Moving to Doha from the US - Help!

We used Allied from the US. Very good.

Mandi

I must say that so far, it has been the little things that has been a struggle so far. Trying to decide what to ship, finding a mover to help manage the shipment etc. We are only planning to ship clothes and personal effects...but still searching for a reputable mover. Any thoughts or suggestions?

just read the last line of your reply.

I am to busy to work full time. I attend TLG and am probally going to join the committee in September.

I am on church council and head up our opening committee for the Anglican Centre (offically openning 5 jan 2013)

Plus I give the church 1 - 2 days a week to help with the book-keeping records.

I sit on the charity arm at my husbands company.

sence being here i've acted as tour guide a number of times for visiting family of mine and friends of friends when they are working.

I have made so many friends here that not a week goes by with out some meetup. normally involving food! you may wont to diet before you come because the Doha stone (14 pounds) is hard not to put on.

inbetween all of that i ensure my husband does not have to worry about anything relating to home (his job can be very stresful) I have a great life here and to top it all its sunny all the time.

prices on my commpound are:-

10k 2 bed

13 3 bed

17 5 bed

When i was looking a year ago 13k was the standard price for a 3 bed compound property.

I expect that like the rest of us you will go into temporary accommodation, either an appartment or hotel until your paperwork is sorted out.

I used a Estate agent called Apollo but there are quite a few in Doha, just check if they charge commission.

I made the poor sod at Apollo show me around 8 properties in one day. but it worked I narrowed down to two i liked and then brought my husband along to look.

You may wont to give your self some time to settle in before you look for work. Doha is a fast expanding city so if you have the skills they are looking for you should be ok for work.

you will need any higher education certs with you and may need them noterised by your embassy.(you should check before you come over)

Al Luqta is a good location for Education city its right behind us, thats one of the reason i choose the area.

Tracy, if i may ask, what is the average rent for a 1 or 2 Bedroom apartment in Al Luqta?

Tracy,

I have a very satisfying career in the US. My back ground is finance. Since it is just the two of us, I would very much like to work in Doha; to contribute in some way and to keep my skills fresh. Perhaps either in the financial district or education city? I have not actively pursued any opportunity, waiting for the move to sort itself out.

How about you?

I live in an area called Al Luqta. It's a little way out of the centre on the D ring road. but as I said nothing is really that far in Doha it just depends on traffic.

It takes my husband around 15 - 20 minutes commute most days, in London it took around 2 hours.

We have been really happy here, we've now in our 14th month.

West bay is very nice, I have a number of friends who live in that area.

Will you be working when your over here?

Just west of the Allegheny ridge.

Mandi

We live in the foothills of the smokies...where in apalachia are you Mandi?

I'm back in beautiful Appalachia!

Mandi

Traci, Thanks so much for your detailed response. Which area do you guys live? West Bay Lagoon?

Mandi, are you no longer in Doha? Are you back in the US?

Mandi, I sent you a PM. :) thanks.

Tracy, you might want to check your FX rates. 1 USD = 3.65 QAR not the other way round.

Unfortunately I've found Time Out Doha to be pretty inaccurate but good for general info - you should verify anything they print.I agree the Marhaba book can be useful.

As for bringing appliances you can buy step down transformers here at C4 (as Mandi pointed out, that is problematic right now with 2 of them closed)or the electrical souq. Be sure you buy one which can handle the wattage of the appliance or you'll either ruin the appliance, the transformer or both.

Furniture here is badly made, generally more expensive than its quality would indicate and to my North American taste, pretty darn ugly (not to mention uncomfortable). It's OK if you enjoy over the top badly imitated Baroque/Italianate stuff from the 16th century styles.

There are a number of compounds which give you outside space. we have managed to turn ours into a lovely garden. Yes it requires work but I love to look out my window and see green.

Questions you should ask if using a real estate agent, are what is included with the rent, what is included at the property ie curtains, light fittings.

If you privately rent you will need deposits for Utilities, liquor licence & rent.

You need your residents permite for these, also if you can get an egate card with a multy exist permite.

The Hyatt residents are very nice and offer green spaces & a beach. They are quite expensive, around 27,000 riyal a month(3.65$ - 1 QAR) which is a lot but you have access to the Hyatt facilities. A year ago I would not have recommended but now there is a new shopping centre over the road & a lot more to do at the Pearl, its a good place to stay.

Nothing is very far away in Doha geographically but traffic can be a problem as its not a walking place (especially in the summer months) and public transport is not good enough yet.

Getting taxi's Karwa cabs(can be difficult as there are not enough, although more are being added.

I use a private company and have an account I settle monthly it works for me.

There are a couple of groups, American wemons group & Tuesday ladies group which are well established and can offer friendship & support, both can be found on the web.

tlgindoha.gmail.com I also found buying the Maharba book, Timeout, HQ & Abode magazines have been really helpful along with the Fanar islamic cultural centre, You dont have to be muselum to go to talks there. Alot that happens here is word of mouth so these along with the social groups are great.

I brought my own funiture and had items made here, i'm glad I did, it has made settling in easier to have my own stuff around me.

You can have a good life here the trick is to get involved in something straight away & September is a good time because all the groups start up again after the summer.

I am now in my 14th month and love it.

I only check QL a few times a week but if you need anything else answered please feel free to drop me a line via the site.

