Is this enought to live on and save some

Hi,

I've just been reading your posts and just wondered if you've decided to make the move?

My husband has just received a similar offer so currently doing the numbers etc.

How did it stack up for you?

Duh,

47K is what some taxi drivers and maids earn in a whole 2 years in Doha.

A good employer here gives the following freebies :

* An annual return flight ticket to your home country, not just for you, but to your entire family i.e husband, wife+your 4 kids.

* Free medical and dental treatment. Do you need insurance here ? Unless you are really not positive about your families health, after you get your Resident Permit,the treatment at the hospitals here are free and pretty sufficient.

* Free housing ( usually villas and 3 bedrooms)..Some of my colleagues have been offered 6 bed room unfurnished villas + a one time furnishing grant of 60 K QAR ( Whoopie !!!) or a fully furnished accomodation

* Free education for kids.

Your expense list would include :

* A good SUV for 210 K QAR (new)/ 100K (Used).You have good choices to make among the Hondas, Toyotas , LandRovers, Range Rovers and Porsches.

* Vehicle Insurance is not expensive

* Fuel and electricity is dirt cheap and not worth mentioning.

* Food , assome one earlier said, eating outside is expensive.

* Telephone & internet package : Set aside 500 QAR

* Sight seeing: There is nothing much to see in Qatar. May be, you might look for vacations in nearby GCC countries every 6 months for a family of 6.

* Childrens' education : Already answered by another QL boarder earlier.You might look for the British/international school.

* Treating all boarders in QL : Upto you on where we can have a party !! Prefer somewhere near Pearl Qatar :-)

All said, please read through the fine print in your contract. IMHO , you can cool your heels comfortably in Qatar for a couple of years with 47K per month.

There is a fine print among all other fine prints.In case of dispute/doubt,the arabic version of the contract stands final !!!! So, keep your arabic neighbours in Ireland in good humor for now

Cheers

So sorry we have not moved yet, just considering still at this stage.

Hi Eliza.

Moving from Cork to Qatar soon and wanted to know how, if you already moved there, your opinion about Qatar.

be sufficient to others while it will be too much to others. Simple living means simple life. Even a million dollars spent unwisely is nothing. You were given the figures, it's up to you to decide. But what I can assure you is, it's not that "hard" as some tries to portray life here. Why do you think they are here?

I would second jjj75. Ignore the people saying grab the offer like a lottery ticket. I would also add the following:

Living in Doha year round is impossible for your sanity, so you need to budget substantial vacations. The cost of flights are only part of that.

I haven't heard of anyone picking up private insurance individually--usually it's through ones company. AXA, whose UK office you could contact, is active here with direct billing from most hospitals and dentists (at least the Western ones my family goes to).

I think you should budget more the 15k for housing. With bills for six people, I would suggest closer to 18 or 20k a month.

Don't consider anything smaller than a full-sized SUV. Anything smaller is a flirtation with death on these roads. Traffic is horrendous, so you might also have to consider getting two at 3000k per month each (more expensive because the loan repayment terms have to be within the timeframe of your visa).

Get started on finding schools ASAP and count on 25-50k a year. More expensive does not necessarily mean better, but you probably won't have much of a choice. DESS, which is arguably the best primary school in DOHA, is on the cheaper end because it is not-for-profit.

Things generally (with the notable exceptions of domestic labor and petrol) are more expensive here.

Whether or not this is an acceptable deal for you depends on your current situation and how much you want to save. Don't come solely for the money (money can be on the pro list, but it can't be the only pro). People who do usually end up miserable. A good rule of thumb I have heard is that once taxes are considered the salary should be 1.5x whatever you make now plus housing, school fees, flights, medical insurance, car allowance. Otherwise it will be very difficult to save and maintain your current lifestyle.

Good luck!

Thanks to everyone, JJJ75 I am tucking into as much ham as I can before leaving hopefully that will put me off it for a while to come .......I cant believe how helpful everyone has been. If we are there this time next year the St Patricks day festival party is on me!! ( I might even through in some ham!!) Xxx

Eliza: Here some of the QL members oppose eachother's comments just for the sake of it. I can bring some of them out in a split seacond.....you haven't seen....yet !!

Mandi - I made it last, lets put it that way!!!

JJJ, hope that ham was worth it!

