Expat wives in Qatar

Not being RUDE to you, just explaining since your new here, your post has nothing to do with Expat wife's topic here we are discussing. Did you read the QL community Guidelines when you first signed up?

or at the top of the page first when you became a member? It clearly says:

Stay on topic and do not hijack threads or post off-topic comments. Start a new forum topic or send a private message if you are in doubt.

your message will go just fine at this link:

http://www.qatarliving.com/classifieds/accommodation

Salam

AA in American terms = alcoholics anonymous :s

I love aspire active much better meaning of AA . Sign me up.

Hmm, maybe you're right, junior partner.

AA - Isn't that Americans Anonymous forCanadians ?

Dear Rubsty,

Really you are a nice thinking lady/girl because you indent to help a person even you don't know the person personally. NOw a days people like you are getting less.

Pls do continue to do the favour for others....

Regards

[email protected]

Exactly! :D

So when my wife say 'I'm going to an AA meeting', she's really talking about shopping, right? ;)

Oh don't you worry about it..Shopping haha ;)

^What is that?

Let her sign up in Aspire Active :D ..

she will have a Fun Time

Why does our expat wife's in Qatar keep getting spammed ????

Try classifieds ja_doha this is a chat forum not ad place.

Salam

HIc up, gotta love iPad ;)

Now back to expat wife's in Qatar...

Why does our expat wife's in Qatar keep getting spammed ????

Try classifieds ja_doha this is a chat forum not ad place.

Salam

Yup Brit, that's why we 're sooo sweet.

Hi,

I dont know if anyone can help me but i just moved here last wednesday from london and me and my friend (also british) are looking for a 3rd person (preferable expat as well) who needs a place to stay. We found a wonderful 3 bedroom apartment in West Bay area. We are in our 20's and We both have jobs here in Doha. If you know of anyone please feel free to message me back or email me [email protected]. Thanks a whole lot. btw I am loving this place already.....AMAZING

You use Maple Syrup for "everything"?

Muwst lead to some sticky situations ...

Yes, public place of course, we are just saying in fun let's crash at Ryan's. we would, atleast I would not self-invite myself over to anyone's home.....lol not until maybe we have known each other forever ;p

Cheers

You guys should set up your first meetup in a coffee bar say like coffee beanery or Starbucks. my 2 cents.

And??? Bring some of your heritage here so all your new friends can taste.

OMG your story is almost exectly like mine, except I have a cat that showed up at my door 2 months back that adopted me, that keeps me company now as a full time indoor kitty now. :P And i don't sleep much. my 2 boys are 10 hours time difference from me and we talk on skype when everyone here is suppose to be asleep.

would u mind if u invite me guys for a coffee treat too??(Mimiloves) LMAO

of course you can be invited. We should set up a jet-leg pot-luck welcome to Qatar party for Ryan and his wife :p

My home is a studio so where to host it?

Pm me your contact # Chatty we can talk anytime.

Good Night all.

If you grow up in Canada everything is 'maple syrup this' and 'maple syrup that'. Ugh.

How dare you...Ryan, they are sweet sweet heaven in my mouth..

Sounds good Lost_in_qatar...lol

Haha, I'm down! The only issue is I think my place is going to be a little on the small side. And leave those maple syrup candies at home. They're disgusting!

Ok so it's decided....ryancannuck's place on the pearl in 10 days....please pick up some maple syrup candies at the airport.

KC, you guys have to wait for us! lol We haven't bought our plane tickets yet, but will be there in 7-10 days.

Let's stop chatting about it and let's all meet up. Venue suggestions, my place, your place, let's do it...lol

I've always found this topic so fascinating. I'm honestly curious to know how to get in touch with u guys 'want to go to your coffee/tea treat mimi..lol?' I mean that quite honestly... I am bored with everyday life .i wanna do something a little bit interesting... I like the suggestion of learning a language that someone brought up. ..Being here I have nobody to go out with, and dont drive, and it's still not the best weather, I have nothing to do but be inside all day.I'm lucky I get the tv for an hour.. I go on my computer and play games as much as possible but I get bored of that easily . The rest of the day I dont know what to do. I end up doing chores or eating out of boredom, not fun. I have TFC also to watch.. doing the same stuff over and over gets boring quickly to me too, the fun factor wears off quickly..I'm going crazy! I dont know what I can do to not be bored. I cant sleep at night easily because I have no stimulation during the day to make me tired and relaxed at night. I go to bed 2 am and wake up 12 noon, because there is nothing to get up and do....hahaha! would u mind if u invite me guys for a coffee treat too??(Mimiloves) LMAO

