I am in the same boat, moving during the Eid holidays with my 9 year old son and husband. I decided to buy from here - Artwork for the new house (Large Banksy prints which would never fit my London home) ; unlocked iPhone (they are much cheaper on ebay here than in Qatar); Nice cuddly Throws from Costco ; some ikea storage for the kitchen and inside wardrobes (was tempted to buy bookshelves but decided to get them built there instead). Also Some high thread count bedding and nice set of towels.
I went to Qatar for a week last week and looked at the house so I could plan the "what to bring". Eventually I realised there are things that I will buy there rather than ship like the vaccuum and steam iron, simply because I will need these right away in Qatar and the shipping won't arrive for another 8 weeks. So you may want to factor that in when you decide what to ship. In things I have at home already, this is how I prioritised what to take or buy there.
I looked at flooring - the "fully furnished" villa we got has some hideous carpets - but the quote for laminate flooring in Qatar was £2.60 / sqm including installation - here it is self install and the min one finds is £4/sqm
I also managed to buy some nice curtains and lovely used antique chinese furniture off the Qatar Living site last week, it was surprisingly easy.. the man I bought it from hired a van and had it delivered to my home.
I went to HomeCentre and some of the other stores to do a price comparison - glassware, kitchen utensils etc. are really cheap there; candles, lamps decorative bits are much nicer and cheaper than here; it is cheaper to get stuff made and fabric is cheaper..
The main thing I am splurging on before I move is books, though - we are treating ourselves to "buy all you want" trip to the bookstore.
I had read in another post not to underestimate the PITA factor in finding things in Doha- I found it surprisingly smooth even during Ramadan. Perhaps because I am of Indian origin and speak Urdu (as does half of Doha it seems)! I was on my way back to the airport, at 10 pm, and thought I would like to check the price of laminate flooring on the way.. to decide whether to buy or ship. The limo driver took me to a shop that was open, which gave me a great quote, and was willing to come in and install it the next day!
I hope this helps - as we are both moving to Doha around the same time from the UK, it will be nice to catch up as well - please PM me if you would like to!
Hi,
I am in the same boat, moving during the Eid holidays with my 9 year old son and husband. I decided to buy from here - Artwork for the new house (Large Banksy prints which would never fit my London home) ; unlocked iPhone (they are much cheaper on ebay here than in Qatar); Nice cuddly Throws from Costco ; some ikea storage for the kitchen and inside wardrobes (was tempted to buy bookshelves but decided to get them built there instead). Also Some high thread count bedding and nice set of towels.
I went to Qatar for a week last week and looked at the house so I could plan the "what to bring". Eventually I realised there are things that I will buy there rather than ship like the vaccuum and steam iron, simply because I will need these right away in Qatar and the shipping won't arrive for another 8 weeks. So you may want to factor that in when you decide what to ship. In things I have at home already, this is how I prioritised what to take or buy there.
I looked at flooring - the "fully furnished" villa we got has some hideous carpets - but the quote for laminate flooring in Qatar was £2.60 / sqm including installation - here it is self install and the min one finds is £4/sqm
I also managed to buy some nice curtains and lovely used antique chinese furniture off the Qatar Living site last week, it was surprisingly easy.. the man I bought it from hired a van and had it delivered to my home.
I went to HomeCentre and some of the other stores to do a price comparison - glassware, kitchen utensils etc. are really cheap there; candles, lamps decorative bits are much nicer and cheaper than here; it is cheaper to get stuff made and fabric is cheaper..
The main thing I am splurging on before I move is books, though - we are treating ourselves to "buy all you want" trip to the bookstore.
I had read in another post not to underestimate the PITA factor in finding things in Doha- I found it surprisingly smooth even during Ramadan. Perhaps because I am of Indian origin and speak Urdu (as does half of Doha it seems)! I was on my way back to the airport, at 10 pm, and thought I would like to check the price of laminate flooring on the way.. to decide whether to buy or ship. The limo driver took me to a shop that was open, which gave me a great quote, and was willing to come in and install it the next day!
I hope this helps - as we are both moving to Doha around the same time from the UK, it will be nice to catch up as well - please PM me if you would like to!