Mandi

If housing and school fees are in addition to the salary amount, then I would say it is a good offer. If not, then it is a so so offer. 30k per year per child but that is for primary schools, figure on more for older children. Eating out is not cheap here, unless you plan to do all yor dining out at mcdonalds etc. owning a pet is seriously expensive in terms of vets bills (and even good quality pet food is astronomical). The supermarkets are not cheap, unless you want to just buy locally grown veg (not many options here) and pakistani beef, then australian lamb and been are probably twice the price of the UK and of ok quality but not what you are used to. And of course you can now get bacon, ham and sausages from the one place in town but be prepared for them to be very expensive, I bought a small ham joint the other day and it cost about £45, so this is a serious luxury item as opposed to at home where it is just every day item

Wow JJJ75, thats a brill reply. Its gives me figures to work out and all of sudden what seemed a super offer is becoming just good. Six of us moving, 2 kids at school. Actually unless fees etc included your not saving a huge amount. Thanks again will need to work this out money wise and make sure it all stacks up. when you said 30k for schools is that QR or GBP thanks again

Wow JJJ75, thats a brill reply. Its gives me figures to work out and all of sudden what seemed a super offer is becoming just good. Six of us moving, 2 kids at school. Actually unless fees etc included your not saving a huge amount. Thanks again will need to work this out money wise and make sure it all stacks up. when you said 30k for schools is that QR or GBP thanks again

Mandilulur, thanks you so much, that is exactly the type of info I was hoping to get, Its a major company so maybe when we speak next week I can discuss housing and schools. I really appreciate your comments and making the time to answer my questions.

Best of luck

Sorry lost in space it is 100k GBP does that sound OK, havent a clue of prices over there. Thanks

I suspect that is the full package, looking at the amount.Figure on at least 30k a year per child for school fees, 15k a month for accommodation and flights for you all are not cheap, figure 2500qar each for return to UK, then you can decide whether it is enough. Food is expensive here. A very small hire car will cost 2000QAR to hire but you will want something bigger. Figure on a 4x4 costing about 3000QAR/month to hire or buy with the repayments. I am not saying that what you are earning will not be enough but it depends on what your outgoings are when you are here and only you can answer that one

Good offer, grab it. Good luck to you.... Welcome to DOHA..

Pack your bags, Eliza. That's a very good offer. As you yourself said, things are not going well economically in Ireland right now. You and your family will be fine here in Doha. A lot of people here make do with a lot less than that.

Eliza, the good companies WILL provide housing (or a generous allowance) and all school fees for your children plus something for transportations, flights home, local health insurance, etc. If they do no, you might be looking at a dodgy company and you will be out a lot of money for housing and school fees. A nice villa in a compound and school fees could cost you half of that salary!

Mandi

Per year is not really a good offer! :0P

Thanks Nulive and Molten Metal

Guinness..... Milkshake of all Beers.... ;)

Thank you, just nervous really want to get this right for kids. Ireland in a bad state economically right now and this is a one off opportunity to get over a hump and return home in a more secure position. Savings are really importand factor in this trip.

Thanks again Abumannu

Blue 1870, thanks for reply. Its still early days so we didnt want to challange the package too much. We were unsure if companies included school fees, housing allowance etc in a package. There will be discussions next week so we wanted to get all the questions out of the way before that. Any advice you have we will gladly accept. We owe you a drink when we get out there, I see you are British so is my husband, we will have to cook you a British fare by way of thanks.

Its Guinness all the way

Make sure you've got the currency convertion correct, if you have, then it's a good package. Are the employers providing anything? If they are, you are even better off.

I am able to provide figures for medical insurance, but many factors to take into consideration, but with that level of income, the best insurance will be easily affordable.

Good luck.

Grab the offer

Plan for two year

Say good buy to Qatar and enjoy your life in your home country.

Chears

You will surely miss Beamish Stout out here.... :)

Eliza,

All your dreams will come true, great start, you spoke the truth, Almighty will reward you for that too !!!

Come to Qatar quickly, welcome !!!

You will be living like a princess !!!

Its Shannon, thanks Flying Ace

Hop on the Next Flight...

Nearest Airport is Shannon or Dublin.... ;)

@ eliza: now help the others too.

Welcome to Qatar.

don't worry go ahead, it is good package

Sorry I should have put thats 47K QR a month (I think)