JillMV | ExpatWoman.com
 

JillMV

JillMV
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Latest post on 13 February 2012 - 03:13
online registration? goodness! I'd never heard anything about registering animals in Qatar until i saw this thread. I just did a quick google search and saw that it was possible to register, but didn't see where/ how / an online link... Amy do you happen to have the link?
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 01 February 2012 - 01:35
I can't comment on the price -- but as I understand, it's pretty normal to do dog teeth cleaning while under full anaesthetic... if our dogs happen to need surgery, we have their teeth cleaned at the same time while they're out. Luckily, we haven't had many surgeries- but that also means, not too many cleanings! I believe that Canadian Veterinary Clinic is under the same ownership as The veterinary Surgery, so I would assume the prices would be comparable.
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 31 January 2012 - 13:32
I've been on the Fanar Tour and I've been to the mosque in Abu Dhabi. Yes, the mosque in Abu Dhabi is a million times more magnificent. At the Fanar tour, they usually take you to a mosque in Wakra, talk about the sigfnificance of architectual elements, explain the call to prayer, do a sample prayer, then take you back to the Fanar center, have a meal with you, let you watch/ participate in the next prayer in the mosque and answer all your questions about Islam. It's a different experience. If your tourists just want to see a mosque, and they've seen the one in Abu Dhabi, then skip it. If they want to learn more about Islam, go on the Fanar tour. <em>edited by JillMV on 31/01/2012</em>
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 30 January 2012 - 03:22
yes, the Megamart in the Centre consistently has Organic milk from the US -- it's about 40-45 riyals for a half gallon..... the Megamart Express has some organic milk from the UK, but i think it's long life or something - I don't care for it. Megamart also has some organic fruits and vegetables - again, pricey.
JillMV
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Latest post on 27 January 2012 - 18:35
katcalls - unfortunately, many employers in Doha do not cover anything related to maternity -- to the point that it can make standard ob.gyn care (non-maternity related) an argument with the insurance company. At my husband's company you cannot even arrange to pay a supplement to the plan to be covered for maternity, so lots of family either choose to go to Hamad or fork out a lot of money to have their babies in the private hospitals.
JillMV
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Latest post on 25 January 2012 - 21:08
as far as I have been able to tell, it is not in the labor law that employers need to provide health insurance or the hamad health card. I think all employers SHOULD provide a minimum of the Hamad Health Card, but working with a lot of contractors whose employers do not provide them this, I have checked with a bunch of HR directors and none have been able to find any sort of mandate requiring it.... Also, if your employer provides other insurance, they would not feel obliged to provide the HMC card. Of course if your specifc contract specifies it, then great, but otherwise, it's only 100 riyals a year...
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 20 January 2012 - 15:52
I would definitely get a car with AC In the back. I think all of them are controlable so you coudl turn it off if you want. In the Summer, you really need it to cool down the back of the car if you have an SUV. My friend had a Toyota Prado without AC in the back, and her poor baby was always sweating bullets. IN our car, we have AC in the back, and it is definitely always on if there is someone or an animal back there.
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 20 January 2012 - 09:34
At my husband's company- they will take care of RPs for the families --- but understandably, they are lower priority than the employees. Although my husband got his completed during ramadan in around 3 weeks, spouses and kids who submittted their passports to the company were without them for a couple of months after the employee's was finalized. My friend (a spouse) had the company do hers --- and it took 6-7 weeks after her husband's was completed. Both of our husbands joined the same day and got their RPs the same day. My husband and I did mine on my own and it took a couple of hours to get the papers, then a week or two to do the fingerprints/ medical etc. I guess we just got a salary letter or something from the employer and went to immigration ourselves (it was five years ago, I don't remember the details). I was not comfortable with being without my passport for an extended period so did it that way. So if you are concerned about time, I would recommend going to immigration with your DH and doing it yourself. It is a bit chaotic there, but the ladies in the translation area are really helpful, and if you want- there are plenty of guys hanging around who'll take care of all your paperwork for a small fee. For Work RPs (Not sponsored by dh), I have had some friends who have had real problems because of their job title, educational qualifications, trying to sponsor their husbands, switching companies within Qatar, or combination. I am sure for these particular people this is the truth, not just a company excuse because I used to be in the HR dept at a company that is very efficient at processing these visas, and the PROs were pulling out all the stops for these particular people, pulling wasta, etc. One took almost 7 months, when most everyone else takes just a few weeks. That said, I think that at a lot of companies, visas and RPs are just not a high priority.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 19 January 2012 - 20:10
