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lollaerd
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337
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lollaerd
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337
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lollaerd
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337
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 Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 4:51 am Post subject: |
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[/quote]Sat, 08/20/2011 - 6:10am � Anonymous User
American Citizen Stuck in Qatar
I am currently here in Doha, Qatar on a Visit Visa. Recently, i came down with a really bad case of Acid Reflux and was unable to complete my visa run. Now i am here on an expired visit visa and unable to find a job. The fine is more than 12 thousand Q.R. No one will hire me due to an expired visa, but i cant pay the fine without working. I contacted the embassy here, which is a complete joke btw to no avail. They told me to basically report to a deportation center and wait to be deported. Who knows how long that will take and we know how they treat people here in this country.. Does anyone know of any way i can get out of this situation? I am trying to find a freelance job for a few months so i can work and pay off the fine. Any suggestions would be helpful. Any point of contacts of an American firm that would be willing to hire me here in Qatar so i can leave this place and never return. I will give my email address to those willing to share any point of contact for me to get a job here and just pay off my fine. I am unable to get a CAC card so i cant work on the bases here also. Shitty situation.
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lollaerd
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337
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| Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 4:52 am Post subject: |
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[/quote]Sat, 08/20/2011 - 6:10am � Anonymous User
American Citizen Stuck in Qatar
I am currently here in Doha, Qatar on a Visit Visa. Recently, i came down with a really bad case of Acid Reflux and was unable to complete my visa run. Now i am here on an expired visit visa and unable to find a job. The fine is more than 12 thousand Q.R. No one will hire me due to an expired visa, but i cant pay the fine without working. I contacted the embassy here, which is a complete joke btw to no avail. They told me to basically report to a deportation center and wait to be deported. Who knows how long that will take and we know how they treat people here in this country.. Does anyone know of any way i can get out of this situation? I am trying to find a freelance job for a few months so i can work and pay off the fine. Any suggestions would be helpful. Any point of contacts of an American firm that would be willing to hire me here in Qatar so i can leave this place and never return. I will give my email address to those willing to share any point of contact for me to get a job here and just pay off my fine. I am unable to get a CAC card so i cant work on the bases here also.
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lollaerd
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337
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| Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:17 am Post subject: Good-bye Qatar |
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Time to say good-bye. I've returned to the US and about to begin a new job in administration. My gal and I returned together as man and wife so that's the best thing about leaving Qatar. Many good times, many good friends, many good memories and some bad ones. For newbies heading to Qatar I say, make the most of your time there and get to know Qataris. For oldies, I say "May the Force be with you.". For the miseries, I say, 'get your act together!'
Lollaerd |
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wilberforce
Joined: 27 Dec 2008
Posts: 647
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| Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Lollaerd - good on you!! Thanks for keeping in touch on Facebook.
Q is certainly a much livelier place than it was in our day. I miss you and the rest of the Gulag guys. Those days are gone forever but the good memories of good times, good people and good students (well some good students) is there forever!! |
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idaho_potato
Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| wilberforce wrote: |
Hey Lollaerd - good on you!! Thanks for keeping in touch on Facebook.
Q is certainly a much livelier place than it was in our day. I miss you and the rest of the Gulag guys. Those days are gone forever but the good memories of good times, good people and good students (well some good students) is there forever!! |
I agree to all. The problem here is job security. With recent changes at the Gulag, Qatar University and CCQ nobody feels secure about their future. These institutions don't care about their staff. Here today, gone tomorrow is the way things are done. People from these places should be heading for the TESOL Arabia conference next week. The cost of living here is very high, job security is almost nil and working conditions are problematic. So, is Qatar where it's at? You decide. It's not if you're looking for job security.
Hmmm. |
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idaho_potato
Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 9:53 am Post subject: |
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Most TEFLERS can afford these places anyway. They overcharge for food that is not that great. Location, location, location apparently. Not worth going to unless you have money to spare. Most people stick to the Ramada and Intercon.
The Guardian February 2012
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Gloom grips Qatar's Arab Riviera after alcohol banUnexplained prohibition reflects emirate's balancing act between religious puritanism and pursuit of modernity
There are car dealers on both sides of the road � Rolls-Royce on the right, Ferrari on the left � leading to the bridge over to the Pearl in this new district of Doha. Located on a man-made island to the north of Qatar's capital, a mixture of big houses with private beaches, 50-floor luxury hotels and marinas for the ultra-rich, the Arab Riviera, as its promoters have dubbed it, is the emirate's most recent folly.
But the sale of alcoholic beverages was banned on the island at the end of last year and gloom has gripped many residents. The managers of top-notch restaurants and boutiques complain sales have dropped by about half."When we heard the news we thought it was the end of the world," says a waitress at the Mango Tree, a Thai restaurant where the bottles behind the bar have been replaced by water jugs. The foreigners who once turned up in droves on weekend evenings, filling the cafe terraces of this golden enclave, have taken refuge in the hotels at West Bay, the business quarter of Doha, where alcohol still flows freely.
"We'll die of boredom here," says the proprietor of a coffee stall.
