tamieg1

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EW GURU

Latest post on 30 June 2014 - 12:16

Hello All, I am new to the forum – will be, hopefully, moving to Qatar in Nov/Dec 2014 - my husband will be, most likely, going in Sep. Both my husband and I are lucky to be quite ‘international’ in terms of our routes, families and life experience, with Scandinavian/ British/ Russian/ US / African/ME influences. After living in a small town in England for more than 10 years, I am getting excited about being, once again, a part of an international community in a cosmopolitan city. I look forward to not working for a while, but I am somewhat worried, at the same time, about being lost without routine / getting depressed – which I am a bit prone to, unfortunately. I have studied the Internet resources on Qatar tirelessly and got a lot of useful information – thank you to all for taking time out of your busy lives to contribute – I can’t tell how helpful and comforting your messages are. Below are the topics that I am still unclear about despite of doing the research. I will greatly appreciate any input you can offer. Apologies for the long list - hopefully most questions can just be answered yes / no. 1) Banking – I will be fortunate to be a kept woman while in Qatar – will I be able to have a bank account in my name or at least be ‘a name’ on my husband’s so I can get a credit card in my name? ==> yes, I had cards in my name attached to husband's account 2) Internet – I have heard that some Internet sites are blocked in Qatar – will I be able to access the following: - youtube; - ebay; - UK bank sites (Natwest, Tesco Bank, etc.); - access to films, such as US sitcoms – Seinfeld, Bid Bang, Modern Family (maybe not ;-) ); etc.; - gmail; - software downloads, like skype; - mindfulness /meditation sites that have Buddhist references. I will need to download files in advance if I am unable to access these in Qatar. ==> Never had any problems with those personally, however google "VPN" for alternatives 3) DVDs / books sent by air freight – are they really checked by the authorities and need to be catalogued? I really need my Startrek – hope there will be no objections to Capt. Picard, but who knows? The rest are things like Fraser, Big Bang, foreign language (Russian, French) films, with no English descriptions. What happens to the items that are rejected? 4) Food – we are addicted to salted / marinated fish. How do all of you Danish / Swedish people survive out there, in this respect? Is marinated herring available at all? Smoked mackerel, at least? I can make my own gravlax at home, if it is possible to by really fresh salmon? ==> Salmon available but probably not as fresh as you'd like 5) Air freight containers - is it advisable to send breakable items i.e. a TV set, porcelain, etc.? Do things get broken? ==> Depends on how well they are packed!! 6) Income tax – are the earnings in Qatar simply tax-free or do we need to investigate the issue further and get assurances from my husband’s employer? ==> You need to do research on this as it depends on where you're from (ie Americans have global taxation etc) 7) Wine – I understand the process around the permits, but how much does a bottle of wine cost in Qatar that is equivalent to £6-7 bottle in UK? ==> Around £20 at QDC and £40 in a hotel 8) Driving – I have read multiple opinions reflecting various degrees of dismay on the subject. My husband and I (together and separately) lived and visited a number of countries around the world. I am a nervous driver, but I am determined to drive in Qatar. In your opinion, what other countries the Qatar driving can be compared too? Driving in Russia is pretty intense. The city driving in France / Spain /Italy can be quite intimidating. I have just got back from Berlin – driving on the motorway there is really quite horrendous with people changing lanes in a split second maintaining the distance of only about 30cm while driving at 40km/h – quite scary (I was only a passenger). ==> Kinda has to be seen to be believed 9) Small business opportunities – I was thinking of ways to occupy myself in Qatar while contributing to the family income. I understand that the individual business activities are heavily regulated in Qatar (I am not sure to what end, exactly, as they do not seem to be too worried about collecting the income tax). However, through my education / life experiences, I am fairly familiar with bureaucracies of various kinds, and I realise that often there are no rational answers to be found. I was thinking of things like language lessons / babysitting. I do not have formal qualification in either, but I have experience. Do you think this will be possible without risking being deported? ==> Plenty of people do it although it is not legal 10) Mobile phones – will it be more sensible to buy a smart phone in the UK and unlock it? Will I be able to get a SIM only contract in Qatar? ==> No problem for sim only 11) Cat food – we feed our kitten (5.5kg kitten) the Nature’s Menu, which is about 70% meat /fish. Is it possible to by high quality cat food in Qatar? ==> Generally speaking tough to get good quality pet food, perhaps ask on one of the vet's FB pages (try QVC or Parkview Pet Centre) 12) Animal travel – will our cat be allowed to travel with us on the plane or will we have to ‘check in’ the poor creature? ==> plenty of posts on this if you search 13) Internet ordering / deliveries – is there a reliable way of sending parcels from UK to Qatar? I am thinking – clothes, shoes, cat food. Do Western mail order companies deliver to Qatar and, if so, at what cost? Do you order on Ebay from Europe? ==> Check out "Shop & Ship" from Aramex 14) Supermarket shopping – do they do Internet orders / home delivery? ==> Not like in the UK, some smaller supermarkets will deliver 15) Getting around without a car – if my driving phobia gets the better of me, what are the alternatives? How expensive are the taxis? Would it possible to have a reliable company / driver ‘on file’ to contact when in need of transportation? ==> the only alternative is to use public Karwa taxis or have a driver on file. Plenty of both around. 16) Is there a site similar to Ebay for buying / selling things locally? ==> Most prople use Buy/Sell/Swap sites on FB or Qatar Living. There are others around as well 17) UK credit cards – can they be used in Qatar – I am thinking about the first couple of weeks before we sort out the local banking? ==> Yes but check the fine print as you may get stung on the exchange rate 18) Internet connection- how good is it in Qatar? ==> Depends on where you live. For us 2MB was a good day 19) Travel by car to the neighbouring countries – exit / entry process for residents? If we have visitors staying with us – will they be able to travel to the Emirates, etc. in the car with us? ==> Plenty of posts on this too 20) Beaches – where is the nearest good swimming / sunbathing beach to West Bay? ==> Intercon beach is popular for Ladies Day Thanks again in advance for all your help. Hope this helps, good luck with your move

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