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Moving to Doha from UK Alone in April - Any Groups for the Working Women to Attend??

20

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 28 January 2013 - 17:01

Dear Expat Woman - I've just joined and this is my first post.

I am moving to Doha from the UK first week April to start my new job, hubby will stay behind to finish off his work commissions, and rent the house out, etc, etc. My company flew us both out recently for a "look/see" before I signed on the dotted line and we both fell in love with it and am so excited about the move. I will be staying in a company flat until I find a suitable place to rent (in Al Saad or Bin Mahmoud areas - close to work).

So I will effectively be on my own for a few months in which time I hope to establish some sort of friend base with my fellow expats! I was excited to see that there are a number of coffee mornings arranged to help us newbies settle, etc.....until I realised that these coffee sessions generally take place during work days (Tuesdays and Sundays) which I'll never be able to make. Is there any groups out there that will enable the working women to attend? This clearly means evenings and or weekends?

Any pointers would be useful.

Many thanks!!

Sheba123

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20

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 14 February 2013 - 01:54

Crikey it is a small world Icebabe1!! Thanks for the tip on Health Insurance - although my company provides medical benefits, is Health Insurance something I would take care of myself over and above what the company provides? No bleak picture visualised, looking forward to it!!!

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 10 February 2013 - 15:25

I worked in Ely - lived and still own a house in March. The weather here is great - be prepared for traffic jams. Driving is an experience - but if you drove in Cambridge/London you will do fine! Housing expensive - hobbies can be expensive too - but fuel and food cheap. I never get my hair cut here - I have grown it long and wait till I go home - you will hear some horror stories and woes. Ensure you get good health insurance - preferably one including dental - as this can be expensive too. I hope I have not painted to bleak a picture.... half term holiday - and day time temp 27 degrees - lovely....

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 07 February 2013 - 18:11

Ely is lovely!!! Doha is nothing like it!! But I am sure you will settle in quickly!!

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 02 February 2013 - 17:59

Tamieg1 many thanks - I will check them out. Much appreciated.

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EW GURU

Latest post on 02 February 2013 - 09:06

The problem with international redirection is at this end - post here is terribly unreliable and we tell everyone not to send us anything, unless they don't mind if it never turns up - example: a friend ordered absentee postal ballots for the US elections in June last year, they turned up AFTER the election! Instead you could use a mail scanning/forwarding service - a quick google search shows uk post box dot com or my uk post dot com. We get everything forwarded to our parents, and they send it on to our Aramex account once there is a decent amount (QR41 per 500g) and scan anything urgent.

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 02 February 2013 - 06:21

Salita - great to have the support, lets discuss when we meet. Julie - we have a house in Ely. Have read so many confused reviews on Royal Mail redirection abroad - some good and some not so good. Really don't want to put on family or friends ....decisions, decisions!! Thanks for sharing your experience / view. Nasreen

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 01 February 2013 - 19:56

HI Nasreen, I loved in a little village outside Peterborough called Stibbington, then in Huntingdon, where our house is. Where are you based? on the post front to redirect you need a PO box, we get ours sent to a neighbour think you cant redirect indefinitely and local post here is not reliable! <em>edited by northernstar on 01/02/2013</em>

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 01 February 2013 - 19:06

Ladies I am so pleased that we are all up for meeting up and think we should start our own Al Saad / Bin Mahmoud Club for ladies moving to these or surrounding areas. Yes, I love the sound of this!

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 01 February 2013 - 12:45

Ladies I am so pleased that we are all up for meeting up and think we should start our own Al Saad / Bin Mahmoud Club for ladies moving to these or surrounding areas. I can't tell you how excited I am to meet you all when I arrive. My hubby is already saying "your not going to need me to come out with all your new friend base growing!!" - bless him! - 'cos I get excited every time there is a new post (sad you may say but true!!). I fly out on 27th March and start work on the 31st - and would love to meet that weekend if any of you are free? It would be lovely to meet you all in one go. Julie - where did you live in Cambs? Laura - likewise, I've never done Zumba before but know people who have and they do nothing but rave about it. Please don't be put off by our ages on this particular post (I'm 42), as Julie says - very young at heart and fun with it. Jess - You are on for Pilates!! Debs - glad you are loving "Miranda" it is hilarious! Photography? How interesting. I dabbled in water colour painting but just have not had the time to pursue my hobbies and am counting on the life changing move to enable me the time and flexibility to do more of what I love. BTW - whilst I remember, for those of you from the UK have you / did you redirect your UK mail to the ME via Royal Mail? Experience of the service? Reliable? I need to sort this out but need advise on how reliable the service is. I don't really want to put on family by getting them to receive and forward on mail so would rather be self sufficient. Views and thoughts would be appreciated. Nasreen

170

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 01 February 2013 - 12:02

ps Debs K maybe we could start a new book club I loved my Dubai one!