The prohibition order was issued by the United Development Company, one of Qatar's leading shareholding companies. The Pearl is its flagship operation. But a member of the ruling al-Thani family is clearly behind this move. As to the reason, one source cites an over-indulgent binge, the sight of which supposedly upset some Qatari passers-by. Another notes the need to tidy up the emirate's image for the Pan-Arab Games last December. A third source suggests a communication campaign by the ruling family a year before the country's first general election.
With no official explanation, foreign investors are assuming this is just a temporary drought. They remain convinced that, once consumption of alcohol has been restricted to the inside of restaurants, the ban will be lifted all over the 400-hectare island.
But the episode has made a lasting impression, being symptomatic of the tension that has taken hold of Qatar, predominantly conservative in religious matters, since it started to come to terms with the extreme modernity championed by Doha. "Qataris are basically pretty traditional," says a French expatriate. "They are not as broad-minded as their rulers."
The Pearl affair also illustrates the divisions at work in a country (population 1.7 million) where four-fifths of the residents are foreigners � primarily Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese and Filipinos � making up the workforce on which the Qatar miracle is based. It was for their benefit that a subsidiary of Qatar Airways, the Qatar Distribution Company, started selling pork in its supermarket during the buildup to Christmas. This new departure prompted an outcry on the internet "I never thought the day would come that I have to ask the waiter in a restaurant in Qatar what kind of meat is in their burgers," one tweeter complained last November.This reaction, mainly voiced on social networks, is unlikely to sap the power of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. At the beginning of December the emirate won its bid to host the Fifa World Cup in 2022, with the undertaking that special areas would be set aside for consumption of alcohol.Two weeks later the regime opened a new mosque in Doha in honour of Abdul Wahhab, the Saudi founder of the fundamentalist branch of Islam which bears his name and theoretically still holds sway in Qatar. "It's a constant balancing act," says a foreign diplomat, "but for the time being the Emir has things under control."
The latest example of this schizophrenia is Doha's acquisition of The Card Players, a painting by C�zanne, with a bottle of wine in full view between the two players.
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the lowlander
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 171
Location: The Oort Cloud
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| Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 2:35 am Post subject: Qatar Prices |
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Having been employed in three Gulf countries, including Qatar, and having spent time in two others, I feel safe to say that Qatar is by far the most expensive country in the region.
The Qataris themselves, all of whom are on serious dough compared to the average ESL teacher, continually complain about how expensive EVERYTHING is in their country.
They are not wrong.
Most of them pop over into Saudi at the weekends for small purchases, or take a longer trip to the UAE, for larger ones.
Salaries on offer may seem attractive, but basic foodstuffs are very pricey, as is housing, and the price of booze in hotels is through the roof, for those who like a drink. You also have to show your passport, or resident's card every time you fancy a beer.
That, and the fact that there are very limited options for spending your free time, make Qatar a very boring place.
Another thing any prospective teachers should consider is the fact that you need to arrange an exit visa from your employer every time you wish to leave the country.
Even for a short holiday.
In effect, this renders you a prisoner of your employer, and should you have any issues with them, you are not able to leave Qatar of your own free will.
This is a very major issue, and something everyone should consider before giving themselves over into the completely controlling hands of their Qatari employer. |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| the lowlander wrote: |
Having been employed in three Gulf countries, including Qatar, and having spent time in two others, I feel safe to say that Qatar is by far the most expensive country in the region.
The Qataris themselves, all of whom are on serious dough compared to the average ESL teacher, continually complain about how expensive EVERYTHING is in their country.
They are not wrong.
Most of them pop over into Saudi at the weekends for small purchases, or take a longer trip to the UAE, for larger ones.
Salaries on offer may seem attractive, but basic foodstuffs are very pricey, as is housing, and the price of booze in hotels is through the roof, for those who like a drink. You also have to show your passport, or resident's card every time you fancy a beer.
That, and the fact that there are very limited options for spending your free time, make Qatar a very boring place.
Another thing any prospective teachers should consider is the fact that you need to arrange an exit visa from your employer every time you wish to leave the country.
Even for a short holiday.
In effect, this renders you a prisoner of your employer, and should you have any issues with them, you are not able to leave Qatar of your own free will.
This is a very major issue, and something everyone should consider before giving themselves over into the completely controlling hands of their Qatari employer. |
It's true, Qatar isn't for everyone, although I like it, personally. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. I know both people who love it, and people who loathe it. I don't tend towards either extreme, I just think Doha is a fairly pleasant city to live in.
I think it's hyperbole to say that most Qataris pop over to Saudi at weekends just to make small purchases. There's hardly an exodus over the border every week. They may occasionally go on shopping trips, but they also visit relatives, and check on their camel herds, etc. As for the UAE, most of my students go there (Dubai, more specifically) for dubious forms of 'entertainment' they are unable to get in Doha. Money is not taken into consideration, judging from their sleazy grins and comments.
Housing may be expensive, but then you wouldn't take a job here without the employer providing fully-paid housing (with all utilities) for you anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I wouldn't say basic foodstuffs were particularly cheap, but they aren't exactly exorbitant either.
