Moving to Qatar in two weeks..from Dubai
Hi everyone, I have been a regular visitor to QL for last few days just because I was anticipating my job with QD. I have finally received the offer letter and as per the postings here, the salary is not too bad. I will be moving alone (wife will be at Dubai), and hence looking forward to affordable studio apartment. I have seen a lot of postings for 1 bedroom apartments, but not studios. Can you please advise me of the range? My office would be in Lusail, but as per the HR, everyone stays at Doha. Hope guys can help me out.
Welcome :)
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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.
Thank you for the updates. Atleast I have some idea about the movement, and will be able to brace the change. I probably will go for shared accommodation / studio as of now and settle after 2-3 months (when my wife joins me).
for 12,000 I'm getting a FF VERY nice 2 bed apartment in Um Ghuwailina! 30 minutes drive to Losail. My neighbour is a studia apartment and is probably 1/2 what I'm paying.
Check out http://www.alemadi-co.com/pages/apartments.html building code c-19
You could find a studio in a serviced apartment building for QAR 7,000 to 12,000 per month in the West Bay (Dafna) area. The other alternative is to get a flat mate and rent a two bedroom apartment on a sharing basis for QAR 7,000 to 9,000 per month. You could then get a pretty large place in one of the nice towers. There are some ads on QL and in the Gulf Times for others in similar circumstances that are looking to sublet a bedroom.
I am flattered by the reply and would keep the areas in mind. Yes, i do get couple of week's car rental from QD, then I am by myself. The real estate market has not gone crashing in Qatar due to the controlled development, which in my view gives reflection to stable market. Just a quick one though, how much would it cost me for a studio in Dafna area, or the services apartments as mentioned. Thank you once again.
QD, will probably put you up at the Grand Hyatt for 4 weeks near the entrance to The Pearl Qatar. There is nothing around there really, so you'll need a rental. I think QD gices you a 2-week rental car depending on your level. I think within a couple of weeks in Doha, you can figure out the housing market pretty easily. Doha is much smaller than Dubai and does not have nearly the choice of accommodations. While rents have softened some, they have not dropped dramatically like Dubai has seen over the past 3-4 months, so don't expect a great deal for a quality place. Apples to apples, Doha is probably 20%+ more expensive than Dubai. The accommodations run the gamut from very cheap to luxurious. You need to decide your budget and how long of a commute you are willing to have. Since you only need a studio, you might want to check out some of the towers in the West Bay (Dafna) area and the commute to QD office would be 10 minutes tops. It is similar, but not nearly as developed as the Dubai Marina area, but quality is the same. There are a few places where you could rent month to month in serviced apartment and then perhaps take advantage of falling prices, but I suspect, rents may only drop another 10 percent or so from current levels. Doha does not have the large freehold compounds like Dubai, so the local owners don't always seem to make decisions based purely on financial considerations. Also many of the apartment buildings are owned by a single real estate company with an onsite leasing agent as opposed to all of the freehold towers in Dubai. The market here is nowhere near as developed and getting information is difficult and there are little online resources for finding out about properties. There are no Gulf News type real estate sections with 1000's of listed properties like you get in Dubai.
You just need to get your expectations in order coming from Dubai, as it is much different. Not necessarily in a bad way, but much smaller and a much slower pace of life both in the office and out.
Good luck.