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Hello,

I am not South African but I can give you some input. Qatar is expensive and when I mean expensive, it is more expensive than London and New York. If you are moving make sure that you include a rental of around QAR 12,000 for accommodation. Yes you can get cheaper accommodation and you probably dont want to live there. You should also park 5000 - 6000 in monthly expenses and make sure that you are fully covered medically. The rest is savings and if you are saving significantly then move. In terms of the other question, my wife has a very good network with expats so you can make a lot of friends very quickly over Facebook in Qatar.  She hasnt been able to find work here as she is an engineer and there are not a lot of opportunities for women here (or thats what she has experienced). There are 4-5 big malls for shopping and clothes etc are expensive here. Regardless of the situation if the move makes monetary sense, you should move. If it doesnt, stay put.

Thank you very much. My husband is an Engineer, so if we would move i will have to find work there. Company is covering medical aid, and they said that housing there is about 5000, not sure where but yes thats what they said. Why did you decide to move to Qatar?

You can find work here but it could take a lot of time as there is a significant number of expats here who are not working and are here with their spouses and there is a lot of competition for a few number of jobs. Also if there are any local applicants for a job then more or less they will always get it. It is part of their national objectives to get more local people employed so that's how the story goes.

QAR 5,000 is not at all sufficient to find a reasonable accommodation anywhere. You can check in the housing section of this website to get an idea for the rent of a 1 bed apartment in a reasonable location. I am staying in the Pearl which is the best locality and most expensive and I am paying around 12,000 per month which around 3000 US $ per month for a 1 bed apartment. For around 9,000 per month you can get a 2 bed apartment which would 20 minutes from the city center but then it would be difficult to have a community feeling there. If you get a compound type villa which is a 2 bed small house it would still cost 10,000 +. I haven't seen any apartment or house in 6 months here which is 5000 per month. Even if you do a room share with someone in a hotel, you would have to pay more than that. In some remote areas of the city you would be able to find a place for 5,000 but it would be like 45 minutes away by car from the city center. You can check online or google "apartment rent Doha, Qatar" and you will the type of place which are available for QAR 5,000 or less. I would not recommended anyone I know living there ever.

Well I moved here because I was offered a good package which was almost 3 times what I was making back home so yes made some financial sense then. But looking back the amount of money I have to spend here to maintain a good lifestyle is too high and causes a lot of stress otherwise. I am planning to move back soon though. Let see how that works out.

Hi
You can find a good accommodation in Doha capital city in range 5000 QR to 7000 QR two bed rooms and it is nice flat, also you can find job it is depend on your efforts in searching, but sure you will find a job,food will cost you from 1000 to 2000 QR for two persons depending on you , car rent 2000 QR per month, mobile bill around 250 QR. All I mentioned above you can spend more or you can safe this depends on you, go to this websites and make search for accommodation, Job and you will know something about Qatar

1- Qatar living. Com
2- bizzat. Com
3- dubizzle. Com
4- Qatar sale. Com

Don't give up
Good luck

Welcome to Qatar. Please read Qatar's daily newspaper listed below, under classified you can find ads:

Some good companies give free housing accommodations while some gives house rent allowances. You will get a normal semi furnished flats @ 6k-7k QAR/Month, while furnished @ 8K-10K QAR/Month, 1 USD = 3.64 QAR.
Regards,
Mati