Title:                     Mum of two toddler & preschooler;

Details:                   Wife, Registrar, Volunteer, Chief Cook & Bottlewasher ;

In Doha Since:    Sept 2010

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Before I sign a contract with my employer, what questions should I ask and what, apart from salary, should they provide?

Things that I would recommend covering in contract negotiations:

·          Nursery and/or School Fees included? 

Try to make sure that fees are included as schools in Doha are fee-paying and places are limited.   Fees range from approx QR25,000 (EUR 5K) to about QR 70,000 (more than EUR 12K) per annum – and that’s just for Infants/ Kindergarten.    This can make a big hole in any savings plan. 

·         Accommodation/Housing – is it company housing that is offered and/or is there an option to have a rent allowance and find your own accommodation?                                                   Some company accommodation may not be suitable for children – it may have no outdoor facilities.  In looking at accommodation, try and get a place with a shaded play area and/or pool for children and shaded parking for the hot months.  Doha is not a big city but Traffic can be very slow. Most people try and live near their school if they can at all.

·         Number of flights back to your home country included? – is the entire family covered for flights?  For how long do you need to work before the company will pay for flights?   Flights may be paid for after 1 calendar year – which means that your flights home in your first year may not be covered.  Many wives and children leave Qatar for the months of July and August so that children are not confined inside for much of the day due to heat.   Unless you can stay with friends and family, remember to include additional accommodation costs for these months in your family’s annual budget.

·         Health Insurance – Is the entire family covered?  How long do you need to work before the cover kicks in?  What is the excess?  Will the company organize Qatar Health Cards to cover you in the Qatar Health System prior to the Insurance Cover?

·         Are there any charges that are not covered by the company in relation to:

o        Residency Permit process for the entire family?

o        Driving Licences for Husband and Wife?

o        Exit Visas for travel?  (Exit visas from Qatar are required for any travel by an employee sponsored by a company)

Can my wife/partner work when in Qatar?

Typically expat wives are sponsored by their husbands (or vice versa) and are on a Family visa which does permit employment. To work you will need (hilariously) to have his written permission to do so (a no objection letter).    Many wives do work although pay as a ‘local hire’ is typically low. 

 If you have children, nursery and school hours are generally short – morning time only so often there may be a need for supplementary childcare.  Jobs in schools are popular to fit in with childcare. 

In terms of career continuation for working mothers, it is worthwhile having a look at MonsterGulf / Reed or similar jobs websites to assess if you will have a realistic chance of continuing employment in your field.   Worth noting that if you find a role/company that you are interested in the personal approach seems to work best in the Qatar jobs market – it’s unlikely to be sufficient to apply by email and hope for the best.

However it is likely that you will need help at home - many people have a maid/nanny to assist them as they do not have the extended family support which they may have at home. 

If you are planning to continue your career here in Doha allow yourself at least 6 months to settle in,  find schools and a nanny if you need one.  I know some people who have been looking for 9-12months before getting an acceptable back up arrangement for themselves.

Can my partner move to Qatar with me?

If you are not married you cannot sponsor your partner on a Family Visa.  If your partner wished to join you in Qatar they would need to seek out sponsored employment of their own.  As far as I know you would have to maintain separate residences/accommodation.  If you have children together without being married it would get (very) complicated.  This is one to seek Immigration advice on.  There are a number of firms that provide confidential immigration advice for a fee – e.g. Futuregate www.futuregate.info .

Is the cost of living expensive?

In one word, YES!  Cost of living is expensive as most things are imported and the Qatari people are wealthy and thus are not price sensitive.  However particularly with product purchasing (groceries etc) if you focus on price and value for money by comparing prices of branded imported and non branded or Middle East originating products you can gradually get control of your own cost of living.  As with anywhere there are retailers catering to the high end, the middle market and cost conscious consumers.  The good news is that cars and petrol are comparatively cheap – approx EUR 15 will fill the tank of a 4x4 with petrol!

Some skilled services are expensive – such as hairdressing.  However labour intensive services such as car washing, car servicing, tailoring etc are relatively inexpensive in comparison to Ireland.

If you use the Qatar National Health System the care is of an equivalent standard to Ireland and it is often free or for a small charge, which is excellent.  There are cultural differences however such as fathers not being permitted to attend births in the Maternity Hospital.  

Private Healthcare without insurance is very expensive. 

What documentation do I need to obtain when I arrive in Qatar?

…. I don’t know enough about this to respond.  One thing though is to warn ladies that the visit to the Medical Commission is a bit daunting!  Especially if you have small children.  So if possible, arrange to have someone who has already attended the Medical Commission to go with you.  Put a note on IrishinQatar website or something looking for volunteers…..

Private schools, are they expensive and are English Schools easy to get in to?

Schools (and nurseries)are expensive and places are limited.  Fees range from approx QR25,000 (EUR 5K) to about QR 70,000 (more than EUR 12K) per annum – and that’s just for Infants/ Kindergarten.    This can make a big hole in any savings plan.

 If a Parent is arriving in Doha before the rest of the family, it is wise to take the opportunity to visit schools and /or nurseries and put the children’s names on waiting lists before they arrive.  There are a limited number of schools, it is likely that you may not get your first choice school/nursery immediately so a good strategy is to join a number of waiting lists.  Nurseries currently do not charge for being waitlisted but most of the schools do charge QR500 (EUR 100) or more and upwards of QR5,000 (EUR 1,000) and perhaps a proportion of the first years fees to hold a place in the school once offered.

