a) Are you sure you need landlines and fixed internet connection?
- Set up a Skype a/c (and make sure someone back home who you trust can administer it/set up a new one if it gets blocked) for voice
- Doha is wireless; you can get a good fast connection almost anywhere
- Other comments about QTel are not unfair - typically 2 months for the physical line and then two more months for ADSL currently
b) Once you have the 'Salary Statement' from your employer most banks will open an account immediately. Expect 5 days for a Cashpoint card, two weeks for internet banking to function. They usually (not all banks) like to see your salary deposited before providing a credit card with a decent limit. But cash is quite usual here and there's limited chance of being pickpocketed.
c) You can get a few hundred satellite channels here - once you ignore the 80% Arabic ones you will still have most of the standard European channels. Don't know specifically about ABC but general TV isn't too painful
d) VCR's?? Hey welcome to the 2000's bud! DVD players here are usually 'configured' to work on all regions of DVD's, so there's no compatability issues. A basic DVD player costs about 50 US. DVD's are widely available, costing 50-100QR each. Several places offer rental at QR10 for three nights, although they don't have a choice of 1000's. The 'choose your films and we'll burn a compilation DVD for 25QR' shops near the Souqs seem to have suspended activities - frustrating :D
e) Internet - you have probably heard that some sites have restricted access, and it is fair enough that playboy.com etc are banned here - but sometimes the censorship is annoying, and you get unexpectedly blocked, which can be frustrating (does Middlesex.com work these days?) ... you might like to check out proxy servers for your laptop before you get here ...
Canuck;
a) Are you sure you need landlines and fixed internet connection?
- Set up a Skype a/c (and make sure someone back home who you trust can administer it/set up a new one if it gets blocked) for voice
- Doha is wireless; you can get a good fast connection almost anywhere
- Other comments about QTel are not unfair - typically 2 months for the physical line and then two more months for ADSL currently
b) Once you have the 'Salary Statement' from your employer most banks will open an account immediately. Expect 5 days for a Cashpoint card, two weeks for internet banking to function. They usually (not all banks) like to see your salary deposited before providing a credit card with a decent limit. But cash is quite usual here and there's limited chance of being pickpocketed.
c) You can get a few hundred satellite channels here - once you ignore the 80% Arabic ones you will still have most of the standard European channels. Don't know specifically about ABC but general TV isn't too painful
d) VCR's?? Hey welcome to the 2000's bud! DVD players here are usually 'configured' to work on all regions of DVD's, so there's no compatability issues. A basic DVD player costs about 50 US. DVD's are widely available, costing 50-100QR each. Several places offer rental at QR10 for three nights, although they don't have a choice of 1000's. The 'choose your films and we'll burn a compilation DVD for 25QR' shops near the Souqs seem to have suspended activities - frustrating :D
e) Internet - you have probably heard that some sites have restricted access, and it is fair enough that playboy.com etc are banned here - but sometimes the censorship is annoying, and you get unexpectedly blocked, which can be frustrating (does Middlesex.com work these days?) ... you might like to check out proxy servers for your laptop before you get here ...
HTH?