snowflake101277 | ExpatWoman.com
 

snowflake101277

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Latest post on 28 May 2013 - 13:46
Hi snowflake could u pls send me your email For cascade and sapphire etc..whichever has nicer areas and pools for kids... Maybe some pics and contact no for manager wld be great. Thks! Drop me a mail and I will send you some photos. <em>edited by snowflake101277 on 01/06/2013</em>
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Latest post on 25 May 2013 - 10:26
Hi Robey! Our husband´s company advised us to get the Family visa right away as it speeds up the RP process afterwards. So my husband went to Doha and took care of everything, a month later we joined him on a Family visa and getting our RPs was a piece of cake. Within 3 weeks we had everything sorted out. My husband had to get all of his documents approved by his home country, because he is the one working. The document that caused a few problems was our marriage certificate, as we got married in my home country, so the Qatari embassy actually told me to fly to Germany to get it approved. Luckily we were also registered in Portugal and so managed to avoid that. If you got married in the UK and your kids were born in the UK you should be able to get all of the neccessary documents approved there without too much trouble. If you are relocating in July/August don`t forget you will be arriving during the month of Ramadan and after that there is the Eid holiday, so getting paperwork sorted out over here might be more difficult. Depending on the diffenent schools you might be able to get your daughter into school or not, without an RP. The Supreme Council of Education needs a copy of it and I have already heard that they are more strict lately. When we arrived, our son was enrolled in school without his RP being done. Hope I could help you a bit. Good luck with the move
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Latest post on 25 May 2013 - 10:11
Hi VioletSky! If you need any more help or have questions you can contact me. If you`d like me to, I can give you the number of the compound manager here, he is also the responsible manager for the Ruby, Diamond and Cascade compounds, maybe he already knows of some apartments that will become available in July. Send me an e-mail if you are interested and I can send you some photos of our compound so you get an idea. Have a great weekend. <em>edited by snowflake101277 on 25/05/2013</em>
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Latest post on 24 May 2013 - 09:42
Hi VioletSky! I don´t know what your budget is for accommodation, but there are a few reasonably priced compounds in Al Maamoura/Abu Hamour. We are currently living in the "Sapphire Compound" behind the new Dar Al Salam Mall. There is also "Ruby" and "Diamond" (prices range from 9,000 to 11,000) and a little down the road the "Cascade Compound" which is bigger and has more play areas for kids, but is also more expensive (around 13,000) and it is difficult to get an apartment there. For villas you could check the big "Dar Al Salam compound" next to the mall, I believe villas go for about 17,000 or near the Abu Hamour Petrol station "Al Fardan Gardens II", for 15,000 a month. Should be no problem for your husband to get to work. Al Sadd is not far away and the construction on Salwa Road is moving along nicely so hopefully traffic should rund more smoothly within the next few months. Not having a car in Doha might turn out to be a bit of a problem, unless you arrange a driver. First of all there are not many places you can go especially for entertaining your kid within walking distance of compounds and with the heat I gave up walking to the Dar Al Salam Mall, even though it only takes me about 5 minutes. Good luck with the move! Good luck with the move
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Latest post on 05 May 2013 - 11:32
I guess the most popular would be Babyshop (City Centre Mall, Al Asmakh Mall, there are more but I don´t recall where) and Mothercare (also City Centre Mall, Landmark and Hyatt Plaza Mall). Then there is Mamas and Papas in Villagio (a little pricey but I guess nice if you are looking for a gift, might be more stores in other locations) and then there are lots and lots of boutiques in malls like Landmark and in Villagio, too.
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Latest post on 12 April 2013 - 11:45
Baby shop have them Thanks! My husband opted for a towel :-) Might upgrade to a mat later.
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Latest post on 08 April 2013 - 00:15
Thanks for your reply LoveAZ, will message you now. Hi snowflake! I have a couple of different Ergos that were used less than a year. Text msg me if you are interested: double six five O- eightynine seventyfour. I have tried many different carriers from different brands but I say Ergo is the best and I highly recommend it with my two thumbs up;)
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Latest post on 28 March 2013 - 19:57
Be careful when it comes to checking which items are in stock. I did it, went to Ikea and guess what: the items were out of stock. When asking an employee he was surprised to hear that it was possible to check the stock for Qatar (according to him this feature of the website had not been launched). He said he didn´t think it reflects the reality of what is in stock and what isn´t.
