Before starting, I'm not replying for the sake of it, I really do want to share another point of view.
"Recruiters are telling westerners that a western style lifestyle is available for them here. Whilst it is available (to some extent), in order to have it, it costs much, much more than in the west."
If people deceive people into coming here with false promises then I agree , thats not fair. I see no gain in deception because people will spend a day here and run back.
"Let's not even go into what the legalised slave labour is payed in this country and the conditions they live in. There is a price for no income tax and they pay it ... It makes me sick!"
This is kind of WAY of topic, but alright... there are those that get paid peanuts, but don't forget that most of their wages are taken away by their own country men. (see Al Jazeera documentary on that)
I personally work with the Human Rights Authority to ensure they are treated better. (see the charity on iloveqatar)
"I can't even get my camera gear here let alone be prepared to pay what it would cost if it was. Same with PC equipment. We can sell a second hand 2 year old Dell Inspiron for more than we paid for it in the US. Wii's and PS3's have not been available at all(I know theres been supply issues with Wii's but all my friends back home have got them, we ship stuff in)."
Thats two subjects, so 1) as Nadia mentioned, you can't get everything everywhere, each region has their own goods. When I was in the UK I couldn't even get Toshiba to replace any parts for my Satellite pro. At the time I didn't think "oh this country is backwards", I thought that it was just a regionall thing. What PC equipment is it that you are searching. I don't mean to be rude but I truely think that you don't know where to shop.
Now you say that Wii's and ps3's are not available at all. I'll challenge you, in fact, (even though it's against my religion), I'll be willing to bed you a million riyals that you can find a wii or a ps3 in any store.
Here are a few places to check, 1) The music store in the mall next to chilis, 2) Persian Games, 3) The production, 4) Saqr Music 5) Carrefour 6) Jumbo Electronics. The list goes on.
Seems like you are importing things that you don't have to. If I went into the subject of price, a PS3 is 420 pounds in England, it costs 320-350 in Qatar. I bought a limited edition WHITE PS3 the day that it was released (only in Japan I might add) for 380 pounds!
I bought a game with an eyetoy for 250 QR where in the UK it costs 350QR!
Finally you are then talking about resale value. In Qatar people don't like to buy used goods in general. You can't compare resale here because we don't have an ebay system!
Let me give you an example of mobile phones. I'll use the N95 as an example since it's well known.
When it was first released in England, it was 600 pounds! When it was released here it was 420. Now on ebay it was going for 350 pounds in the UK but you don't compare ebay prices with store prices.
"Many things are creeping past the cost of Dubai and the infrastructure, quality of life and available facilities over there are considerably beyond Qatar."
I want to know what these many things are....
"My local Shawarma restuarants were 3 now 5, spitroast chicken was 12 now 18 one of the best value options here I do love roast chicken and cheese bread. The Beijing, The Royal Tandoor etc etc really no cheaper cost than my local curry house or chinese at home. Be it Indian, Thai, Lebanese or whatever and if I want to sit in a licensed restuarant I have no choice but to pay WAY over the odds for both food and alcohol. Unfortunately our favourite local Thai and Lebanese places have recently been shut down =("
Local food is still cheap! That's the whole point. Foreign food (depending on the class) will ALWAYS be expensive in any country. As mentioned it costs me 4 pounds for a shawarma in london!
"I know quite a lot of people who have arrived here and been totally and utterly screwed over on rents and stuff. The life and needs and realities of an expat, particularly shorter term expatriates are not that of a locals and cannot be compared as such."
I agree, rents have been going up. As mentioned in another thread, the government said that it will intervene and set caps. They've already started.
It all has to do with the increase in population as well. Too much demand.
"One day broccoli can cost me 18QR KG, for a couple of months 10QR and then sometimes 30QR."
Because fruits and vegetables are season based in Qatar.
"I will ring round the hotels again and get new prices (if they have available places) and post what I have to pay in order to get to a gym/pool. At home I have the option of either paying "
Don't just ring hotels... ring actual gyms... call Gold's Gym, Dana Club and various other clubs.
On a side note, you cannot compare a council place with a hotel, they aren't related at all...
The reason why prices are increasing is because of the constant demand. If we win the olympics you definately know that more hotels and more apartments will be available which will fuell competition.
I agree, I do feel my wallet become lighter as time passes, however with some things I have to stay strong when I say that it is cheaper than many countries.
I remember for a can of Pocari sweat in England it cost me 2 pounds! In the US it cost me 1.30 and in Japan it cost 60p. Here it costs me 30p and I still feel it's expensive :P
So at the end of the day, I'm giving my opinion and giving people numbers so that they themselves can judge if it's worth it or not.
__________________________ <-- Cost of Living, Visas, Safety Info, Tips on Moving, Facts, Pictures, Videos, Friendly Forums, and more!