wow - when I got one from my dentist in the states, it was about $250, about a 1/3 of the price -- and the US is expensive for all medical and dental care.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 16 January 2012 - 11:41
If your husband is working at the Musherieb site-- it's not near City Center. It's near the old center of the city - which if your looking on a map - look for Souq Waqif/ Musherib/ Emiri Diwan. I'm not sure where the headquarters for the project are located though - it's possible that they are in West Bay (which people might call City Center)
JillMV
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Latest post on 10 January 2012 - 22:27
not sure how you know if a bill is unused, but the bank/ exchange at Terminal 1 departures always seems to have very crisp dollars as does the ATM inside the airport.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 January 2012 - 10:46
Now that the AT&T-only deal has expired with Apple- you can buy a factory unlocked iphone from Apple stores in the US -- but if you just buy a phone from some other source in the us- it may be questionable. Also- we bought an iphone in Dubai Duty Free that has both Sim technology and that annoying technology that most of the carriers use in the US (Verizon, sprint, etc) - so now you're not limited to AT&T, T-mobile, or Cingular when you're n the states with your iphone.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 January 2012 - 10:42
They also have whiteboards at Carrefour. (not sure if they sell blackboards there)
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 05 January 2012 - 15:47
Yes, there is the Diet Shop - they will deliver meals to you. Cooking with Gill used to have some healthy pre-made meals that you heated up in the oven, but I don't know if she delivers--- she is linked to the Green Box website.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 04 January 2012 - 16:44
my HP printer gets angry if we use "expired" cartridges - there's nothing wrong with them really, but they're programmed to exprire on a certain date. ugh. (we can't use cartridges the US either!)
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 04 January 2012 - 11:15
yes, exactly the same as what you needed. She needs her passport with the visa stamped in it and i think it's QR 100. i can't think of anything else.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 02 January 2012 - 15:51
I'm not sure if they have attorneys, but they do have a lot of tax accountants- PriceWaterhouse Coopers should probably be able to help.... http://www.pwc.com/m1/en/countries/qatar.jhtml
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 02 January 2012 - 12:37
As ccdoha mentioned, Al Ahli and Hamad are probably the two most popular. Doha Clinic also has some strong supporters. I have not given birth at either, but I would opt for Hamad, especially if I knew that I had to have a c-section. If heaven forbid, there is any serious problem with you or your baby, they have the best NICU and emergency team. If you were in Al Ahli and anything really serious happened, you/baby would be ambulenced to Hamad. Al Ahli is more comfortable and probably easier to deal with than Hamad, but I think most people would say the quality of medicine and equipment at Hamad is superior. Hamad is state run, and inexpensive (some of the other ladies would have the cost). But you should get your Hamad Card if you can before hand.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 29 December 2011 - 12:42
Maple - I think ALL of the car service places here are horrendous! They never have items in stock and they're all complete morons who know nothing about cars. amy77 - with Al Fardan if you moan enough they might give you a loaner, we normally get them, but that's mostly because they haven't been able to properly fix our car for the last year! I do not think that it is reasonable for the shops not to have items in stock. Although it's a small country, there are a ton of cars on the road, and the places know that importing takes forever. There are definitely remote parts of other countries that have fewer cars and don't take 6 weeks to get in parts. I think they just really don't care at all about customer service so don't bother to keep up a proper supply chain.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 29 December 2011 - 12:34
not cool at all. I got very excited when I saw the fares in the paper yesterday -- it said starting from QR 2000 to North & South America, which is about 1/2 price of the QR direct flight.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 28 December 2011 - 13:46
That's the problem- neither dh nor I are excited for her to look after the baby. We do trust her and know that she would never do anything intentionally harmful or malicious, but she just doesn't have the best judgement and we struggle to get her to volunteer that anything is wrong with the dogs, unless we ask specifically about a health problem we suspect. We're also a little concerned about the chaos of three dogs and a baby.... Once baby is in nursery, I'm fine with our maid looking after him until I get home, but I'm not excited about her caring for an infant all day.... Edited to add- generally I would agree with you that the sponsporedlive-in person would make the most sense as the nanny and outside help woul be more appropriate for cleaning, but I'm not sure in our case. <em>edited by JillMV on 28/12/2011</em>
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 28 December 2011 - 13:37
There is sealine hotel by the dunes and there's another hotel a bit north of Al Khor- perhaps that is the one mentioned below. There is plenty of open beach and desert for camping!
