Top 10 Things to Know About Qatar Before You Arrive

Top ten things that everyone needs to know before coming to Qatar:

1 - The banks still use paper transaction sheets and closing any account requires you to visit the bank in person. The bank closes between 3 and 4 pm for prayer, right around the same time that work gets out...so expect long waits!

2 - When transferring the ownership of your vehicle, the documents are prepared on a typewriter.

3 - The sewage system operates by gravity and flows through open pipes that are accessible through metal grates. The sewage is pumped out of a holding tank and taken by truck to a lake outside of the industrial area where it is dumped. Don't believe me? Too bad, I have seen it with my own two eyes and it is visible on Google Maps.

4 - Migrant workers from both Less and More Economically Developed Countries live here. So there are great discrepancies in treatment of people and the service quality provided.

5 - People drive like morons here. The posted speed limit might be 80kph and it is not uncommon to have someone pass you at nearly twice that speed. It is also normal practice to go from the fast lane to the exit.  Right across four lanes of traffic on Al Shamal Highway without using that thingy called a signal...that hardly anyone uses.

6 - Get ready to get sick. The air quality here is poor. Ranked in the top five globally, Qatar's air is loaded with small and large carcinogenic particles from the surrounding refineries. On top of that, there is a tremendous amount of dust in the air from all of the construction and desert environment. Furthermore, the air conditioning that you are exposed to for most of the year causes respiratory issues and dehydration.

7 - Poor kids. What do you do if you are a kid, perhaps even a teen in Qatar? Here are your options...go to the mall. Here is my theory.  If their options are limited, kids tend to get board. If they are board, they tend to misbehave. So, Qatar is a country full of kids who tend to misbehave. And in all honesty, shortly after typing this into my phone, three boys at Landmark Mall were running all over the place, hitting and kicking each other.  Wonderful.

8 - Your employer determines if you can leave the country. As part of the Kafala system, you are under the direct control of your employer. If you wish to go a a vacation, you must have your employer complete an Exit Permit. If they don't want you to leave, you don't leave...sort of like that place...what's it called...prison.

9 - The cost of living continues to rise. Already there is evidence of increased expenses. The first hit is making its presence known in the grocery store. With approximately 90 percent of Qatar's food coming from somewhere else, ultimately it is the consumer who has to pay the price. Qatar has plans to grow food locally, and they are, but the supply does not match the demand and growing food in the desert where temps hit 50C is perhaps just a little unsustainable over the long term. With 2 million plus people and growing, this is gonna be one expensive place to live.

10 - Global Warming and sea level rise puts Qatar in a serious situation. Billions of dollars are being spent in preparations for the 2022 World Cup, yet by 2100 this place will most likely be covered by water.