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Latest post on 19 March 2013 - 18:34
Hi Sarah, I went to a meeting of Doha mums today for the first time and I really enjoyed it. Met some really nice women there, I think it is worth a try. Good luck!!!
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Latest post on 24 February 2013 - 12:43
Well, I just had my fingerprints taken and it is in a really remote area outside of the city. You basically follow Salwa Road that then turns into a highway. You will see the Aspire Tower to your right, but continue on quite a while after that. Once you are basically in the middle of nowhere there is a gas station (blue) on the right side and you have to take the next exit. (You can already see the big white building from the road, also on your right side. As to what papers you have to present I am clueless. As I just arrived I had to present my passport and they printed out a document there for me with all the necessary info from the Medical Commission, etc. on it that I also needed to show to the lady who took the fingerprints. Good luck!
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Latest post on 23 February 2013 - 17:25
Thanks Puppylove! Will check Landmark for the plasma car and look into the shop´n ship option for the Skylanders. Darn collection ;)
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Latest post on 22 January 2013 - 19:23
Hi Ami, didn`t get your mail :( <em>edited by snowflake101277 on 23/01/2013</em>
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Latest post on 22 January 2013 - 03:37
Thanks for the link MaryCatherine, already did some research online, but will certainly check out the one you bought. So far my husband is reporting that his skin is actually better in Doha than here in Portugal. Guess I was right to always be a little suspicious about the water here?!?
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Latest post on 22 January 2013 - 03:32
Hi Ami, good to see you again on the forum. How are you doing? Are you still planning on coming to Lisbon in February? Seems things over here are moving along more quickly than anticipated. My husband has been in Doha for a little over 2 weeks, also looking into the right compound to move into with kids. Our budget isn`t the largest, unfortunately. If we can´t meet up in Lisbon I`ll see you in Doha shortly. I should be there at the end of February. Take care
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Latest post on 19 January 2013 - 13:09
Thanks for all the replies. So it´s basically like I handle it here in Portugal. Also don´t like using tap water for the kettle. Thanks DebK for the info on the bottled water getting delivered to your home, that sure is a lot more convenient.
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Latest post on 18 January 2013 - 21:08
That´s good to know, RachelA. :) Thanks for the reply.
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Latest post on 18 January 2013 - 20:12
Hello ladies, my husband is already in Qatar and the wife of one of his colleagues told him that it isn't safe to use tap water for cooking. Is that true? How do you ladies deal with it? It seems like a big hassle to get bootled water for everything. Really interested to hear what your opinion is on this.
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Latest post on 10 January 2013 - 22:52
It seems to be basically all the internet, youtube, gmail, skype. But it also seems to have to do with the amount of people that are using the internet in the hotel at any given time. Thanks kiwispiers we`ll check out facetime anyways, maybe we can get a slight improvement. Thanks for all your comments, you ladies here are really helpful, I can´t wait to come to Doha and maybe meet some of you in person. Have a wonderful night!
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Latest post on 07 January 2013 - 15:34
Hi AEB, just accepted your request, see you on FB!
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Latest post on 30 December 2012 - 16:20
Checking at work is a great idea! Why didn`t I think of that?!? Will tell my hubby asap, maybe we´ll get lucky. Have a great day!