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 26 December 2011 - 16:52
We currently have a great maid who we sponsor and we were hoping to sponsor a nanny in addition for when I go back to work after the baby is born but before he's old enough for nursey... But according to the pro at dh's work, we can sponsor a male driver, but cannot have two sponsored female employees. I have heard from another pro that it's possible, but extremely difficult to get approval. So we're trying to consider our options. Does anyone know of any agency/ service that provides nurses/nannies? I have only heard of one- and as I understand they charge qr 5000 a month and the ladies only make 1500 of that... Or does anyone have any other suggestions? (yes I realize our maid could probably act as nanny too, but we're not thrilled with that solution)
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 18 December 2011 - 18:47
yes, same with me, I'd only been there 90 minutes first thing the morning -- but I thought I was being so smart taking my ticket in to be validated-- but it must have fallen out of my pocket. The experience just reinforced my dislike for City Center. I really never go there, and don't intend to return any time soon!
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 18 December 2011 - 15:12
yes, same happened to me a month or so ago. It was not the start to a good day!
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 14 December 2011 - 09:39
There were some in the plant nursery market in Abu Hammour when I was there a few weeks ago, but there weren't that many. I had expected lots.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 08 December 2011 - 09:42
not sure if it's the same guy, because i have rarely been in that area in the morning, but I bought a newspaper from a guy on D-Ring right around that intersection Tuesday morning...
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 05 December 2011 - 21:18
there's Al Jazeera (English, Arabic, documentary, Kids, Sports) Also there is the Doha film institute and TriBeCa film festival. If those aren't quite what you're thinking of, they'd at least be a place to start.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 04 December 2011 - 15:44
haha, I guess it's all relative - cause I thought the last two years were pretty warm compared to the ones before that! (and downright balmy compared to my New England winters) Christmas of 2006 was the coldest I've felt here. We camped in the desert and froze! But then again, I wore shorts the next day in the sun. I think the big factor is the rain and wind....
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 04 December 2011 - 12:59
I'd say yes, it's pretty normal - although I think it's colder earlier this year than last. The coldest I've experienced here was 2006-2007, the year of the Asian games when Doha was completed flooded for a month!
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 03 December 2011 - 11:11
online you can renew for up to 3 years at a time...
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 16:14
Single men can't sponsor female housemaids. Married men can - but they might need to see a copy of your RP in order to do the paperwork.... Of course you have to be here for a few weeks to get an RP. I would suggest that your husband check this the PRO at work about sponsorship options or consider using an agency.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 27 November 2011 - 17:09
There is an Aramex stand in Ikea - just after the checkout. It just took a few days (maybe 5? - I don't remember), but I do remember that it was pretty expensive.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 26 November 2011 - 19:15
Weekirst- did they say which card you're supposed to use at the airport? If it's the old e-gate, then I'm in trouble, cause they kept mine!
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 26 November 2011 - 10:55
Virgin in Villaggio sells keyboards - don't know about brand or quality...
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 23 November 2011 - 11:10
well, I had to renew my ID/ RP this week - and now I have one of the ID cards with a chip in it. I filled out some forms to have e-gate included, and they told me that my E-Gate is now part of this ID card (they took my old non-expired e-gate). I did this at the main immigration in Al Gharaffa . Wish I had read this post before about checking on the machine by the exit -- I missed that. But my husband is flying out with his new ID next week, so he will get to see if it works first!
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 22 November 2011 - 16:19
I saw them the other day in Giant Hyatt Plaza. As Chizz said, I'm pretty sure Carrefour has them as well. I have one, but have never used it, but I've used plenty of Air Mattresses in the past. It's never as nice as sleeping on a real bed, but it's fine. If you have a choice - I think it's best to stick kids on them because 1) they think it's fun and exciting - like camping out 2) they don't weigh much, so not as much air leaks out in the middle of the night.
JillMV
445
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 21 November 2011 - 18:17
I'm told that the pork section opened today at QDC. Was anyone there who can actually confirm????
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 19 November 2011 - 21:40
There aren't a ton of apartments in that area- but there are a few compounds that have apts in them. Ain Khalid Gate has 2 bedrooms I think for around 8000/ month. I think the Samrya Garden apts are mostly 3 bedrooms and more than that. There is a brand new compound on Mesameer street sort of accross from the Abu Hamour petrol station that has apartments, but unfortunately, I don't know the name or the price of the apts. Your best bet may be the Al Sadd area - lots of apts, not too far from Aspire, and you might be able to find something in your price range.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 17 November 2011 - 10:03
This isn't just a US thing. It's very strictly enforced in El Salvador that there must be a notorized affadavit from both parents allowing anyone under 18 to travel with only one parent or with a different relative. And there it has to be a recent document- like within 6 months or something, so if your child travels a lot with one parent, you have to do a new letter all the time. It's a pain in the neck - but it is aimed to prevent child trafficking. My friend from Canada used to have to do something similar as well... I think it's pretty common in the world now...