Its high time brit let go of the Cuban SP and started his life on a new page.

wow Ryan

see what you did when you asked what is a BFF lol. thx everyone for the humor, it has been a stress-ful day on another page :)

Brit, I love hot pink, my lap top, cellphone cover and my ipod is hot pink............... ;p

As Coco Chanel once said "Fashion fades, only style remains the same.” :o)

Your thong matches your KIA? That is so 2006! Get with the times, Brexpat! ;)

Brit...you do know that she left you because of your pink,fur lined thong...right?

Plus, she didn't fit in the pink KIA .....:P

ahh...sorry, just I miss life in USA and my besties there. Being lost here in Qatar.... as you can see from one very busy thread today, I have wished and prayed to be back with my bff's. Here, i know it would be taken wrong if posted I wanted guy and girl friend's to hang out with by some closed-minded ppl. its more fun to have mixed company, i have 5 brother's and their friend's were mine also. to much laughing, and fun at sport's etc like a happy family.

Hope you atleast keep in touch with your cuban. nothing wrong with staying in touch via email etc. but not the same anyways.

Cheers, time to go make dinner for the hub's and I.

How cruel of you to mention BFF...

My Cuban Shotputter was my BFF, till they revoked her visa and she went back to Havana :O(

Ryan it means best friend forever. I have both guy and girl BFF's back in the states. I miss them so much. They know how to make me laugh when I am sad, make me smile when I want to hit them, lol from their smart--s remarks and best of all, know how to cook and just chill out with friends. Volleyball, pool(billards) card games, bike rides etc. we still play like kids even at our age.

Salam. Looking forward to meeting u and you wife.

^Looks delicious! :)

Hey guys, what's a 'bff'? (I am very old and don't know these things...)

You're my new BFF Mimi , I love coffee...

Hey K.C, Being a expat wife, I would love new BFF's to make coffee or tea for, just don't make me drink the coffee , once a tea girl, always a tea girl. But I proudly, and happily will make it, fresh-pressed, espresso, or latte, you name it, just for the friendships I would love to make here.

Benson, my idea might not work here in Qatar, but I wanted to post a topic the other day.....to make new BFF's married couples and singles welcome.

It would have read: subject: I'm hungry.....

For new friends, and food.... If you are looking to make new friends, let's arrange a potluck? You name the place and the time, everyone bring their favorite dish, and of course I will bring my homemade chicken enchilada's....let's get to know each other and have a fun night. :)

Guess we will have to wait for That. What do you think Ryan?

You're my new BFF Mimi , I love coffee...

Safe Journey.....

Hope to see you soon.

Zzzz...

Whoa, my mistake! It is 6:30 where you are. This means it is way past my bedtime here! :) Goodnight!

^Can't sleep?

Rubsty, if you want to know the tides, they are published daily in the newspapers here. They are not at the same time each day, they change by about an hour a day and there are 2 high tides and 2 low tides per day.

September and June may experience higher and lower tides because of the spring and fall equinoxes/positions of the moon.

An American inviting a Canadian for coffee. The end of the world is surely nigh :0(

Lol wow nice mr indi.... Thx. The end of the world only as you know it. Fast Forward to heaven! :). I happen to make excellent coffee and tea, I use to own my own restaurant before relocating here. Serving the best coffee....stumptown coffee. Goggle stump town coffee, you don't know how great it is :) btw I was awarded restaurant of the week and have a featured video on a top ranking morning tv show from that honor, along with 2 surprise full column restaurant reviews from top food critics.

Cheers.

An American inviting a Canadian for coffee. The end of the world is surely nigh :0(

I am clearly not a Dude.... Even though my faceless avatar has a boy hair cut.... ;p

now the fun part starts for you, get packing and hurry up and get here already, I need tea time with your wifey!!! oh and u can come too, I will make arabic coffee for you and my hub's. or whatever you drink...

