The words in the title are not mine, but that of a headline on a local Doha news outlet. A recent survey about the quality of life of ex-pats across the world has ranked Qatar 58 out of 61 countries.
The full article can be found here:
http://dohanews.co/survey-finds-expats-hard-time-adjusting-life-qatar/#
As an advocate for life here in Doha I was quite surprised to see this ranking but as I read the article and looked at the results it was hard to argue. It is true that cost of living is quite high, and that some people don't enjoy the desert climate. It is also true that school enrollments are competitive, and it can be a difficult cultural adjustment. But the measure that was most interesting to me was that expats have mostly expat friends. My first thought was...well DUH! Don't all expats have mostly expat friends (clearly this is my first time living abroad). Then it dawned on me just how separated the Qatar society is for expats and nationals. I have the privilege of being good friends with many nationals who I have met through work, but many of my other expat colleagues have had limited interactions with nationals let alone friendships. Having lived in Doha as my first expat experience I think I have had a skewed perception of what life abroad is, but I don't think Doha should have ranked so low.
While Doha has its problems, like anywhere else, I think the benefits of living hear greatly outweigh the challenges. The article mentions medical care, personal safety, political stability, and a strong economy as some of the benefits. I would go on to mention family benefits, tax free income, increased holiday leave, amazing weather 6-8 months out of the year, an incredible diversity of people, and a globally central location to travel from! It is easy to sit back to comment on all the places for Qatar to improve, it is a relatively new country after all, but the benefits can't be ignored.
Either way it was an interesting read and gives another snapshot of expat life. Give me a shout if you get to read it!
The full article can be found here:
http://dohanews.co/survey-finds-expats-hard-time-adjusting-life-qatar/#
As an advocate for life here in Doha I was quite surprised to see this ranking but as I read the article and looked at the results it was hard to argue. It is true that cost of living is quite high, and that some people don't enjoy the desert climate. It is also true that school enrollments are competitive, and it can be a difficult cultural adjustment. But the measure that was most interesting to me was that expats have mostly expat friends. My first thought was...well DUH! Don't all expats have mostly expat friends (clearly this is my first time living abroad). Then it dawned on me just how separated the Qatar society is for expats and nationals. I have the privilege of being good friends with many nationals who I have met through work, but many of my other expat colleagues have had limited interactions with nationals let alone friendships. Having lived in Doha as my first expat experience I think I have had a skewed perception of what life abroad is, but I don't think Doha should have ranked so low.
While Doha has its problems, like anywhere else, I think the benefits of living hear greatly outweigh the challenges. The article mentions medical care, personal safety, political stability, and a strong economy as some of the benefits. I would go on to mention family benefits, tax free income, increased holiday leave, amazing weather 6-8 months out of the year, an incredible diversity of people, and a globally central location to travel from! It is easy to sit back to comment on all the places for Qatar to improve, it is a relatively new country after all, but the benefits can't be ignored.
Either way it was an interesting read and gives another snapshot of expat life. Give me a shout if you get to read it!
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