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 14 November 2011 - 22:42
I think on QatarLiving, you can have them just reply to your Qatar Living account - I'm fairly certain you don't have to put your actual email. --but as salB suggested, you could always make a new hotmail/ gmail account just for the ipad so you don't have your real one accessible to everyone. I would say that since you are selling electronics, email is definitely best, but if you were looking for a maid, perhaps phone would be better because many candidates might just get the number from a friend, but wouldn't be particularly computer literate themselves.
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 14 November 2011 - 00:02
My husband had a problem with this once flying into Abu Dhabi when he only had two months validity on his RP. They did let him in, but only after a lecture telling him that they shouldn't have let him in... The thing is, if your employer only renews your RP right when it is about to expire, once a year, that means you can only travel 9 months of the year. I think they decide to enforce it randomly.
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 12 November 2011 - 09:51
It's interesting and worrying to hear that people have gotten maid sponsorships rejected. It has never been problem for us, but I guess this is just one of those everyone has a different experience situations. I'm actually trying to work out how to sponsor a 2nd household employee... Yes, I have become a very spoiled expat. The guy at work tells me it can be done, but I have to have a compelling story. It sounds like futuregate is worth investigating.
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 11 November 2011 - 11:16
The non-sponsoring rule is the same, but costs are much lower. If you are able to sponsor her, you will need to get the approval letter to sponsor a maid (this is nationality specific). Then proceed with the rest of the paperwork. The transfer from visit visa to maid visa is around qr 500 I think, then the rest of the fees are somewhere around 1500-2000 and I think that covers you for a couple of years. If she stays longer, you just pay a little to renew the visa/ id cards. Maybe 500 or so per year? The only problem I think you might have is that your husband's and your RP need to be processed before you can start the sponsorship paperwork, and if you've only been here three weeks i imagine that's not in order yet. The nanny also has a time limit on her visit visa, so she will be looking to have a guaranteed job before her visit visa runs out (you can pay more for time extensions I think, but she might not want to risk waiting).
JillMV
445
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 09 November 2011 - 08:55
contact info available on their website -- http://www.pwc.com/m1/en/countries/qatar.jhtml
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 08 November 2011 - 22:05
PriceWaterhouse Coopers has an office in Doha- they handle American expat taxes.
JillMV
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Latest post on 01 November 2011 - 19:18
There is also CHN/ Stenden which offers a three year degree in hospitality Or something along those lines. Think non-a level students could attend. Girls can stay in Qatar indefinitely on father sponsorship, but boys can only stay until a certain age- which I think is 26, but I could be wrong. The bigger challenge is that it would be hard to get a sponsored job or good paying job without a university degree and if a male is working, he is supposed to be sponsored by the company, not family (but of course, some companies overlook that)
JillMV
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Latest post on 30 October 2011 - 17:26
I'm fairly certain that "Carpet World" does this. They are on mansoura rd... From C-Ring going toward airport, make a left at Muntazah signal, then right at first light. It will be a few blocks down on the right. I've never actually bought anything from them, but it's huge.
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 25 October 2011 - 09:43
Hi Anthea- I would agree with Gina. Anyone you would find qualified to actually teach and who speaks English properly would cost more than Compass I'm sure. Any other nannies you will find are highly unlikely to have the English skills you are looking for. I would imagine that ANY school would be better than just tutoring - if only for the social interaction. Friends of ours had their kids in Cedars (essentially tutoring, but in small classes half day) for almost a year while they waited for a spot and the kids were so much happier when they went to real school. I have had friends who had to try homeschooling out of neccessity, not choice because they couldn't get a spot in a school and for almost all of them-- it drove them out of Doha.
JillMV
445
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Latest post on 24 October 2011 - 10:45
EssexGirl - from time to time people on this board have put together a book club. It went pretty strong for a couple years, then fizzled out, then came back together for another year, but as far as I know it has fizzled again... Would love to participate if other people are interested. I'm pretty sure there are a few other book clubs going strong in town - I'm just not sure when or where they meet. For dogs - a good number of people go (or used to go) down to the Mangroves on the weekend. There dogs can run swim and frolic. As I remember the others meet pretty early in the morning. I take mine on occassion, but since we have a carload of three dogs we don't worry too much about trying to meet up when everyone else is there - so we just go when we get around to it and sometimes see 1-2 other people there.
 
 
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