Qatar Vs Saudi Arabia - Pro's & Con's - Qatar forum

Qatar Vs Saudi Arabia - Pro's & Con's

hamlay Active member

87POSTS

14 years ago

Hi All,

I'm considering a possible move to Qatar with my family. I am a Western Expat currently living in Saudi Arabia.

I'm interested to hear any experiences from people who have lived & worked in both Saudi & Qatar and which they believe is the better place for a family with a young child to live.

For the sake of argument consider the financial package is the same in both. Also interested to understand any big differences in cost of living between both (Schooling & compound type housing)

Many thanks,
Hamlay

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hamlay Active member

87POSTS

14 years ago

Thanks Wilson,
..If housing is more expensive then I need to consider asking for an increase in my housing package. I better do some more research into this.

Cheers

mashaykhi Active member

95POSTS

14 years ago

compound type housing rent start from QRs. 9,000 up-to 20,000 depends which area and numbers of bedrooms and f/f or s/f or n/f

in qatar you can wear what you like but at saudi women should covered they hair and must wearing long dress

josullivan Active member

47POSTS

13 years ago

hamlay wrote:
Hi All,

I'm considering a possible move to Qatar with my family. I am a Western Expat currently living in Saudi Arabia.

I'm interested to hear any experiences from people who have lived & worked in both Saudi & Qatar and which they believe is the better place for a family with a young child to live.

For the sake of argument consider the financial package is the same in both. Also interested to understand any big differences in cost of living between both (Schooling & compound type housing)

Many thanks,
Hamlay

Did you make a decision on this one? I am in the same boat now, living in Riyadh and have an offer to go to Doha. Have you figured out muchon the cost of living etc? From what I see compounds cost more in Doha than Riyadh, schools about the same. I have no idea about things like the nanny or groceries etc

Mrayes Serial expat

212POSTS

13 years ago

Here are the Pros and Cons of both countries in my point of view:

Qatar:

Pros:
- Higher salaries
- More activities (ex. going to the desert or sea) to be done here than Saudi (Riyadh have no beaches)
- More expats to meet
- Potential market to grow
- Closer to Dubai and Bahrain for weekend travelling

Cons:
- Cost of living is high (accommodation, school fees., etc..)
- Limited activities to be done

Saudi on the other hand is much better to save money.

hamlay Active member

87POSTS

13 years ago

Just giving this thread a bump....

I delayed making a decision on the move from KSA to Qatar for 6 months but now need to make a final decision.

Any words of wisdom out there?!

Thanks

Tunisiangirl89 Active member

26POSTS

12 years ago

I prefer Saudi Arabia personally.

Saudi Arabia: cheap, lots of cities to visit, nice country.

Qatar: expensive, nothing to do except Souq Waqif and Katara and hotels.

But then again I prefer Saudi culture and went there before Qatar so was shocked in Qatar how different it was, I guess for western expats Qatar would be better..but then again Dammam and Al Khorba are beautiful so I would chose that any day over Doha.

1 member reacted to this post

anuraj.murali Member

1POSTS

10 years ago

Gentlemen,

I am also moving on the same boat.聽

Currently I am living in Dammmam, Saudi arabia and I got an offer to move to Qatar. I am willing to travel with my family in another couple of months.

Since Saudi and Qatar are neigbour countries, we can utilize mutiple entry visa to travel along all GCC countries. Usually we used to drive to Bahrain quite often.

I am planning to shift my belongings to Qatar using my car or if it is not possible by usring some parcel services.

So Gentlemen, if you have any ideas whether I can shift my own used electronic items / other appliances through Qatar border. Will they charge any duty on these items.

I would like your valuable advices / suggestions before taking any step forward.

Thanks,