170

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 01 February 2013 - 12:01

Hi I am Julie looks like I am the oldie at 48!! but very young at heart and a bit mad! From Yorkshire, but lived in Cambridgeshire for over 20 years, before divorce changed my life, met husband no 2 who's job brought me to the Middle East in 2009, We lived in Dubai before his job ended last year and he got a new job here in Doha, we came here May last year . I work as a teaching assistant in a nursery here in Doha, so apart from the 2 ladies I knew in Dubai and people at work I have found meeting people here hard work compared to Dubai, would love to meet up I am free next weekend as my husband is away trekking up Killi! I have 2 grown up children, a son who is in the UK 20 and my daughter who is 21 who is here in Qatar doing an internship for Michael Page. Its going to be good having local girls to see my email is [email protected]. Yes I was a Slimming World consultant in the UK!

453

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 01 February 2013 - 11:20

A brief intro of me ... I'm 39, married and have no children. I work full time as a pre-school teacher. I'm rather shy and quiet when I first meet people as I like to kind of just sit back and figure people out. I'm Canadian and have lived here in Qatar since mid-August 2009 and enjoy it. I enjoy photography as a hobby but hate taking photos of people -- it always feels too intrusive. I am usually working on one course or another through distance education. I dabble with painting (silk painting and acrylic on canvas) but do it simply for my own enjoyment. I also love to read. I was briefly in a book club last year but no one else ever read the books and slowly the group fell apart. I recently discovered the show "Miranda" from the UK and so lately I have been watching a lot of video clips on youtube and having a good laugh.

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 January 2013 - 17:17

Hi Nasreen, I'll introduce myself too. My name is Laura, I'm 29, married and have a 3 year old girl. I work full time as a teacher assistant. I love socialising, meeting new people, shopping :) would be interested in doing zumba, never done it before but heard it is good fun. I am romanian but have double nationality romanian/british, my husband is british. Have been in Doha since october but due to the fact that I am working full time haven't met anybody yet to socialise outside working hours, all my colleagues are far much older then me.

24

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 January 2013 - 17:09

Hi jess, would love to meet up, maybe sometime next weekend as this weekend I'm quite busy. I'll give you my email address laurabireescu at yahoo dot com. Looking forward to meeting you xx

17

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 January 2013 - 16:12

Hey ladies! I love your posts below, I came from UK with my hubby a month ago and am absolutely loving it so far. Sheba123, I'm also living in Al sadd so I think you've got some company when you get here-seems like its the place to be! I too haven't got any children and not managed to find a job yet so I'm up for a coffee/meet up (and Pilates/yoga etc as Doha gets the better of your weight!)... Laura, if you're bored, give me a shout, particularly since I'm not working at the moment so free pretty much all of the time! :) Hope to see some of you soon Jess

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 January 2013 - 01:07

Ladies - just to note the last point about footloose and fancy free; to avoid any confusion it was meant to read "we (hubby and I) don't have children so tend to be footloose and fancy free".

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 January 2013 - 01:03

Deb K - Thanks. I am coming with an open mind and dare say will find things about the city which will irk me but isn't that life? VR Doha - You are a wealth of knowledge, who needs Time Out when we have you on here? Salitia - You are most welcome (spread the word) the Al Saad / Bin Mahmoud girls are making their presence known!! Timea - Weekends is on. Northstar - Can't say I was overly impressed with WB / Pearl it was far too clinical and that says a lot coming from me (you will soon discover what I mean - hubby thinks I'm OCD - but seriously I'm not), I loved AS/BM areas for having a more authentic vibe. BTW for anyone living in Pearl/WBay I'm not knocking it, it is beautiful and the views must be beautiful to wake up to. So no offence. Shall we start some intro ladies? It would be nice to know who is who, where they are from, etc, etc. I'll start, My name is Nasreen, originally from Scotland, and currently living in Cambridgeshire with my husband (no kids) and working in London. The commute is a killer and will be pleased to see the back off it, looking forward to the prospect to be able to work out on a regular basis rather than when I'm too tired from travelling and work to do so. Enjoy photography, movies, cooking, socialising, and love meeting new people. I will be interested in doing Zumba and/or Pilates classes - if that interests anyone. Plus must mention that I can talk for Scotland and England combined!!! As stated in my earlier post, I will be coming out on my own with hubby to following in 2-3 months, fairly footloose and fancy free. Who's next??? Nasreen

24

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 21:01

Hi northenstar, If you want to meet up before april let me know, I hardly know anybody here and would love to make some girlie friends. I live in bin mahmoud which is not far from al sadd. Laura

170

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 19:52

i am up for a meet up too!!! La Cigal sounds perfect!! We could start an local book club too if any fancies an evening one, would be good to have local stuff to do rather than always having to head up to West Bay or the Pearl! DH has said arent there girls local to us I can meet up with!

24

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 17:10

I'm up for lunch as long as its either weekends or school holidays x

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 11:03

I'm an Al Saad chick too, love it...count me in!