The price of booze in hotels is through the roof, agreed, but then you can get a booze licence for the cost of a 1000 riyal deposit (which is fully-refundable whenever you hand the licence back). Bottles of cheap n' cheerful whisky, gin, vodka, can be bought from the QDC shop from as little as 50 riyals (about $14 USD), and nice bottles of wine can be had for the same amount. I've also been out to quite a few of the well-known 5 star hotels for drinks, on several occasions, and never been asked for ID of any kind.
Qatar might be a bit dull for some, but then it's the Arabian Gulf. What were you expecting? It's still a much nicer alternative than a lot of other countries in the region. There are a myriad more things to do here than in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait. In any case, people come to the gulf to earn/save money, not to party. With the job I have, you can save up money and then go on nice, extended vacations to more exotic places.
The exit visa situation in Qatar is no worse than Saudi Arabia. At least Qatari employers let you keep your passport. On top of that, they pay you a living wage. I'll happily take my lot in Qatar over teaching for �8 an hour in London, or 900 Euro a month in Italy, with no paid-for apartment/bills and practically no other benefits either. I know there are cruddy employers in Qatar, but let's face it, the whole global TEFL industry probably has more cruddy employers than it does good ones. In my opinion, having worked for several garbage employers, I think I can say that Qatar isn't any better or worse in this respect.
Life in Qatar isn't perfect, by any means, but then where is life perfect? When it boils down to it, there ARE good employers in Qatar, and you can save a very tidy sum each month, whilst still enjoying a very comfortable lifestyle, and even enjoying a drink if you so desire. If I wanted to be really stingy then I could easily bank at least $2500, but I choose to enjoy the nice restaurants and bars available in Doha.
It's really not all that bad in Qatar! |
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the lowlander
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 171
Location: The Oort Cloud
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| Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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As you quite rightly say, it's different strokes for different folks, and I would not dispute the fact that some people may find Qatar quite to their liking.
Personally speaking, I found Qatar as dull as ditch water, and far less interesting than Oman, Kuwait, or the UAE.
Qataris DO actually leave the country en-mass at the weekends for various reasons, including visiting relatives, and checking up on their camels, but also to get their shopping.
In my experience the local population's number one grumble is the high cost of living in the country, and this is from guys on 24,000 QR per month!
Yes, some of the young men do visit the UAE for "dubious" pleasures, but many others go to buy parts for their Land Cruisers etc, that are ridiculously expensive in Doha.
As for housing, this is often provided by employers, as you quite rightly state, but not always. There are teaching jobs where you are expected to rent your own accommodation. Direct hires at QP, being one.
Booze can be bought more cheaply with a license, as you rightly state, but not everyone wants to sit at home slugging a lonely bottle of Jack D! In my own personal experience, ID was always asked for when entering a hotel bar, and it's my understanding that this is a legal requirement, although as you suggest, this may not always be enforced.
Of course, Qatar is in the Gulf, and no-one expects it to be all singing and dancing, but I still think that entertainment options are extremely limited. And when I say entertainment, I'm not solely thinking about bars and birds/blokes!
To me, Oman is a far more interesting country in comparison.
Yes, you can save money in Qatar, if you draw in your horns, but as far as I'm concerned life should be about more than that.
In my opinion, there are too many people in places like Doha putting their lives on hold for year after year in the hope that the can save some dough, and maybe start to live a little bit in the future.
The exit visa is a major issue for me, and I think that this is something that everyone should be made aware of before accepting a job in Qatar. There is a real potential here for being held against your will be an unscrupulous employer, and I know for a fact that people have run into this problem in the past.
I agree that nowhere is perfect, absolutely nowhere, but to my mind Qatar is less perfect than other places one could find gainful employment.
Anyway, I'm happy that you are content there, and I wouldn't seek to wish you otherwise, but it's not for everyone! |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:53 am Post subject: |
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Over the years, I have found that those who liked Qatar tended to be married couples. The single people were the ones who found it on the dull side.
VS |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
Over the years, I have found that those who liked Qatar tended to be married couples. The single people were the ones who found it on the dull side.
VS |
I must just be an oddball then, as I'm unmarried, and I don't find it dull at all.
What I find REALLY dull is being back home, and working my unmentionables off for a pathetic salary, which is slashed even further by tax and other deductions. There may be lots to do in places like London or New York, but how much of it can you afford on a TEFL salary? In contrast, in Qatar, I go to 5 star hotels for dinner and drinks on a weekly basis. On top of going to hotels, I also eat out in places like Nandos, Paul, etc all the time and get nice food delivered pretty much every day. Even with all that, I can still comfortably save $1500 a month. There would be no chance of that back home. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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Dear bulgogoboy,
Well, jeez - of COURSE you're an oddball, not at all a "normal" person, like almost all of us other EFLers  .
Regards,
John |
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bulgogiboy
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803
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| Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
Dear bulgogoboy,
Well, jeez - of COURSE you're an oddball, not at all a "normal" person, like almost all of us other EFLers .
Regards,
John |
Glad I'm not weird like most TEFLers. Now, best be off, I've got to serve some latex soup to my invisible friend, Heathcote Piddlewinker the 3rd. |
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