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Latest post on 30 December 2012 - 00:09
Hi AEB, oh dear, I am getting more worried every day about finding a place for 11K. Already worked out sort of a plan for my husband. Where in Doha are you living? We will be looking at neigborhoods south of Selwa Road. Seems everything north of it is way over budget. I saw some nice compounds on the internet, but I guess reality might not be the same as the high gloss photos online. Luckily living in Portugal I am not used to the nicest and best houses around, and building structure here oftentimes sucks a lot. So I assume common problems in Qatar will not be news to me ;) On FB I am the one with the flower. Have a great night and I`ll see you online :)
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Latest post on 29 December 2012 - 16:01
Hi ladies, the more I read about buying a car in Qatar the more confused I get. I am getting the feeling that everyone basically just tries to rip you off. Any suggestions? Where did you buy your cars? Is there a used car dealership you can recommend? Have a nice weekend :)
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Latest post on 28 December 2012 - 15:24
Oh no, accommodation already seems so outragously expensive as it is, I hope rents remain the same :( My husband´s company offers him 3 months paid accommodation, so he should have plenty of time to look around. Can anyone hint at neighborhoods that might offer compounds with flats/villas for around 11,000QR? I have been thinking about Abu Hamour, Al Maamoura, Ain Khalid (at least online there seem to be a lot of compounds in that area with reasonable rents). Anyone know Al Thumama? It seems to be very far from where the action is??? I am also considering the Old Airport area due to lower rents, but am not so sure about the conditions of compounds there. Freaking out a little, I think sending my hubby house hunting makes me about as uneasy as it would make him to send me to buy a new car. I´d just be: "Yeah, that´s a nice colour, it´s got 4 wheels, I`ll take it".
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Latest post on 28 December 2012 - 15:12
Hello Ami and AEB, good to hear from you. Congratulations Ami, great news. Glad to hear everyone`s well. AEB, also jotted down your e-mail, so you can take it off the board :) I`ll get in touch with you. Looks like my hubby will be leaving for Qatar the first week of January and I guess he will have to find accommodation on his own before I get there (gee, so worried about that). Hey Ami, great idea to meet in Lisbon in February, would love that! Here is my e-mail: jasmin.portugal at gmail dot com. Just get in touch with me once you know when you`re going to be here. I am so excited about all of this, Doha here we come! @AEB: reading posts here on the forum I get the idea that it is virtually impossible to find decent accommodation for 10,000 to max. 12,000QR, what do you think? Gotta get going. Talk to you soon. Have a great day! <em>edited by snowflake101277 on 07/01/2013</em>
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Latest post on 27 December 2012 - 01:36
Thanks for your replies. I guess 11,000 really isn`t a lot of money for accommodation, but we really need to stick to it, at least for now. If I should be able to get a job in Qatar things might change. Our son will be attending the German School which is in Al Maamoura. I know that accommodation in the "Old Airport" area is generally cheaper, but I am worried that it is really bad. Any idea on that? Well, guess I need to trust my husband to find the right kind of place. Thanks kiwispiers for the idea with the video camera and asking around at work, maybe he`ll get some good info there.
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Latest post on 25 December 2012 - 19:58
Merry Christmas ladies, hope you're having a fabulous festive season. Finally some good news. My husband got his visa and now we only need to wait for his company to book a flight, yeah! So excited. Hi Ami, how are you doing? Guess your new addition to the family has already been born? Hope all went well. AEB how are things in Doha? Can`t wait to meet you ladies in person, hope it`s only going to be another 3 to 4 months! Have a great day and let`s keep in touch.
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Latest post on 07 December 2012 - 15:32
Dear Craftylorna, thanks for your reply. Guess the Nespresso machine might be a better option after all.
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Latest post on 30 October 2012 - 15:53
Good morning everyone! Hope you had a good weekend and/or Eid :) @Ami: no news on the job-front. We sent the signed offer and all the documents they asked for. Read online that they might be on holidays until the 3rd of November and HR is sooo extremely slow at that company. Already have one of my husband´s former colleagues working there and he says it is driving him absolutely crazy how long things take. Hoping for the best (please, visa arrive soon...) :)
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Latest post on 29 October 2012 - 03:11
We live about 30 km south of Lisbon. I`ve been here for 6 years now. My husband is Portugese, we met in Germany during the Football Worldcup (he works in television) and after the worldcup was over I went to Portugal with him and basically just ended up staying :) Hope you had a great afternoon watching the fireworks. Off to bed now. Husband is born in the north but family moved to Lisbon when he was little, Where are you living? Have you lived long in Portugal? Now we are off to watch the Eid fireworks in Katara, have a good Sunday afternoon all! edited by AEB on 28/10/2012
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Latest post on 28 October 2012 - 16:10
Good morning ladies, thanks Ausgirl for the idea with the "things to bring for kids" thread. I will certainly do that once the time comes to make the move. We will get a furniture allowance from my husband´s company after a 6-month period and we are keeping our house here in Portugal (my parents in law might actually move in) so bringing our current furniture is out of the question. Sooo hope for Ikea to open before I get there!!! Even though I am already mentally preparing myself for the fact that they won´t have nearly as much stuff as in Europe and even the stuff they carry will not always be in stock. Maybe I will end up having to go over to Dubai and buy and ship everything from Ikea there :) Hope all of you are having a great day, and hope to meet all of you in person soon. Still can`t get my head around this Portugal-connection in this thread. What are the odds?!? @AEB: Where in Portugal is your husband from?
