name of the other school lists. Also you have just as many leaving at the end of their contracts as those that are arriving which creates quick turnover.

I am moving from Canberra (Oz) to Doha next month and your conversation has been very helpful, answered most of my queries. My daughter will turn 3 on 31 March 08, we are planning to start her pre-schooling by April 08, do you suggest I apply in DESS and QIS online now? What other good nurseries are there? Cheers.

Usually companies organise for moving your furniture via company paid 20 feet container and you can bring all you can fit in it. Otherwise you are given a furniting allowance, reasonable amount is QTR 24,000. Good luck in moving.

(God Give & Forgives, Man Gets & Forgets)

Yeah i thought 15 weeks was pretty excessive maybe the husband has got it wrong surely it doesn't take that much longer than OZ.This is why this time frame makes it a bit harder to pack to send stuff but still be able to remain in our house for another 3 months. When i said expensive i just meant the housing and schooling....just want to make sure we can save some $$$ , travel,live and have fun all at the same time!!!

Got ur PM - thanks. But 15 weeks to arrive? Crikey. Ours took 6... I think repeating school depends on their age. It's a different cut-off to Oz, and we had to fight quite hard to stop them skipping our boy a year. Fees per child are abt QR55k.

As to 'more expensive', if you are desperate to replicate your pantry back home, yes. But there are many local brands just as good for a fraction of the price. Outside of housing (and schools) we don't find it too bad.

cheers,

Veni, Vici, viva.

Hi Grantley-well now your really confused me....we just don't know what to bring. I think we will just have to wait till my husband actually gets there until we make any major discisions.Crown says it takes about 15 weeks to get our stuff there, a container leaves on the 14th september so we are thinking of trying to get some stuff packed up to send like kids bikes,toys,books and some furniture.probably won't bring the fridge, washing machine etc. when we moved back to NZ from south africa our fridge back then got ruined so i think we'll leave that stuff behind.

Compass told us to contact them again next month. Theey said they had new classes starting in most years but had to wait till all the new teachers arrived in Doha before they could confirm anything. Our kids are in Year 3 and Year 1 at present, DESS told us that they would have to repeat Year 3 and Year 1 again. What about your kids?,i hope they settle in to Compass with ease.

Sounds like everything is more expensive that we initially thought.Are you enjoying life in Doha.How much is compass? Well we had better ask for more money now!!!!Thanks heaps and good luck, i hope your wife and kids settle in quickly.

Our situation is very much like yours. I got here (from Oz) in June, and my wife and kids arrived last week. Our stuff is here, but not cleared yet. It all runs on 220v, PAL system, so the TV, fridge, hifi etc will work, but the plugs are the english style ones. Bring a couple of powerboards over, then you only have to change the one plug. Useful for multi-plug things like hi fi & PC etc.

Furniture is cheap, but not abundant if you don't like local taste. Whitegoods are reasonable, neither cheap or expensive, but tend to be at the lower end (lots of LG & Haier, but haven't found Miele yet). As mentioned above, your requirements will depend on what you rent. With 3 kids, you will want a house, as compound villas rarely exceed 3 brs. Be prepared to pay in excess of QR25k per month.

Cars are very cheap and petrol around NZ 28c per litre.

Compass turned you down? Our's (10 & 7) start there tomorrow, and we understood there were some places. Must be year specific. Don't hold your breath for DESS - very, very popular school (and 1/2 what Compass charge). PM me if I can add anything else. Good Luck and Marhaba!!

Veni, Vici, viva.

Try applying to Qatar International School, which is also a good school in Qatar and with a high education standard. I studied there for my last year and it was great and came out with impressive grades. Usually they do have some spaces left, and would tell u (if there is a waiting list) when exactly there would be a place available.

For moving stuff here.....furniture here is reasonably priced, and u will get great deal on electronics for sure, So i would advise u not to bring that.

Hope u make it thru those 3 hard months, and hope u do enjoy staying in Qatar when u come here.

Cheers

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Good luck! I can not help you yet. I will move from Amsterdam to Doha myself early October. My wife and son (9 months) will follow early November. Might be able to help you at that time...For now i will read all the responses you'll get as that might help us as well!

Thanks for all the tips so far.I think i will need more than luck to survive 3-4 months on my own...i've told the husband he owes me big time!!!We like the look of DESS, the kids are on the waiting list so fingers crossed a place will come up. This is when we wished we had stayed in London and had the kids there, then they would have the little red book that gets you in the door quicker.What are the temps like in Dec/jan...i'm hoping for at least some sunshine...not sure i can survive 2 winters in a row.

First of all good luck for surviving 3 month with 3 boys on you own! :) If you survived just than you should think about coming here! :) Ok, apart from the joke, I heard that the best school is defenetely DESS. I have a freind whose kids are going to Newton and they are satisfied with it. They learn everything in english, plus additionally arabic and french.

Wait untill your husband gets here to see what accomodation is provided to him. Many times furnished apartmants or villas are avialable. But actually furnitures are not so expensive here, so you can buy most of the things.

This is clearly a major life-change for you and your family - the employer should be advising you on all these matters, and helping you with them. If they are not doing so, then you might ask yourself if they are the sort of people that you want to be working for.