Job Discussion Forums

[texasisthereason]

Hello all--- I will be moving to Doha in August and was looking to find information on football clubs that expats are able to join.

Trying to stay active for my time there as well as socialize as I will be coming on my own.

Any sort of information on sports clubs or the cost of joining a gym with squash/swimming/racquetball facilities would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Tx

[millie18]

Try doing a search on www.eventsdoha.com - it seems to have a lot of sports related groups/activities that might give you a starting point.

For the high end (and I think racquet ball is only offered at a few places) the 5* hotels usually have excellent facilities and often you get beach access as well. They are universally very expensive and often memberships are double the price for single males. You can get more info on any of their websites (Hilton, Marriott, 4 Seasons, Ritz, Intercon, etc.) There are no public beaches in Doha proper, you have to travel outside the city.

Also google Aspire Zone, they have great facilities but as they cater towards an athletic program, timings/availability for the public may not be ideal - however, I believe their prices are quite reasonable.

[texasisthereason]

Thanks for the information millie.

I am coming from Hong Kong where there are a fair amount of pulic pitches/sporting grounds available and a place where people can meet up for 5 a side football as well as artificial grounds for full 11 a side. Was curious if this existed in Qatar.

What can one expect to spend on a gym membership that provides the basic facility and beach access?

Are there a fair amount of active extracurricular activities to take part in amoung expats/locals?

Tx

[texasisthereason]

Just to give an update; I have found some 5 vs 5 pitches over near Aspire park; they ar eon artificial turf and lit at night; it's free and mainly pick up games---the regulars allowed myself and co worker to work into the rotation.

Lights on one half went out at 9pm while the other stayed on until 10pm. Looking to get a regular thing going and if anyone is interested please PM me if you want to meet up.

We usually go from 7-9 in order to beat some of the heat----- and bring LOADS of water---just keep it in your backpack bc those who didn't bring any drank all of mine!!!!!

Texas

[millie18]

There are many activities involving expats from all parts of the world and all walks of life (especially if the facilities/equipment needed are cheap/minimal).

www.eventsdoha.com has some listed - the people you play with at Aspire will probably have info on others - kayaking, running groups, rugby (funnily enough, at the Rugby Club - where you can also purchase libations and they have a pool and often live music - it's fairly cheap to join).

As for beach access and fitness facilities, that equals a 5* hotel membership usually and that's pricey. I don't know if the Oasis Club/Hotel is still in existence or not - they were less expensive than the hotels, but I have no idea of the quality of the facilities, but they do have a beachfront.

[nomad soul]

Agreed, www.eventsdoha.com is also a better site for these types of social events and activities instead of an ESL jobs discussion forum. Similar diverse and widely-viewed expat forums with categories for leisure, networking, etc., can be found via in Internet search using expat qatar forum.

[texasisthereason]

Pardon my ignorance nomad, but I've seen non-work based threads posted on this forum; ranging from social issues in Qatar to technological questions. Do these not fall under the job discussion forum as it is something that comes along with working in Qatar-----ie. living here. I've used Dave's in each country I've worked/lived in, and the Korean board is the only one with separate forums for off topic banter.

This is a site that seems to be geared for people working in Qatar and by default, living here. And these inquiries help with making things comfortable for teachers doing just that.

Was just posting some useful advice for people that might be interested. Those that aren't can just move onto another thread.

Texas

[nomad soul]

I mainly wanted to point out that those other expat sites get a lot more traffic than this one because they reach a much wider audience. Besides, this Qatar forum is fairly quiet.

[texasisthereason]

Fair enough---- most of the forums I've attempted to find information on Qatar are relatively quiet. It's definitely not Bangkok, Seoul or Hong Kong levels of traffic. I've grown accustomed to Dave's since starting back in 2002 and just stick with it bc it's comfortable.