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 10:38

Wow! It is Fabulous to see such a positive thread on Doha! I love it here, and can't find much to fault. There is QPWN (Qatar Professional Women's Network), and you can find their link on Facebook. A friend and her husband are also part of a group called Internations http://www.internations.org - they are International, but have a group base in Doha Also, there is the QNHG - Qatar Natural History Group, which have talks in the evening, and do trips around Qatar (not as nerdy as it sounds), and we also went on a Great sailing trip with them last year out to Banana Island (Qatar waters) - And met some lovely people. Then there are smaller opportunities to get to know people such as volunteering at QAWS - Qatar Animal Welfare Society, whereby you can go and walk/play/cuddle the dogs, and play/cuddle with the cats (for you this would be mainly at weekend, as they have set times at the end of the day during the week). Also CIQ (Cats in Qatar) & a dog one too. There appears to be more and more threads of newbies looking for friendship on EW too, soI am Sure you will have No problem. The great thing about Doha is that there is a Huge Expat community, and therefore if you don't like something/someone you Don't Have to entertain it/them! Not meant to sound quite as fickle as it does! Ha Ha Good luck

453

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 06:31

Well I think you are coming with the right attitude of being excited about the experience. I remember being excited about the move when we made it in the summer of 2009, and I still love it here. That does not mean that there are not a few aspects of life here and there that annoy me, but that would be the case no matter where in the world I was living. :)

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 30 January 2013 - 01:02

Ladies, ladies, how kind you all are and can't wait to meet up with you. Debs - you truly sound time served and could well need a "there, there" chat from time to time as I adjust. I agree Al Saad and Bin Mahmoud are great areas. Do any of you frequent La Cigale at all? My husband and I had lunch and dinner there recently when we were on our look/see visit and were totally blown away by it. Julie - I will be in a company flat for the first month giving me time to find a nice 2 bed place near to work. So any pointers at all would be great as I do want to be near my office (walkable). Laura - wll be sure to look you up when I get there. Marycatherine - thanks for the tip re: Time Out Mag, I propose that we have a La Cigale lunch meet up in early April - who's up for it? Nasreen

170

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 29 January 2013 - 19:38

I am excited at the prospect of meeting girls in my area!! Everyone else I have met lives West Bay/ Pearl, it will be good to know some BinMahmoud/Al Sadd chicks, Sheba123 do you get given accommodation or do you have to find it? I live in a great building near to your office run by ALfardan, which are a great company to lease through. Julie

24

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 28 January 2013 - 21:27

Hi Sheba123, I' m working full time and find it difficult to make friends and meet new people. I'm here with my husband and my 3 year old daughter and really miss some female company. We live in bin mahmoud :). Would love to meet up when you come to Doha. Laura x

1759

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 28 January 2013 - 20:47

Just a caveat about Time Out - some info is out of date (by years, plural) or inaccurate. I suspect some info is net direct rather than actual research. Always a good idea to verify here first for accuracy and up to date info. Or just ask - we were all newbies at one point.

453

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 28 January 2013 - 19:29

I'm not really aware of any meetups that occur in the evening. (Other than the one for professional networking, of which I have never had an interest in attending so have never paid it much attention. The Al Sadd area is a great area in which to live. We lived in that area for our first 2 years here. It was great to be able to walk to lots of different places -- and there is a large number of restaurants in that area. It definitely helps with adjusting if you can create a network of friends. (Or at least a few good friends who are willing to pat your hand and say, "there, there" on the not-so-good day which we all have from time to time.) ~ Deb

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 28 January 2013 - 18:10

Dear Northernstar - thanks for your message. Most of my colleagues are men and I can see myself craving female companionship so may well be tapping you up for company!! To be honest, I'm not necessarily fussed on meeting professional women only but more just to meet new people in general but be able to attend some of the groups that are set up. Maybe we should set up a new group more local to us?? My office is just down the road from BHS. Lucky you finishing at 14:00!! I have seen the Doha Timeout which is great for finding out what's on but not so much fun on one's own I would imagine. I will let you know when I arrive and we can meet up - that would be lovely.

170

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 28 January 2013 - 17:39

Welcome Sheba123 to the world of expat woman and the forum. Where will you be working? We live in Al Sadd. People here are friendly so I am sure work colleagues will invite you out. There is a group that meets monthly I think in an evening in West Bay for professional ladies they meet at 6pm don't know much more than that! I also work but I finish at 2 and have found meeting new people hard as all the coffee groups etc are aimed at non working ladies. My 21 year daughter has just moved to Doha to do an internship and has made friends easily even though they seem to be male. I am sure once you are here you will settle quickly, there is a magazine called Qatar happening and Time Out Doha that has all the local stuff listed, they come out the first of the month and will give you a bit of info to work from. Good luck with it all the Middle East takes a bit off getting use to but once you do its a really good place to live. Keep in touch !!! Once your here I would be happy to meet up and can drag daughter along too, if we are still here!

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