Hi,
Thought I'd comment since you'll never guess what country I'm from :) Anyway, I've lived here 2 1/2 years now... First of all, it is VERY safe here. My daughter was born here (she's 1 1/2 now) and I am not at all concerned that someone will hurt her or abduct her (like I might be in the US). As a woman here, some uninformed men might have the idea that you are loose (ugh, American movies don't help this), but for the most part ignoring them or telling them off is all you need to do. I don't worry about my personal safety around town at all. Don't let people who've never been to Doha scare you about moving to the Middle East-- they just don't want to believe that it's actually nice over here!
I hear the American school is very good. Although there are many Americans, they accept people from all countries. Be aware though that it's expensive and hard to get into. You might have an advantage since you are American and work for an oil company though.
Women can drive, no problem (although they tried to make a law against it "since women don't leave the house anyway" hahahaha, it didn't last)...
Since I'm not sure what your social life is like in LA it's hard to compare, but one thing is that things are very focused on the indoors during the hotter months. Fortunatly, everything is well air conditioned, but the kids and us spend lots of time in indoor theme parks (at the malls!) or at homes. Compounds are good for kids since it is a gated environment for them to run around in and often has a pool, gym and activities for kids. We live in an appartment which we like, but it might be more difficult when our kids get older since they cannot run around outside. Lots of people join clubs for either recreation (i.e swimming, tennis, etc) or social (I.e. American women's association)... Tonight we just spent a nice evening at Rumailah park.. They have some great grassy areas for picnics, but we went to the Heritage Village and enjoyed some traditional Qatari food and music. Lots of people since today is the first day of Eid (the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, most people get a few days off work).
There is a huge demand here for English teachers, either in schools or private tutors. If you want to teach, I would think you wouldn't have trouble finding a job. You might want to start looking before you come. If you are already here, the salary tends to be lower than if they have to "entice" you to come.
Feel free to send me a message if you have more questions!
Hi,
Thought I'd comment since you'll never guess what country I'm from :) Anyway, I've lived here 2 1/2 years now... First of all, it is VERY safe here. My daughter was born here (she's 1 1/2 now) and I am not at all concerned that someone will hurt her or abduct her (like I might be in the US). As a woman here, some uninformed men might have the idea that you are loose (ugh, American movies don't help this), but for the most part ignoring them or telling them off is all you need to do. I don't worry about my personal safety around town at all. Don't let people who've never been to Doha scare you about moving to the Middle East-- they just don't want to believe that it's actually nice over here!
I hear the American school is very good. Although there are many Americans, they accept people from all countries. Be aware though that it's expensive and hard to get into. You might have an advantage since you are American and work for an oil company though.
Women can drive, no problem (although they tried to make a law against it "since women don't leave the house anyway" hahahaha, it didn't last)...
Since I'm not sure what your social life is like in LA it's hard to compare, but one thing is that things are very focused on the indoors during the hotter months. Fortunatly, everything is well air conditioned, but the kids and us spend lots of time in indoor theme parks (at the malls!) or at homes. Compounds are good for kids since it is a gated environment for them to run around in and often has a pool, gym and activities for kids. We live in an appartment which we like, but it might be more difficult when our kids get older since they cannot run around outside. Lots of people join clubs for either recreation (i.e swimming, tennis, etc) or social (I.e. American women's association)... Tonight we just spent a nice evening at Rumailah park.. They have some great grassy areas for picnics, but we went to the Heritage Village and enjoyed some traditional Qatari food and music. Lots of people since today is the first day of Eid (the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, most people get a few days off work).
There is a huge demand here for English teachers, either in schools or private tutors. If you want to teach, I would think you wouldn't have trouble finding a job. You might want to start looking before you come. If you are already here, the salary tends to be lower than if they have to "entice" you to come.
Feel free to send me a message if you have more questions!