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Latest post on 26 October 2012 - 13:37
Hi Anna, how funny is that?!? What a coincidence. How long have you been in Doha? Was it difficult to find the right place to live? Maybe I should just relax and start looking into it when I get there. My son will be going to the German School, so I am looking for a compound in the general direction of Abu Hamour. Still keeping my fingers crossed that Ikea will open before we get there and if HR continue working on our documents at the current pace I have no doubt Ikea will have opened by the time we make it over there :) Gotta run get some stuff done, will be back later. Have a great day everyone!
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Latest post on 26 October 2012 - 01:24
Hi Ami, guess the world is really a small place after all. I live in a town about 30 km south of Lisbon. Am really excited about moving to Doha. The current crisis in Portugal is tough on everyone. My husband has been waiting a long time to get the definite job offer from the employer in Qatar and hopefully things will be moving along faster from now on. We are guessing he will move there about the time your husband gets there, but nothing is definite as of yet. One of his old colleagues from Lisbon is already working in Doha and also waited for ages. Then almost out of the blue he got his visa by mail and was in Doha 2 weeks later. His wife and daughter got their airplane tickets 4 days before the actual flight date, crazy! Oh, I don´t know if you are an Ikea-chick like me, but if you are, check out their Qatari website www.ikea.qa. Looks like they will be opening soon. From what I have read on this forum about furniture, this sounds very very good. Signed up for Ikea Qatar`s newsletter for updates. How old are your kids? I have a 5 year-old boy. Have a good night! Bye
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Latest post on 25 October 2012 - 14:44
Hi Ami, looks like we are in the exact same situation. Also moving to Doha in the beginning of next year, looking for an apartment in a compound for 10-12k and I also practically only found furnished apartments on the internet. Already contacted one real estate agency over there to ask about unfurnished or semifurnished apartments, but no reply. If I find out some more I´ll let you know. Somehow I get the feeling that we have to go to Doha and start looking once we get there :) Good luck with everything, maybe we`ll meet in Doha next year. I am German, but currently living in Portugal. Where are you from? Have a good day!
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Latest post on 22 October 2012 - 01:45
Thanks again for all the info, I really appreciate it. :)
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Latest post on 20 October 2012 - 13:47
Thanks for the replies! @GinaM: that is exactly what I was thinking. Friends recently relocated to Doha and the husband picked out the place. When his wife arrived she was less than happy with his choice and now they are stuck in the apartment for an entire year. Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!
