6 tips I wish I’d been told before moving to Qatar
For many, moving to this tiny Arab emirate can be quite the shock in a lot of ways — some negative
Like other regional fuel-fueled economies, Qatar lures expats with untaxed high-paying jobs and a promise of ephemeral decadency, which frequently doesn’t last longer than one’s visa. An ample need for foreign talent tends to make this destination much more desirable than other famously rich economies, such as Luxembourg or Switzerland, although turnover is high.
If you’ve recently taken a job in the emirate or are about to do so, chances are you feel doubtful about the prospect. And there’s nothing wrong with that! We all went through some uncertainty.
Some troubles: the country is tiny, expensive and usually a rightful scorcher. It’s easy to become underwhelmed by the apparent lack of opportunities for your leisure time, which you’ll surely have.
I’m not here to advise you on how to make the most of your hard-earned petro-riyals, let alone how to have them translated into savings for whatever comes after your desert life. No, I’m here to help you make the most out of your life in Qatar — hopefully keeping your budget in check.
Pick your living space wisely
Rents are astronomical. It doesn’t matter what you compare them with; they are on a league of their own. Granted, any half-decent company will make sure to cover such expenses with a “housing allowance” of sorts, supplementary to one’s base salary, so few have to worry about them.
This newfound comfort, spawning from what unconsciously seems like a very generous gift — it isn’t—leads many into choosing a glittery yet less-than-ideal abode for their whole stay in Qatar.
My wife and I didn’t have much to complain about. As a living space, our apartment in The Pearl did its job: all needs were covered and the amenities were to die for. But our balcony was victim of incessant gales, which the other side of our tower wasn’t subject to nearly as often. Our bathtub suffered from a design made by someone who couldn’t have ever been in one. At night, the evils of new money turned real: revving supercars woke us up on a daily basis. Many of these issues could have been avoided by not impulsively signing a contract simply because we could afford it.
Finally, of course, be extremely wary of mould. It’s always been a dire issue over there.
If you are given the chance to pick your own roof, be wise and push yourself into visiting as many potential dwellings as you can during your first weeks. Don’t let prices set up your expectations.
Get sporty
But if you’re not a gym rat, don’t overcommit to it. I mean, sure, feel free to get ripped for your next summer vacation if that’s your jam, but don’t let an unattainable goal become a source of frustration. Many compounds offer indoor facilities for their residents, and you’d be a fool not to make use of them, although it’s obviously best to come up with another plan lest you hate every minute of your workout.
Qatar, albeit somewhat liberal for Gulf standards, has specific customs for casual gatherings, and finding a reason and a time for a spontaneous meet-up can be challenging. There’s a creeping feeling of loneliness that tends to show up a month or two into your stay, and it’s hard to overcome. One thing never fails, though: competitive sports. Beach volley, paddle, tennis, football, you name it.
The expat community typically has a relaxed attitude toward these activities, so even if you can’t kick a ball straight to save your own life, rest assured nobody will mind your atrocious motor skills. I should know.
Whether coworkers or some strangers who just happen to be having a good time, chances you will be rejected are next to none. Join in!
You’ll be freer without the beer
This is admittedly as good a piece of advice in Qatar as anywhere else, but bear with me for a minute.
Booze is hideously expensive in Qatar. Nobody argues that. And yet, I wouldn’t be telling you this if you were to move to similarly expensive markets like Finland, Sweden or even Turkey. Why not?
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but being an Islamic country, Qatar has adopted an extremely restrictive approach to alcohol, unparalleled to anything seen in the Western world — save rare exceptions.
Forget taking a leisure walk across the beach with a beer in your hand. No sitting by a glass of wine on the artificial hills of Katara either. And the moment you think a situation finally calls for a touch of tipsiness, you might find some of those around you don’t condone your sipping. While many non-drinkers tolerate such different habits, sometimes it’s in your best interest to take one for the team… by not taking one.
Most importantly, my biggest disappointment was how alcohol seldom led to the buzzingly over-the-top encounters I’d got used to in Spain, Latvia or Finland. Great effort is put in Qatar into making drinking as stodgy and tame as it is expensive and inconvenient.
Get out of the city
Provided you are based in Doha, there’s a good chance the dull ocher tones of most of the city will soon make you dream of just about any other latitude. Most parks, as do most beaches, have a distinctive man-made appearance that hardly enables one to escape the concrete jungle vibe even for a second.
Fortunately for you, the size of the country is ideal for getaways: trips of over two hours are rare, and most of those involve off-road driving.
If you choose to own a car, make the most out of it and step out of Doha as often as you can. From the soothing views over the Inland Sea into Saudi Arabia, to the extraordinary mangrove ecosystem right next to Al Khor, the otherwise barren geography of the country has a few aces up its sleeve. The only budget you really have to account for is your car’s consumption — which rarely amounts to much damage.
Flee from the summer
In this list of money-conscious tips, traveling is the outlier.
Now, even if you’re hoping to achieve the tightest budget you can get away with in order to pay off your loans back home, you will need to avoid the Qatari summer at some point. Okay, you don’t really need to do it, but you will almost certainly regret it if you don’t.
Say, it’s a nice May evening. The sky is blissfully clear. You watch the Arabian sun gently lay on the horizon while eating some savory pastries on the west coast of Qatar. The air is still and warm. Even though it’s a pleasant temperature, you know you will soon need to embrace the comfort of some nice air conditioning.
Fast-forward one month and daytime highs are already reaching ludicrous numbers. You think, “Hey, I’ve seen worse”, even though, at best, you’ve seen something like that. And that’d be the end of you.
Two months later, temperatures remain in the ballpark of June, but humidity will have skyrocketed. Are you familiar with seasonal lag? For a country like Qatar, where the Gulf is king, the high temperatures the sea reaches in September keep the air hot and humid as the water evaporates. It’s suffocating.
What to do then? You take a flight somewhere. And considering you’re already at the doorstep of the wonders of South Asia and East Africa, you should probably head either of those ways. Or inexpensively visit the very real feel of Oman, still far from the unchecked opulence of its neighbors.
Happy wife, happy life
Congratulations to you single folks on getting this far. You’ll be fine!
But for those of you who will be moving to Qatar as a married couple — technically no other type of couple qualifies — , it’s in your best interest to keep one another in good spirits. They will be the person you spend the most time with. Even if one of you snaps and decides against sharing the same ceiling for one more day, the multiple layers of the Qatari bureaucratic ouroboros will see to it that you don’t promptly pull away from your personal impasse.
Spend time together. Or not! But know it’s probably not the best time and place to test the limits of your relationship.
By moving to Qatar, you are tacitly agreeing to place your job first. Your personal life is simply greasing up a machine that will keep turning for as long as your feet lie on their desert soil. This is the hand you’re dealt, and you’re playing it. Thankfully, whether you win or lose depends entirely on you!
If you’re currently living in Qatar or have moved out recently, please provide your own input in the comments!
