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Friends..

Doha has always rivaled Dubai in sharing the limelight and has worked hard to change its image of a 'sleepy city'. Do you think Doha will be able to reach the level of success of Dubai had enjoyed?

Check out some of the photographs of the upcoming developments in the neighborhood.

http://earsplease.blogspot.com/2010/01/ ... dubai.html

Cheers
Immo

A heads up from living and working there 4 months at start of the year in doha.

The good
They have excellent facilities built in the run up to the failed olympic bid, good race track Moto GP, also on the tennis circuit. People are as always friendly (if your arab/western). Going through red light is a something like a 5000 dirham fine so you only have to watch for saudis jumping it. If you have a family its a nice welcoming place.

The bad
There has been rolling back of secular belief. the rumour because qatari girls were found in nightclubs has now meant that unless you are a tourist you now need to register with a nightclub in advance. Bar club places are being shut down and not having licences renewed. So you only go to the ones that are part of hotel complexes.

English fiancee who is white british has pale skin and very dark hair got abuse for not wearing a headscarf in a mall toilet by an arab lady, who thought she was an arab/muslim. Arab male parent stormed into the kindergarten angrily demanding to know why 'the new arabic girl" wasn't wearing a headscarf, (phillipine and eastern europeans dont wear them only arab/muslims).

The ministries were bringing salaries into line across them as there was some differences between them i.e rent paid and a hosuing allowance on top of that, there was a mini walk out by qataris organised via face book. Obviously if expats did that you'd be on first plane home but it was interesting. Police and internal security were doing lots laps around the buildings and people went back in after no more than an hour.

Unless you wearing headscarf etc you will get creepy stared at in most malls by migrant workers, most western women inc mother with kid reported being stalked by arabic men in cars. If a woman walks on their own men will stop there cars next to you and try to start conversation/keep driving past looking at you.

Perception that a women wearing a strappy top (usually because it hot!) local women think its 'slutty' yet if you are wearing stripper shoes, long painted fingernails, crazy hallowean face make up, bling, skinny jeans but black head scarf and cloak - you are a good muslim girl.

The malls in dubai do actually say no public displays of affection but is just not enforced, in qatar it is seriously frowned upon, dont holds hand even if you are not arabic or you will get stares.

The ugly
Racist day (family day)
Some malls say that they are running a family day system, but allow single male europeans and arab nationals into the malls but bar all asians (indian/bangla/pakistani).

Souk Wakif
Again with fiancee, walking in to the souq and group of three asian guys, police/security guy walks straight towards them palm towards then telling them to go back to the car park.

Other
For test when fiance wore headscarf and black cloak she got a different reactions completly, got a discount in a shop, compliments from other ladies on her cloak. Funny moment was in the mall as after paying the shop asisstant said very slowly DO----YOU----WANT-----A-------BAG, thinking she was a local!

A bit boring and much much more racist than Dubai. My cousin, works in a middle management position at HSBC, and yet cant enter malls on "family days" unless his family is with him. Apparently all Asians, Chinese, Egyptian men cant enter malls on "family days".....

Racist city that sounds like Mississipi in 1955

Doesn't sound so good to me.

Woh...! thnx Roadtester for the story...good insights..

Thanks you every one for your comments. Don't you think Doha is a long term player as they are taking it slow and steady?

Cheers
Immo

immortal - if your a conservative muslim you will probably find Doha awesome and they are being very forward thinking as they are pumping money into creating a knowledge economy, Qatar science and technology park, international universities, etc.

They wil no doubt be able to attract great talent from the middle east and other muslim countries but im not so sure european/western talent for any length of time.