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Latest post on 10 April 2011 - 17:54
Olá nailyaopa! My written Portuguese isn't very good so I'll stick to English :-) Are there lots of Portuguese people out in Doha? The only thing I am really concerned about is my husband's residence permit taking too long. Cannot imagine being stuck in Portugal all by myself for months and months. Is there any way I could speed up the process??? When did you move to Doha? Well, catch you later! Beijinhos
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Latest post on 08 April 2011 - 11:37
Good morning, ladies! I was wondering if it is possible to watch regular satellite programs from Europe (Germany?) in Qatar and how they go about censoring stuff. Also any censorship on the internet? Have a wonderful day! P.S. Has anyone stumbled over some Portuguese channels over there? <em>edited by snowflake101277 on 08/04/2011</em>
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Latest post on 07 April 2011 - 18:22
Oh dear! @katcalls: you are so lucky we don't live in the middle ages any more, as the bearer of bad news... ;-) Well, already figured AJ's HR department to be a bit disorganized. It took them 2 weeks to answer an e-mail, so we might have to put the pressure on. The bureaucracy in Qatar seems to be really bad, but I moved to Portugal a few years ago and over here it is sooooo horrible, it is hard to imagine it could be any worse in any other place in this planet! Nothing seems to be organized, you need to get a slip of paper from A, to take to C (preferably in a different city) and once there, they have no idea what to do with it and send you to Z. One "friendly" lady once told me that the name I had put under "last name" indeed wasn't my last name, but that my last name was "xyz". Even after explaining my German ID to her for about 5 minutes and the difference between "maiden name" and "current last name" she still insisted and had me sign a legal and important document with my "maiden name". Needless to say, all the other documents needed for the process had a different last name so it caused loads of problems. Hope we'll get everything sorted out quickly and without major nervous breakdowns.
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Latest post on 07 April 2011 - 18:10
Oh no! So maybe I will buy patio furniture for the living room until Ikea opens! Sounds inexpensive and reminds me of a "Friends" episode :)
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Latest post on 07 April 2011 - 15:13
The company I am talking about is Al Jazeera. Anybody got any experience with them? Will tell my husband to get in touch with the HR department to get more info. Already thought it would be good to arrive a few weeks later than my husband so he can settle in at work and doesn't have to worry about me and our son, but I was also thinking maybe 4 weeks not 6(!) months... Thanks for all your info :-) <em>edited by snowflake101277 on 07/04/2011</em>
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Latest post on 06 April 2011 - 15:42
Hi DebK! Already stumbled across one of your posts on the forum and checked out the kid'n around website yesterday. Looks great! I have already been looking at accommodation around Duhail/Landmark. My husband will be working for Al Jazeera, guess that is also not too far away from there? (figured Al Jazeera must be near the television roundabout) So far we don't have any definite dates, how difficult is it normally to get a place at your preschool after the school year has started? Have a wonderful day!
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Latest post on 05 April 2011 - 23:54
Hi DebK! Thanks for all the great info you gave me! And thanks for putting my mind at ease when it comes to the issue of our son not speaking any English. Most preschools I checked online require a basic level of English even for the youngest ones so maybe it is better to stick to kindergarten/nursery in the beginning. Fact is, we do speak quite a lot of English at home (my husband is Portuguese and my Portuguese isn't that fluent yet) but never directly with our son. What is the name of the kindergarten you work at? Also thanks for the info on jobs. 30 hours a week would be totally fine. Okay, gotta go. My son wants to play with me. Have a great evening!
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Latest post on 05 April 2011 - 14:51
Hi nole! Well, so I guess another mail on the way to Human Resources about housing allowance, lol. Maybe I need to stop asking so many questions on here and just see for myself when I get there. And you are absolutely right. If life in Qatar seems expensive or not depends on a variety of factors. 5 years ago I moved from Germany to Portugal and some things are more expensive while others are cheaper. I found the quality of living is not linked to a huge house or many luxury items but for me it's the time I spend with my family and friends, an evening with good food and wine (guess the latter will be more of an exception than the norm in Qatar ;-)) and laughter. Have a great day!