Cute Graphics

Cheers

Thanks, dudes! ;)

congrats. fly safe and sound!!!

See you soon, and keep the cold back home

Kathy

Our visas just came in! Going to book our flight now. Hopefully be there in a few days!

Hey londonlad. I'll keep it on the thread as RyanCanuck suggested in case it's useful for anyone else. So it sounds like you're in Doha already..... is it just during the day you're thinking about or evenings too, for both of you? I'm not working at the moment so generally at a loose end during the day... I've been filling my time with a couple of activities I already listed above: Ladies Day at the Intercontinental pool and beach on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and classes at yama yoga. I'd recommend both of these! In October I'm hoping to have another go at learning Arabic - they do courses at Al Fanar http://www.fanar.gov.qa . Like I mentioned above, there are numerous clubs, associations and societies listed in the 'Leisure Activities' and 'Sports' sections of Marhaba magazine, so if your wife has any special interests, she might find something there. Or she could learn something new - scuba diving for example - I know the Doha sub-aqua club are also very sociable - they organise social events as well as diving trips. There are a few groups specifically for expat ladies who meet weekly, although I haven't tried them so can't comment further. I don't have a massive group of Doha friends - but I met mine through a random conversation when watching a world cup match in 2010 - and have been mates ever since....

Sorry - brief hijack of thread for Wakra beach.... thanks marycatherine.... I wondered if it was just high tide or if the government's warnings were actually true. It just seemed odd that we have come at around the same time for a few months now and have never seen the water like that. Maybe it was a spring tide. I must admit I have never checked the tide tables. Anyway - I have always enjoyed Wakra beach - never seen any dog poop (perhaps I have been lucky) and the water has always been nice and clear in my experience. I won't give up on it then - very glad - it is one of my small pleasures of Doha life! Interesting about the development planned there mimiloves2sing - they should do more in Wakra. Personally, I'm not a fan of Sealine. Busy, jellyfish, expensive. Not my kind of beach :)

Got bored too,,i am a wife of an American,been here for almost a year, not working,cant get out of my shitty place, desert and in the middle of nowhere..

""Society is now one polished horde, formed of two mighty tries, the Bores and Bored""

Thanks, mimi. Nope, not settled yet. Starting to cool down here in the Great White North and we're still waiting for visas. Will let you know when the Mrs. and I touch down. Maybe we can all grab a coffee or something. ;)

and now back to the expat wifes discussion..............

Ryan, have you and wifey settled in yet? If so, hope she is adjusting. Have Good night

No PMing! Keep it public. We all want to know. :)

Hi Rubsty - I repeat myself,

Do you know what kind of social scene is there for Brits? PM me with details if you dont mind. My wife is coming over in a month of so, and I am in the same situation. She wont have anything to do!!!

You came when the tide was in.

The soil in certain parts of the beach is clay, not sludge.

I agree, the dog walkers should pick up after their dogs

Whatever anyone brings to the beach they should take back home or dispose of properly.

Hi Rubsty, I went there the other day, and see what you mean about the sea. QAWS and other People bring their dogs there to swim, it is not safe to walk on the beachfront barefooted, it is full of poop and sludge from what washes up onto the shore... eweewww... you have to walk forever to get to the cleaner sea water...not like sealine that has actual sandy beach and you can directly walk out and swim.

I googled and read on wikipedia....There is big development plans going on at Wakra, but the beach is not a beach to swim as of yet..... , but I read also going to be a "continuous public waterfront" offering activities for the public, two hotels and a golf course. A railway station will be located near the mosque, and there will also be a climate controlled underground pedestrian area. Google al wakrah and click on the article regarding Wakrah. I myself can not wait to see how developed this city becomes in the future. But Rome was not built in a day, and I pray the workers are treated fairly, as if not for the laboror's, this Country would not be more then the few tents and camel's it was 50 years ago.

Have good night all.

