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Housing at Qatar U.?
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Kaspar Hauser



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 83

PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2005 6:52 pm    Post subject: Housing at Qatar U.? Reply with quote

Hi,

Can anyone tell me about the housing for new hires at QU?

On a compound?

Recreational facilities?

What's it like for kids? Is there stuff to do?

That and any other helpful info about schools and family concerns would be much appreciated.

Pleeease answer. I've been offered a job by QU, but they sure don't tell you much about the place. I don't want to arrive there with my wife and kids and find out I've made a mistake.

Thanks!
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lionbrian



Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Posts: 136
Location: Micronesia

PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:47 am    Post subject: VILLA OR FLAT? Reply with quote

Hi,

Housing: Either an appartment or a villa. Actually, it depends on the number of your family's members (A family of 4 will get a 3 bedroom flat or a villa).

P.S: Bear in mind that utilities in a villa are more expensive and this is due to the expensive water.

I hope this helps as no one has replied to your ad!
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dmb



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397

PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have to pay for the utililities?
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lionbrian



Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Posts: 136
Location: Micronesia

PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:23 am    Post subject: UTILITIES? YES, SIR! Reply with quote

Yes, teachers pay utilities!
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Needmyjob



Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:33 pm    Post subject: Think small Reply with quote

Hi, I visited friends in Doha while I was interviewing at QU. The Foundation Program gives you a furnished apartment or a villa, depending on family size and availability. My friends (couple and 2 kids) had a 3-bedroom place in a high-rise tower with lots of Western expats, mirrored by another tower for government employees. It was OK except that the kitchen seemed remarkably short of cabinets, and the landlord's taste in furniture was a bit garish.

At my interview I was told most apt. buildings were only 7 or 8 stories high, and that there was a shortage of villas. Yes, I was clearly informed I would pay utilities, and that apartments were desirable for this reason.

My friends at QU mentioned that a bunch of teachers who had been given villas last year had to relocate. Not sure what the story is.

Things for kids to do? Well, there didn't seem to be a lot of variety but there were plenty of activities through the schools and hotels. In fact, my friends were at a school performance right across the street from where the bomb went off. It was unnerving to think we'd met some of the Doha Players right by the elevator in their high-rise.
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Hector_Lector



Joined: 20 Apr 2004
Posts: 548

PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2005 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was unnerving meeting the Doha Players years ago.

And lionbrian, �the number of your family�s members�? That sounds very unnerving.
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squirk



Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 7:24 pm    Post subject: Re: Housing at Qatar U.? Reply with quote

Kaspar Hauser wrote:
Hi,

Can anyone tell me about the housing for new hires at QU?

On a compound?

Recreational facilities?

What's it like for kids? Is there stuff to do?

That and any other helpful info about schools and family concerns would be much appreciated.

Pleeease answer. I've been offered a job by QU, but they sure don't tell you much about the place. I don't want to arrive there with my wife and kids and find out I've made a mistake.

Thanks!

Housing for most newbies is a huge compound one hour or more away from the campus. There are about 100 villas and more than 200 apartments which means over 1,000 people live there. There is a mosque, swimming pool, shoddy clubhouse and some kind of nursery school. There are teenage hoodies hanging around at night disturbing the peace, negiligent parents who let their kids run wild in the streets and if you live in an apartment, you can smell what your neighbors are cooking and when they're having a fight. Some people are taking the housing allowance and moving out but they have to furnish their new place and sign a lease. A big risk but for some it's worth it for the peace and quiet. The traffic on the way to work is unbelievable. Crazy crazy drivers who sometimes don't even stop at the light but just push through. There is radar and cameras everywhere but these guys all have relatives in the police so they get their fines deleted. If you are really lucky, you get to live in a compound near the university but there aren't so many places there and they seem to save them for their friends.
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battleshipb_b



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 189

PostPosted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe you'll find your answers here.
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thursday12



Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Posts: 93

PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Al Zuhoor was not a nice place ta live. If ya get a chance, ask fer one of the villas out in Garafa. Dey got 5 or 6 Bin Nasser Compounds - close ta campus. Jest better not ta even consider dis place. Head ta da UAE!
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lollaerd



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 337

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My girlfriend had friends who lived at Al Zuhoor. While not perfect, it is one of the better places for teachers in this country to live. They get three bedroom apartments - even single teachers - so not a bad deal in my book.
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idaho_potato



Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Much better than average.
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battleshipb_b



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 189

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

According to my friends, the QU housing situation is dire. There is a major shortage of accommodation and with over 60 new teachers joining the QU staff in September; there is no place to put them as new accommodation has not been finalized. Teachers who arrived last September were promised accommodation in a new compound (whereabouts unknown) but that never materialized. Most new teachers (including families) ended up being housed for 6 or more months in that monstrous dinosaur-like structure, Ezdan Towers an apartment hotel complex near the Corniche. Known for poky studio apartments and one beds of very strange and impractical design, long creepy dark corridors, peeping-tom residents and elevator Romeos trying their luck with single women (of all ages!) , this is certainly not the place to house the people that teach national students.

