Does this sound enough and a few other questions Thank you

Just as a point of reference Doha College puts their expected achievement targets a year ahead of the British curriculum ones. What is really tough in Doha is that most schools want children here for testing to secure a spot. After summer holidays and Christmas are your best chances for a place opening up. Good luck!

I have left Doha now after a 3 year stint. My husband remains there and commutes back to the Uk. When we were making the decision to go we added all the financials up. So we started with what we earned in the Uk . Then I'd be losing my salary so deducted that from what we would get in Qatar. We were better off and I started a Savings plan of how much we wanted to put away for our sons uni. We did save however it's expensive being in Doha. In the Uk we would take european holidays costing £1000. If we went on vacation from doha flights alone would be £1500 even to Oman, Jordan, goa. Plus hotel fees. A trip to the Uk in august easily cost £5000. Yes with car hire, a Uk rental for a week and hotel fees. Would I do it again ...definitely we saved money especially year one. Then we did a couple of Maldives trips ! Schools - we were lucky our kids then aged. 7 and 14 got dess and Doha college. They had been to a local church school in the Uk best in the area. However my daughter took the entrance for dc .they are picky and demand clever kids. She never got accepted later diagnosed with dyslexia obviously the reason for such a bad test. Our son in the Uk was clever accepted tO dc with no test only cat result in Uk. Got 7a,s 1 a star and 3 b's. Had to push the teachers in dc who were happy to let him fail . This is my experience. I got should get an a when he got d in the mock ! He got an a by me pushing the teachers n our son n buying him the revision aids. Back in the Uk old school 6th form and they are amazing I'd say better than dc. Dess and my daughter ... They don't like parents interfering even If your child Is struggling. She was average there then got support moved back to catholic school in Uk and I'd again say this outshines dess. Having said this dess and dc are the best schools in Doha . Good luck

I don't agree with BEDH. I'm a UK teacher, flying out to Qatar in August to start work in a school in Qatar (and it's not Doha College, Sherbourne or Park House). I will be teaching iGCSE and A level - and following the UK curriculum. The school I'm joining is staffed with UK teachers and the curriculum looks very good to me - better than some of the UK schools I've taught in. In fact the iGCSE is regarded to be one of the more challenging GCSE courses - and it's highly regarded in the UK. I have talked to other teachers and friends who have lived in Qatar - and the standard of education seems very good. There are a couple of dodgy schools to avoid - and it's quite easy to find out which ones these are, but there are several good schools in Qatar including Doha College. The biggest problem, I hear, is not choosing a school - it's finding a school with places available. The good schools have waiting lists to get on the waiting lists!

I've not heard anything good about Newton. I do not have personal experience there, but when I taught at one of the local Sylvan Learning Centers I worked with a few students that had been students at Newton and the parents chose to pull them out of the school and place them at Sylvan for tutoring until a spot in a new school could be found. Some of the things they told me included teachers calling their children "stupid" among other putdowns. That being said, that was two years ago. So staff at the school could have gone through many changes since then as is the case with most schools as teachers come out on 2-3 year contracts and not everyone stays on. Also, what works for one family doesn't necessarily work for another. Some children are extremely adaptable and would learn and be successful regardless of where you place them. Others find school more challenging and a positive environment can make a world of difference to them.

My opinion is based in being a teacher , parent and former expat brat . Secondary schools for your 10 year old should you stay a few years would be major concern . The only proven UK curriculum secondary school is Doha college are places are in demand . If you get them in there you would be fine . Traditionally secondary aged children boarded back in the UK whilst parents did overseas assignments so secondary in the ME is a relatively new deal . Sherbourne and Parkhouse would be 2nd and 3rd on my list but I wouldn't consider anywhere else for 10 year olds if you want to stay in UK curriculum . Newton does not have a reputation of producing the genius of its namesake . It could keep your children out of your hair whilst they wait for a better option.