Snap - I've been here 2 weeks not bored yet but perhaps we can all hook up :-)

Hey mimiloves2sing! Wow your situation sounds very frustrating. I hope it all comes good for you soon. Re socialising - me and my husband used to come to Wakra beach every weekend - but we went on Saturday and the tide was all different - the water was right up to the car park - so we didn't stay. I know the government released a statement recently saying it wasn't safe to swim there any more. Do you know if the water is always like this now? Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, if Wakra beach is still ok (and we just came at a bad time) let me know and next time we're there come and have a swim with us :)

Wow, talk about complicated! I wish you luck Mimi, and hopefully we'll get around to having our coffee.

ML2S, sounds like an interesting story! I know that QF has had trouble getting female work visas. It's a real pain to hire someone and have them start work and then have the visa denied.

Mandi

Well.... it is not that I can not get work, we need to ask the golden question why cant my transferable visa be transfered to a work visa like everyone else that has a transferable visa? I am here on Family Visit visa, being american it is transferable, to a business and or a residence work visa. I get upon arrival visa being 1 of 33 countries who can.

but as far as my husband sponsoring me.... he would love to... we need me working. we cant live on just 5100r and 70% of that goes to rent....but to answer your question.....due to the immigration laws that have changed and keep changing.....for salary requirements, my husband's salary does not meet the new amount....set by the Gov't. so he can not sponser me. :S we won't get into the subject of why he is being paid so Sh ty from his work. :C

Strange as it may seem, there are companies everyday (my husband's work place included) that process female residence visas from outside Qatar. Very touchy subject at my house. why not me?

I would love to know the answer to that.

Sorry wrote this before I saw all the answers, but I still don't understand why can't you be hired under your husbands sponsorship? I'm very curious about this matter

Hey Mimi, why can't you get husbands sponsorship right now! My husband is pushing me to work, all I need from him is a sponsorship and a no objection letter from my husband.

I don't understand your situation. Are you a visitor?

Oh, right. Yes, it appears to be the same as the Emirates. I thought you meant that you couldn't work because your husband wasn't allowing it. lol

nomerci is right. It is not that I am not qualified to get the job, it is that immigration has changed regarding female visas which I did not know before coming here. They prefer companies hire local females that are on husband or father residence sponsership so to hire locals and save money etc.

What frustrates me is, everyday at my husband's work, he processes visas to bring female and males here, so I know if his company can and does do it, what the heck is going on with all the other companies, like QF and QP to name 2??? I was offered a great 6 mo. free-lance job with QF. they should be able to easily give me a visa, they do it all day for expats, so why not me who is already here? Something weird here. idk. just sayn.

My latest interview was great until he said lets bring in the HR manager to discuss what visa we can do, she is the one that said right now for Her company, there are no female visas. So maybe it is depending on size of company, or quota of what kind of staff they can hire.

Cheers

Ryan, every expat here needs a sponsor. A woman can work and be sponsored by the company that hires her or she can work while she is sponsored by her resident husband or resident father.

Now, many companies prefer she is sponsored by her husband or father, as this saves them money on salary, housing, visa costs etc. Furthermore, there seems to be a shortage of company visas for women.

Hang in there! Summer's are very challenging here. Late Sept it should get cooler and lots of groups start up again. The American Women's Group welcomes all nationalities, but there are loads of other groups too. Yes, buy a copy of Marhaba magazine which you can buy at Carrefour and you will be amazed how many fun activities there are to do here!

What do you mean 'get sponsorship from your husband or father'? A woman needs this to work?

easy said. but for me.....not easy done. I have restrictions right now. One of which is no job, no money for a car or driver. Husband Arab... works 10 hr days.... makes it really hard for me to get out to meet up to make friendships.

Hopefully.... I can get my wish in this life and get working soon and hoping that a company can give me work visa residence instead of saying when I apply " sorry can't hire you only you are fully qualified but....you must get sponsorship from husband or father. I can't!!

Thank you though for your post.

It is easy to make friends it depends on individual i believe one can easily socialize because no one is an island and believe me you that since you've got"0" friends and family to associate with you can also make friends in sea beach line or possibly here i believe life is just once therefore one must make out the best out from it.