Some teachers were eventually moved to the Al Zuhoor aka Al Mirqab compound that used to be heavily criticized abut now seems like residential paradise (according to one guy) at the Irish Harp. He said there are still some teachers stuck in Ezdan who have now been told they can�t move to Al Mirqab because they are single. That's a bad deal!

It looks like the incoming batch is also going to end up being housed in this place of ill-repute until suitable housing is assigned � but when is the question new QU teachers have been asking. A new rule has also affected new teachers � single people are not supposed to be housed in the Al Mirqab Compound (1/3 of whose residents happen to be single).

While new teachers at CCQ get housed in luxury apartments in the new West Bay Business Area, (I've been in one - great place!) these unlucky guys have to stay in horrific Ezdan. There are worse places to live, but this complex has over 1000 apartments so you can imagine what kind of shenanigans go on here. The housing dept at QU should provide decent accommodation for its teachers and not expect them to live in a place where they have to put up with all kinds of weirdos (not including myself).

I spent an R &R with an ex Saudi buddy at Ezdan who was housed there for a while. Horrible place and putting females at risk is unacceptable. One thing about the Magic Kingdom is that they take good care of single women's safety.
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jiyu



Joined: 18 Nov 2010
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

battleshipb_b wrote:
According to my friends, the QU housing situation is dire. There is a major shortage of accommodation and with over 60 new teachers joining the QU staff in September; there is no place to put them as new accommodation has not been finalized. Teachers who arrived last September were promised accommodation in a new compound (whereabouts unknown) but that never materialized. Most new teachers (including families) ended up being housed for 6 or more months in that monstrous dinosaur-like structure, Ezdan Towers an apartment hotel complex near the Corniche. Known for poky studio apartments and one beds of very strange and impractical design, long creepy dark corridors, peeping-tom residents and elevator Romeos trying their luck with single women (of all ages!) , this is certainly not the place to house the people that teach national students.

Some teachers were eventually moved to the Al Zuhoor aka Al Mirqab compound that used to be heavily criticized abut now seems like residential paradise (according to one guy) at the Irish Harp. He said there are still some teachers stuck in Ezdan who have now been told they can�t move to Al Mirqab because they are single. That's a bad deal!

It looks like the incoming batch is also going to end up being housed in this place of ill-repute until suitable housing is assigned � but when is the question new QU teachers have been asking. A new rule has also affected new teachers � single people are not supposed to be housed in the Al Mirqab Compound (1/3 of whose residents happen to be single).

While new teachers at CCQ get housed in luxury apartments in the new West Bay Business Area, (I've been in one - great place!) these unlucky guys have to stay in horrific Ezdan. There are worse places to live, but this complex has over 1000 apartments so you can imagine what kind of shenanigans go on here. The housing dept at QU should provide decent accommodation for its teachers and not expect them to live in a place where they have to put up with all kinds of weirdos (not including myself).

I spent an R &R with an ex Saudi buddy at Ezdan who was housed there for a while. Horrible place and putting females at risk is unacceptable. One thing about the Magic Kingdom is that they take good care of single women's safety.


I'm meant to be going to Doha next week and they're going to be putting me in Ezdan (I don't know for how long). All this description sounds terrible - as do the descriptions on TripAdvisor. It sounds like an awful place. Should i put my foot down and refuse to go there? The location, though seems nice and apparently it's attached to a mall. Is that right?

I'm a single female and will be coming there for a visiting faculty position at Qatar U for 1 year. Ezdan, however, doesn't sound like an ideal place for single females. This whole trip has been a nightmare. Sometimes I wish they hadn't offered me the position!

Anyone else know more about the place?
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jiyu wrote:
This whole trip has been a nightmare. Sometimes I wish they hadn't offered me the position!

However, you certainly could have said no.
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nfig77



Joined: 20 Jun 2011
Posts: 52
Location: ITB Research Facility in Shenzhen

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:20 pm    Post subject: Housing shortage Reply with quote

...

Last edited by nfig77 on Thu Jan 15, 2015 7:20 am; edited 2 times in total
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