Haven't heard much good about Newton. Try Sherborne, I hear they are adding additional classes in some year groups, they are v good primary and are working hard at bringing senior up to level of Sherborne UK. The salary wd be absolutely fine, just see if you can get the company to agree to paying fees or a percentage thereof instead of a flat rate. A lot oe expats leave and arrive over the next couple of months, so there is always a brisk 2nd hand car and furniture market during July to Sept. Good luck with your decisions!

Make sure that your housing allowance will cover a villa in a nice compound near the schools that you want to get your children into. While compounds can be less private than a stand alone villa they win out when you consider amenities such as pools, gyms and somewhere for the kids to ride their bikes or scooter. Many are furnished but sometimes it's better to get a (generous) allowance and buy or bring your own furniture. I only say this because the furniture can sometimes be hideous and some compounds won't let you remove things you don't want. I have friends with one child who are in a 4 bedroom villa with 2x queen bedrooms and 2 which both have 2 single beds - no room for the child to play in his room, nowhere to set up an office etc. In my experience the size of your salary is directly proportional to your quality of life here in Doha. I realise that this is somewhat the same all over the world but for some reason I find it more so here in Qatar. Maybe because at home if you can't afford private school then there is the free option (which in some cases is just as good), health care is covered and that sort of thing. Living here can get very expensive and there is little point in coming if it is not for financial gain (please don't crucify me other forum users who love Doha so much that they don't agree with this). As for schooling we didn't come from the UK system but I have heard from other parents recently moved from there and from other ME countries that one of the schools on your list is not really on par with what they had experienced at home. I know that another on your list has introduced some quite progressive things in the last few years. The common feeling seems to be that the schools are ok as long as your children are younger and you are not planning for an extended stay here. Now your only problem will be getting into one. It's sad when you get sarcastic responses to valid questions, pity that some people can be like that but I have usually found ExpatWoman to be very helpful. Good luck with your job offer.

I would also like to add that in regards to education allowance you need to verify how many children they will give you an allowance for. Some companies have a limit of 2 children that they will pay school fees for in addition to the maximum amount per year. Others also specify which schools they are willing to pay fees for.

Does this sound enough money? 40000/45000qr per month and an education allowance and housing allowance Well you also don't mention how many there are in your family. Is it Hubby, wife & one child or two, three, four children? You will almost definitely have to subsidise school fees yourself if you're only getting QR30000 allowance per child per year, so that alone will impact on your net salary. Also, how big a house do you need? A decent three bed villa can start from approx 14k per mnth upwards into the 23k range and ideally you'll want your housing allowance to cover your rent and perhaps the utilities too. You'll need to quantify your requirements so that people may comment on the salary you've mentioned.

I think most people either buy cars, or have a company provided car. I don't know anybody that rents a car long term. You can often buy a good car from expats, or try qatarsale.com for an idea of price.

If your education and housing have been paid for then I would think that salary is a good one. We are not in Doha yet but have worked out that (as far as we can tell without being there) after paying school fees and rent we'll have less than that each month and we are happy it will be ok for us to do what we want to do. I suppose it all depends on your standard of living, the kind of car you rent and whether you have to top up school feesor rent to get a school place or decent place to live. I know what you mean about sarcastic responses - some forums are more caustic than others - this one seems to be nice and friendly though :) so I've given up with one or two of the others <em>edited by mrsw2 on 21/06/2012</em>

Also keep in mind that school costs vary widely - from 30,000 to over 60,000 - so if your schooling allowance is only 21,000 (as I have seen posted by others recently) your monthly salary may not cover as much as you thought

The reason you're getting sarcastic answers is no one can answer that question for you. Is it enough? Well you won't be starving unless you plan to support a family of approximately 100 on that. If you/you husband is going to be working as a receptionist - it's a good salary. If the job is for a partner in a commercial law firm or a senior banker, it's a bad salary. Each individual school is completely different as are state schools in the UK so again the question can't be answered. Come back with the schools that are an option for you and you'll get some specific advice.