I live in Wakra /al wukair.... makes me closer to drive to sealine beach then ppl from Doha ;p

Hi Ryan,

thanks for the offer to meet your wife. I had Chinese neighbors back in Portland OR. before I came here. Hope you and your wife will like it here. Its only boring cause i still havent been able to get working, and I have 0 friends and family here.

Cheers, have a good week

Thx Kathy and Ryan and of course nomerci.

I live in Wakra that is in the middle of no where land as far as I am concerned lol. about 20 mins from Doha if there is no traffic problems. It will take forever for our first Mall to get finished here. And more forever to get Wakra beach where you can walk a corniche and swim.

Nothing to do............... PM me if you feel bored and want to get to know me. Take care all

Hi Rubsty,

Do you know what kind of social scene is there for Brits? PM me with details if you dont mind. My wife is coming over in a month of so, and I am in the same situation. She wont have anything to do!!!

Angelina, I messed up. I meant to type non-WORKING spouses, not non-expat. lol

Where about do you live, maybe we can get together and have coffee....

Kathy

Mimiloves2sing, I've sent you a message .

non-expat spouse????? Qatari spouses then???

Mimi, I'll introduce you to the Mrs. ;) Sorry to hear things are so boring there.

Yes I agree its boring here, and I am American. I have been here 8 months, and still havent found anything to do while my husband is at work all day. Seems very hard to make friends here, and my neighbors keep to themselves or to their own nationality. :(

Glad to find QL and read some posts where to go.

Best wishes in Qatar.

Ryan, no just a very little smattering of Cantonese....sorry!

^Haha, now she's asking if you speak Chinese!

You are welcome Ryan, and tell your wife Nihao.;)

Thanks, nomerci. That site looks great!

All the ladies that are new in Qatar should look at this site : www.expatwoman.com . They have a Qatar branch and do meet , as far as I know.

:)

Yes, been here for 2 whole weeks and survived..

Waiting for your message.

Take care and see you all real soon!

Kat, our stories are very similar. Not sure what you loved about Ningbo, though! :)

No, we aren't bringing any kids with us.

Yes, let's definitely hook up in Doha! I'll shoot you a number after we arrive and get settled (likely 2 weeks from now). Are you there already?

Hi Kathy

I am new here too want to meet for a coffee sometime? Not sure how we swop numbers on this site let me know and i can give you mine if you want to meet. Mary

I'm Canadian as well, from Montreal, lived 2 years in China. (Ningbo) loved it. Lived 3 years in Dubai.....loved it as well, and now beginning a new chapter in Doha.....praying real hard I'll love it as well.

Any kids in tow?

Anyhow would love to be bored out of my mind with her as well :)

Kat

Good luck with the relocation!

lolz

Hehe. Well RyanCanuck, if you're in the field then I'm sure you're pretty clued in about what to look for. To be honest I'd be reluctant to recommend any of the centres I worked in, but in my experience what really matters is who you end up with teaching the course. Some of my colleagues were excellent, and if you got them, then great. While others in the same centre..... not so good. Just to emphasise I'm only commenting on my own experience - but the management in these centres have little or no teaching experience - so the brand name, marketing, quality of the environment / resources are for the most part irrelevant - it's all about who is delivering the course. I had a friend who worked at Berlitz and she reckoned they were better organised than most. Other than that I might suggest one of the colleges - I don't have any personal experience but you'd hope such an institution would have high standards. CNAQ do English Language courses..... she might feel 'at home' there :)

https://www.cna-qatar.com/continuingeducation/ContinuingEducationCourses/EnglishLanguageSkills/Pages/default.aspx

that is so spooky i said this morning on a social network site to a friend that my wife had landed in doha and said it was deserted pardon the pun and that it was like a spaghetti western without the tumbleweed.

Haha Rubsty, as an ESL teacher myself, I know exactly what you are talking about. I'll have a good look at the programs before we get her signed up. Let me know if you can recommend somewhere.

lol re: the Waterhole. Well at least now I know one place we WON'T be going.

Appreciate the info!