Before starting, I'm not replying for the sake of it, I really do want to share another point of view.
"Recruiters are telling westerners that a western style lifestyle is available for them here. Whilst it is available (to some extent), in order to have it, it costs much, much more than in the west."
If people deceive people into coming here with false promises then I agree , thats not fair. I see no gain in deception because people will spend a day here and run back.
"Let's not even go into what the legalised slave labour is payed in this country and the conditions they live in. There is a price for no income tax and they pay it ... It makes me sick!"
This is kind of WAY of topic, but alright... there are those that get paid peanuts, but don't forget that most of their wages are taken away by their own country men. (see Al Jazeera documentary on that)
I personally work with the Human Rights Authority to ensure they are treated better. (see the charity on iloveqatar)
"I can't even get my camera gear here let alone be prepared to pay what it would cost if it was. Same with PC equipment. We can sell a second hand 2 year old Dell Inspiron for more than we paid for it in the US. Wii's and PS3's have not been available at all(I know theres been supply issues with Wii's but all my friends back home have got them, we ship stuff in)."
Thats two subjects, so 1) as Nadia mentioned, you can't get everything everywhere, each region has their own goods. When I was in the UK I couldn't even get Toshiba to replace any parts for my Satellite pro. At the time I didn't think "oh this country is backwards", I thought that it was just a regionall thing. What PC equipment is it that you are searching. I don't mean to be rude but I truely think that you don't know where to shop.
Now you say that Wii's and ps3's are not available at all. I'll challenge you, in fact, (even though it's against my religion), I'll be willing to bed you a million riyals that you can find a wii or a ps3 in any store.
Here are a few places to check, 1) The music store in the mall next to chilis, 2) Persian Games, 3) The production, 4) Saqr Music 5) Carrefour 6) Jumbo Electronics. The list goes on.
Seems like you are importing things that you don't have to. If I went into the subject of price, a PS3 is 420 pounds in England, it costs 320-350 in Qatar. I bought a limited edition WHITE PS3 the day that it was released (only in Japan I might add) for 380 pounds!
I bought a game with an eyetoy for 250 QR where in the UK it costs 350QR!
Finally you are then talking about resale value. In Qatar people don't like to buy used goods in general. You can't compare resale here because we don't have an ebay system!
Let me give you an example of mobile phones. I'll use the N95 as an example since it's well known.
When it was first released in England, it was 600 pounds! When it was released here it was 420. Now on ebay it was going for 350 pounds in the UK but you don't compare ebay prices with store prices.
"Many things are creeping past the cost of Dubai and the infrastructure, quality of life and available facilities over there are considerably beyond Qatar."
I want to know what these many things are....
"My local Shawarma restuarants were 3 now 5, spitroast chicken was 12 now 18 one of the best value options here I do love roast chicken and cheese bread. The Beijing, The Royal Tandoor etc etc really no cheaper cost than my local curry house or chinese at home. Be it Indian, Thai, Lebanese or whatever and if I want to sit in a licensed restuarant I have no choice but to pay WAY over the odds for both food and alcohol. Unfortunately our favourite local Thai and Lebanese places have recently been shut down =("
Local food is still cheap! That's the whole point. Foreign food (depending on the class) will ALWAYS be expensive in any country. As mentioned it costs me 4 pounds for a shawarma in london!
"I know quite a lot of people who have arrived here and been totally and utterly screwed over on rents and stuff. The life and needs and realities of an expat, particularly shorter term expatriates are not that of a locals and cannot be compared as such."
I agree, rents have been going up. As mentioned in another thread, the government said that it will intervene and set caps. They've already started.
It all has to do with the increase in population as well. Too much demand.
"One day broccoli can cost me 18QR KG, for a couple of months 10QR and then sometimes 30QR."
Because fruits and vegetables are season based in Qatar.
"I will ring round the hotels again and get new prices (if they have available places) and post what I have to pay in order to get to a gym/pool. At home I have the option of either paying "
Don't just ring hotels... ring actual gyms... call Gold's Gym, Dana Club and various other clubs.
On a side note, you cannot compare a council place with a hotel, they aren't related at all...
The reason why prices are increasing is because of the constant demand. If we win the olympics you definately know that more hotels and more apartments will be available which will fuell competition.
I agree, I do feel my wallet become lighter as time passes, however with some things I have to stay strong when I say that it is cheaper than many countries.
I remember for a can of Pocari sweat in England it cost me 2 pounds! In the US it cost me 1.30 and in Japan it cost 60p. Here it costs me 30p and I still feel it's expensive :P
So at the end of the day, I'm giving my opinion and giving people numbers so that they themselves can judge if it's worth it or not.
__________________________
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