Sources of information on schools (contact details, websites etc) are the Marhaba book which is a widely available listings book about Qatar published quarterly (unfortunately no website) and the website of the Supreme Education Council, http://www.english.education.gov.qa/section/sec/education_institute/pso . 

Marhaba also contains contact details of nurseries, a selection of which are also described on the Doha Mums public website http://www.dohamums.com/doha-resources/nursery-guide.html.  

Is it difficult to have young children in Qatar?

It's not difficult to have young children in Qatar - it's much harder with teens unless they are sporty.  With small children there are a lot of family oriented eventsto go to and places such as parks and pools and football, gymnastics that cater for kids.  Of course your 'year' is kind of turned around - you do more stuff outside in the winter here and tend to be confined inside more in the summer.  Small kids are typically content with simple things that are easily done here like picnics, digging in the sand and playgroups.

Getting organised initially with childcare and school places is the biggest hurdle with small kids in my opinion.  As mentioned earlier much childcare is limited to mornings so managing childcare for working Mums takes preparation and planning.

If you don't wish to have your children in formal childcare there are still plenty of playgroups and activites for babies to preschoolers - browsing sites such as mumstheword, dohamums,iloveqatar.net you will find out about these.  You may need to have membership for some of these.

MUST HAVES

A mobile phone. 

Easy to get pay as you go.  Need to have a residents permit sorted out before getting a bill pay one.  the phone will be needed for calling transport and having schools etc contact you.

Transport

Traffic is unruly and you need to grit your teeth and get on with it, but there is no better way to get around with kids than driving yourself and you will need to get around!
Try and arrange your own transport as soon as possible.  The driving might be crazy - But taxis to come to your house are difficult to get.  If one partner arrives first get a car - ideally a 4x4 for the parent who will follow with the kids.  And arrange for that parent to get their temporary driving licence as soon as they arrive.  OR if you can't afford it yet - get the name of a driver who others have used and is dependable. 

 A 4X4 is good because most vehicles on the roads are either trucks or 4x4s and you're at a height disadvantage in a car.... you can see more with the height of a 4x4 especially on roundabouts.  Good news is that Irish Driving License holders do not have to take another test in Qatar.

You will need car seats for children.  They are not compulsory however the traffic accident rate here is high.  They are about the same price to buy here new as in Ireland, although not all brands are available here.  If you are shipping your car seats along with your furniture etc it is likely that your stuff will take up to 12 weeks to arrive - you may be able to borrow car seats to tide you over.  Try contacting the irishkids network irishkidssocietydoha@yahoo.com or www.dohamums.com - their Borrow! program to see if you can borrow some seats or indeed other stuff like travel cots, buggies, toys etc.

Internet access.

You will need to have a residents permit in order to get regular broadband, but you can get mobile broadband initially.  Its a lifesaver to be able to be in contact with home via skype or similar and to be able to access resources like www.irishinqatar.com, www.dohamums.com, google maps - to find out where you are going, www.qatarliving.com - to get answers to questions, to find out things to do and places to go, to buy furniture on the classifieds etc.

Getting started - shipping stuff..

When you first arrive in Qatar, your furniture may not arrive with you.  Furniture and so on may take 12 weeks or more to arrive.  If you have kids you'll know how much 'stuff' goes along with them, from car seats to buggies to travel cots to toys to high chairs.  You may be able to borrow car seats to tide you over.  Try contacting the irishkids network  irishkidssocietydoha@yahoo.com or www.dohamums.com - their Borrow! program - to see if you can borrow some seats or indeed other stuff like travel cots, buggies, toys etc.

Toys: If your shipping is paid for by the company ship some toys - they are expensive here and limited in range.

 

 BEFORE YOU COME

Children's shoes: It is not easy to get good childrens shoes here - there is not the same emphasis on support and fit and varied width fittings are not available. Get good, well fitted children's shoes before you come and buy at least 1 if not 2 bigger sizes of the same style and bring them too.

Children's clothes - visit Pennys and buy lots of leggings and teeshirts and shorts - including bigger sizes - much better value. Clothes can be expensive here - but on the other hand you can go to a tailor and get them made easily enough.

 

What is the average day of a stay-at-home mum like in Qatar? 

What, in your opinion, is the main difference between working in Qatar and working in

Ireland?

Overall comment about living in Doha.

My attitude to living in Doha is that we are here for 2 reasons - like many - to pay mortages and to work which we would not be able to do in Ireland.  We keep focused on this.  This helps to keep things in perspective.  We try and make the most of things here - like there are lots of events that we'd never go to at home which we can go to here for little or no charge - like the Masters Golf for example.  We can swim everyday.  There is no cold.  I can spend every afternoon with the children.

So when things are less than ideal - like waiting to get residents permits, like waiting for taxis that don't come, like not having school spaces and being subject to the Doha waiting list (every place has one), like being far away when something is going on at home, like when you can't find shoes to fit your kids, like wishing the walls were a different colour and that you could furnish the place to suit your taste.... it's time to cultivate some zen-like calm ...or maybe cultivate some tomatoes.