all your comments are very helpful, we understand the accomodation will take the major part of our cost in Qatar, but how about other expenses, such as utilities, food etc. are they quite expensive. also is it worth to take our furniture with us as the transport cost will be covered by the company or just rent a fully furnished place. is there a big difference on rental price between furnished and unfurnished. as in the contract the exchage rate is fixed, we hope this is good for us but do not have any ideas. we have a marriage certificate, it should be good enought to allow us stay together in Qatar and we don't have kids, so there are no extra education or other costs involved. the accomodation allowance already covered in the package and believe me we are trying our very bests to negotiate more money. who knows, hopefully we will get something before we make the move. as we both love and enjoy travels and different cultures, we should be able to survive there in a good way.........