Please donot expect too much greenery at all! Well I am finding that doha is becoming more green this year as compared to last year but bec of the climate, it is not easy to maintain the greenery.

Open space ofcourse you can find ! but many times because of dusty wind, in winter too u cannot sit out and relax..

i think staying in a furnished compound is the best option.

I did it for the people in my husband's department and for some QL people I met on-line and some friends of friends. Wish I were in Doha right now, I'd meet and greet you! It's really a lot of fun. Mall, driving tour, lunch at Thai Snack, West Bay view by night. Great "gee-whiz" stuff.

Mandi

Mandi, is there a US expat community that assists folks that come to Doha...or each company does it on its own?

I was thinking Grand Hyatt only because they have villas with green space. Whereas Kempinski is near city center with hardly any green space. Otherwise, Kempinski is terrific.

No kids...foot loose and fancy free...

well, first morning i had to go to the office. Moreover, the first night I happaned to go to Paloma.:) I arrived from Toronto(!) at 5:50pm, and after 22-hours journey I was in Paloma at 9:00pm .. and next morning - office.. it took me quite a while till I could hit the mall.. I share my own experience..

I know, it sounds funny, but when I welcome people to Doha, the first thing we do the first morning is go to a mall. Kind of a local introduction to the ambiance of Qatar. Because most of my folks come from the US, the first thing needed is a GSM mobile. And maybe a DVR.

Mandi

I know what you mean.. :) still Mandi, who will be shopping in the first? I was glad I brought these things with me, and didn't have to worry about my dryier, toothbrash, and stuff on the very next morning..

Well, normally I'd say it is a piece of cake to go get a hairdryer and mobile at Carrefour the first day but now it's not so easy!

Mandi

oh, and I brought my blow dryer from Toronto, and some other electrical stuff, and I brought an adapter from 110 to 220V. You are not really going to look for such things in the first couple of days in Doha, but you will need them right away. Now, almost 6 years later I have all electrical and electronic items for 220V :)

Laptop isn't affected by voltage difference, so don't worry about it.

why Grand Hayyat?? :):) Grand Hyatt is a Hotel in totally arabic style. If you want to stay in the Hotel (or 5 stars Residential Apartments) go for Kempinsky, Somerset.. but Grand Hayyat? :):) although if you have kids, it's not the best option for them to stay at the hotel..

Google map West Bay Lagoon!

Mandi

If you have children age between 3 and 6 years, I have toys want to sell it if you interested call us on this mobile no. 0097477741840. And you well come to Qatar .

If you have children age between 3 and 6 years, I have toys want to sell it if you interested call us on this mobile no. 0097477741840. And you well come to Qatar .

Netflix may or may not work outside the US if they are one of the providers that will not "cooperate" (for lack of a better word) with potential customers outside the US and more particularly in the Middle East.

There are a number of US sites I have tried which return the message that it has detected I am not in a country they serve.

You can always get a VPN installed before you come and that will get around the blockages.

Thanks for all the helpful comments. It is just the two of us and so schooling is not a factor.

Mandi, we will remember to bring our kindle and ipad. Thank you. Is there a map of West Bay Lagoon out on the web somewhere? It was really hard to get a feel for how West Bay Lagoon was laid out. Our primary interest in West Bay, as I said before is the open space and the greenery.

I had not thought of DVDs. I guess Netflix would work?

Thanks once again

4) Should we opt for semi-furnished or fully furnished?

The former. You can set it up the way you want it.

6) How do you manage transportation in the early days of the move? Rent? Buy used? Buy new?

Start by using the taxi / limo companies. Move on to renting for a month or two.

7) Most importantly, what are the questions that I should be asking?

ROFL!!!

I'd go for a fully furnished. It's summer and you really don't want to run around buying everything from curtains to teaspoons (I've done that.) Some villas in WBL are in a "compound." I prefer a stand-alone like ours. You will probably want to rent a vehicle until you get your RPs then buy a used from an expat. Bring a Kindle, there are no bookstores here! And no video rentals so bring DVDs.

Mandi

I Have a nice 5 bedrooms villa in Dafna with a swimming pool if you are interested e-mail me [email protected] will send you photos

Regards

Do not bring any electronics, except laptops.

You didn't ask about schools, if have children at school age, consider all the questions you asked irrelevant till you manage school registration. Schools are full and waiting lists are too long.

Hey, Welcome to Doha

for 1st question: you may only need your clothes with you, and if you don't have something, you can buy it easy.

2nd and 3rd questions: at west by, i actualy don't remember how many rooms in each villa, but if not wrong 3 rooms, but it is nice place.but you can get good villa with swiming pool at Daffna.

4th question: it better get semi furniture, cuz you don't know the situation of furniture either good or bad, or maybe you don't like it. and even if you call for replacement, they will take loong time.

5th question: Sorry i don't know wat you mean on that??.

6th question: first of all, if you have driving Licen then better get rent car, cuz it will be very difficult got Taxi here, and even if you call , they will come late.

7th question: No one will ask anything, just respect the culture and religion here, and nothing wrong will be there.

8th: The Resource of Contact in case anything you need, you have American Embassy, or you can ask here (QatarLiving), and ppl here not hesitate answering you anytime, and welling help you

All the Best