RyanCanuck - don't listen to Zanzibar! They are just teasing you. The Waterhole is a notorious bar for picking up ladies of the night. I'm pretty clueless about the Chinese community here - I'm sure there is one somewhere. I think it's a great idea for her to look beyond this and get into the international mix too - it's just it can be scary moving to a new place, let alone if you don't speak the lingo.... So yeah ESL is a good place to start. I'd advise trying to find out as much as possible about who will actually be teaching her the course before you book anything. I've worked in a couple of language schools here and let's just say the standards can *ahem* vary...

Thanks, Zanzibar. I'll keep that in mind. I'm not sure if we will be at the Pearl long term, but we are there for the first month at least.

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for the responses! Hope we can get together for a party or two in the weeks to come.

Sorry, I should have shared a bit more about our situation. I'm Canadian, lived in Dubai 3 years then Shanghai 5 years. I speak Chinese. My wife is (you probably guessed) Chinese. We've been in Canada about 2 months and she is bored out of her mind. I'm worried she's going to feel even more bored in Doha, so I'm desperately trying to find something social for her to do. She wants to study English, so that's part of the answer. I'm not sure where we will eventually be living, but for the first month we'll be near the Pearl. She wants to find the Chinese community in Doha, which I think is cool, but I'm hoping she'll come out of her Asian shell and start living a more international life (which means speaking English).

Anyway, yoga and cooking were great ideas. I will definitely pick up that Marhaba magazine when we arrive and she what's on offer.

Kathy, that would be awesome! You guys can be bored out of your minds together. :) (Just kidding. I'll shoot you our mobile after we get there.)

Colt45, yeah, I'm going to try anything else before I try that, mate! ;)

britexpat lol! When we get there, I won' t have a mate to my name. Suggest a bar and I'll get first round. How's that sound?

Zanzibar, thanks! I will get her set up here. Guess I'll have to monitor that inbox, though. lol!

Rubsty, definitely going to check that out. Thanks!

I'm hoping you are right!

--------

I'd like gravy and cheese on my fries:)

Everything will start up again in the next few weeks as people start returning from the summer holidays.

Tonnes of happenings in Qatar during the Autumn/Winter seasons:-)

I've been here only 2 weeks and I am absolutely bored out of my mind. My compound is very small and is deserted, reminds me of a western flic, without the tumbleweed. Where is she from.....she can hang out with me I'll teach her English.

Kathy

Just give her your credit card and she'll find more than one way to keep herself busy ;-)

Why this world is not fair ?

Why expat husbands aren't getting PMs with tel. nos. ?

{ Liked your new prof. pic. }

hello! i guess it all depends on what kind of person your wife is. maybe she likes to exercise then she can go to aerobics classes n stuff.. she can do yoga or she can even go to Ezdan and get a package or sth for gym and swimming pool and stuff. and it also depends where you're stayig.. she can even sign up for a website (QL let's say) where she can learn stuff abt the country and news about the country... and she can make friends maybe. she can visit the musuems here when she comes but after some time what i metionned is pretty much all!

hope she likes it here :)

Sounds like a great title for a low budget film :O)

if she know cooking etc. she can make delicious dishes and snacks. Also she can learn many languages through online it is free. she can improve her english through online studies. If she know painting or tailoring she can earn bit extra money by doing. If she had done any beautifican course she can join in any of the parlour. If she is found animals she can give some food and water to the street cats or birds. If you need a marhaba magazine i will give you a copy. Best of Luck and a pleasant stay in qatar.

absolutely i agree with Rubsty

Hi! Nice to meet you, hope your move goes well. It can be difficult finding things to occupy your time here, especially when you're new. I'm not sure where you're going to be living? I live in an apartment block with my husband and it has no communal areas so have found it hard to meet and get to know my neighbours. I think compound life is a bit more sociable? Anyway - a couple of ideas... The Intercontinental Hotel (the one near Katara, not Intercont. the City) has a special offer on Tuesdays and Wednesdays - ladies pay only 50 QR to access their pool / pool area. I take yoga classes with Yama Yoga http://yamayogastudios.com - they are lovely and might be another way to meet people? Also, not sure what nationality / language your wife speaks but there are a number of associations for different nationalities here. Buy a copy of Marhaba magazine when you arrive - they have an up to date list of them with contact details - so she could socialise with people who speak her language.