Rents and Areas to live in Doha

junglecomics
By junglecomics

Dear all

I am considering an offer to move to Qatar and have some questions and would appreciate your help. My salary is QR 30K per month all inclusive and my aim is to save QR15K per month, which gives me a monthly budget of QR 15K to spend on house rent, car, food, telephone, cell phone, utilities etc.

1 - What is the rent these days for a furnished / unfurnished 1 and 2 bedroom apartments? Are villas more cheap? How much should I expect to spend on housing?

2 - What areas are nice to live in - I am not looking for something like Palm Jumeirah, however, I am certainly looking for a very decent place. Would you please let me know of some very nice places to live in Doha?

3 - For a single person, how much would be the cost of living? Rent, car monthly installment (assuming a nice SUV or some premium brand) - over 5 years, telephone, internet, cell phone, food (eating out) etc.

Thanks!!

By alpha1• 7 Jul 2009 10:03
Rating: 4/5
alpha1

there is compound 2 bed room apartment 8000 qr a month most western live there ( with club swimming pool gym cafe resturent tennis ) if u c that u gona like it

By Mandilulur• 6 Jul 2009 23:25
Rating: 4/5
Mandilulur

You have stressed a "nice" place several times and added that you would like a place where Western expats live. In Doha you won't find a "Western" area, we tend to live all over. Villas tend to be at least 4-5 bedrooms, usually more, and the nicer ones are 25-30K. Compounds have three or four bedrooms and run around 12-20K. Apartments in "nice" high-rise buildings have fewer bedrooms and can run 12-15K (or more.) SUVs are the same here as in the US and interest rates run about 8% (yes, they will tell you 3% but add it up!) Internet is quite expensive, up to 600 QR/mo while mobile phone plans are dirt cheap. Gas is a steal and food is about the same. Same price at Chili's and Applebee's as in the US but the hotel restaurants are sky-high (and the food usually mediocre.) Remember you have to pay taxes back in the US - at least state and local if and when you qualify for the "foreign domicile" tax exemption (generally that means you cannot spend more than 35 days in the US/year.) It sounds like you will be making about $90,000 US per year here. While that's certainly enough to live a nice life-style, it isn't enough to have what you've stated you'd like IF you want to save half. Sorry.

Mandi

By junglecomics• 6 Jul 2009 20:35
junglecomics

1 - So what should I expect to pay per month for an apartment? (eg. 2 bed).

2 - What areas are nice to live in - What areas do western expats generally live in? And how much are the rents there?

3 - For a single person, how much would be the cost of living? Rent, car monthly installment (assuming a nice SUV or some premium brand) - over 5 years, telephone, internet, cell phone, food (eating out) etc. - I would really appreciate some figures/numbers here which will enable me to make an informed calculation and decision.

Thanks!!

By junglecomics• 6 Jul 2009 20:23
junglecomics

I am not looking for anything like palm jumeirah, however, I am looking for a decent place to live, which is residential (NOT commercial), and probably the areas where western expats live.

Also, what would be the rent per month? Any idea?

By Mom_me• 6 Jul 2009 17:27
Rating: 4/5
Mom_me

Rents have come down drastically. With your budget you may not be able to afford a villa but may be a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in central Doha.

Palm Jumeriah, you must be dreaming or someone gave you wrong information.

By TaurusFK• 6 Jul 2009 17:07
Rating: 4/5
TaurusFK

very nice places to live in Doha ,Am Recommanded to you the best place Abu Hamour

By alpha1• 6 Jul 2009 17:02
alpha1

call me when u arrive here i have a friend working in real estate 5318663

By mmyke• 6 Jul 2009 15:50
mmyke

its really tough to get anything decent under 6-7-8 thousand a month,,,,food is cheap for 1 guy,,,cars are pretty much the same price and the second-hand ones are expensive, unless left for dead somewhere,,,,private message me and I can give you more info.

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