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Latest post on 05 April 2011 - 14:19
I am looking at possible schools or preschools (nurseries) for my son who is 3 1/2 years old and cannot believe my eyes. Guess the sky is the limit when it comes to paying for school. Does anyone have recommendations for "cheaper" schools? I was thinking in the range of 20k-25k per year. Maybe I have to tell my husband to re-negotiate that part of the agreement with his possible future employer. We will be given 15k per year, but only starting with primary school. I guess being from Germany where you usually don't pay for education, because the state pays for it, this comes as a bit of a shock. We are currently paying around 400 Dollars a month for preschool here in Portugal, did the math and it's roughly about 24.000 QAR per year. Ah, on a different note: we get a housing allowance of 12k, just wondering if we will get the 12k even if we should find cheaper accommodation? Or do the employers really only cover the actual rent? Really trying to get the fees for school together, so if I could put some of the money for housing towards school fees maybe we could manage to pay for a more expensive school. What is your experience? How much money do you need per month to have a nice life in Qatar? Not talking about shopping every day, buying luxury items, dining out every night. More along the lines of going out once in a while, having coffee with some of you ladies, hopefully??? :-) groceries, car, insurances. Am I forgetting anything important? Also, are you ladies on here usually working or is it the rule fo thumb that most women stay home? We are thinking of coming to Qatar not only for the money, but obviously it would be nice if we could safe up some money for the future. Looking at expenses (i.e. school fees, housing, etc.) I get the sinking feeling we can only safe some money if I also worked full-time. Had my hopes set on working part-time in Qatar. :-(
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Latest post on 05 April 2011 - 14:02
Good morning, everyone! Wow, you ladies are a big help. Already feeling less confused... @kimmac: lol, that kind of allotment is wonderful, too. Maybe not so helpful when it comes to shipping, but I love a little bit of gardening. Currently growing one bean stalk my son brought home from preschool. Guess it's not enough to feed all of us, but hey!!! :-D Will check out Compass School's website, thanks for the tip. Good to know your son didn't have problems moving around. It is probably true, that kids adapt much more quickly. Maybe my husband should be the one to worry about. He is Portuguese and very peculiar when it comes to food, let's see. Guess we won't be able to get our hands on Portuguese food in Qatar. I assume you can buy fresh fish there though, is it reasonably priced? Also, how about the alcohol license? How much can I expect to be paying for a bottle of red wine (nothing fancy)?
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Latest post on 04 April 2011 - 22:08
Okay, I see. The majority of you thinks I should basically have everything shipped over, so I'll take your advise. Really need to negotiate an allotment... @GinaM: My husband's probation period is 6 months. He can bring us over before but the housing allowance is lower and we only get the furniture allowance at the end of the 6-month period. As I wrote earlier, on the phone they said we wouldn't have to worry about the probation period but I want to have it in writing before we plan any further. Also you are right about bringing things over so our son feels more at home, hope it won't be to difficult for him, he is not the most outgoing child, if you know what I mean. What is your opinion/experience when it comes to re-negotiating certain parts of the salary, i.e. monthly basic salary or participation in school fees? Also, do you get participation in school fees as early on as preschool? Our agreement only includes primary and secondary school. Oh, question about one particular item: Can I buy "Nesquick" in Qatar (I hope so?!?) and is it totally overpriced?
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Latest post on 04 April 2011 - 19:15
Thanks for your quick replies!!! @marycatherine: glad to hear I can get plain white plates and also cutlery in Qatar. And no, it's not a bad sign if staff at a kitchen supply store already know you on a first name basis :-D If all goes well they will get to know me too, very soon! @Amy. Already thought we would probably have to pay more on housing than 9k. We also have a housing allowance of 12k and also a furniture allowance of 35k, but that doesn't help much if furniture there is ugly and expensive. Read a blog on the internet from a lady who actually went to Ikea in Dubai to get decent stuff, hope I won't have to do that. :-) I saw some apartments in compounds for about 7.5k and they looked nice and I kinda got the general idea an apartment is cheaper than a house. You are right, my husband will have to commute to West Bay and the traffic is supposed to be really bad. Did you arrive with your husband or did he also have a probation period of 6 months? We were told on the phone that my husband could bring his family right away, but the written offer says 6 months. We'll have to wait to hear from them again and get it in writing before planning further. Good to know that getting a part-time job might not be too difficult. Over here in Portugal a lot of people only earn about 800 Euros a month working full time. Needless to say there is almost no option to work part-time if you already earn almost nothing full-time. I read in quite a few forums that the beds are super uncomfortable. What is wrong with them? Are they too hard? I saw some photos of furnished apartments and the mattresses looked normal to me. Maybe we really have to negotiate a shipping allowance with the company in Qatar. Thanks again for answering some of my questions. Sure I'll be posting again soon. :-)