Kuwait Vs Qatar.. any opinions please??

qatar...

It is better if you do a research and find out what you would like to have in the city you moving too. Qatar is rising economically but it might not be a good fit in terms of employment packages.

I believe teachers in Kuwait are getting decent packages in comparison with GCC countries, it is usually includes residency, transportation, health insurance..etc.

You also may compare the expenses in both cities, Kuwait is considered as an affordable city compared to Dubai. In Kuwait, you usually make more than what you can spend, unlike Dubai or Qatar for instance.

Well, when it comes to night life, Kuwait has none. While other cities, got more to offer. Well, there is a lot to compare, if you perhaps write a list of what you wish to have in your destination or what matters the most to you, it would be easier to point which city would be better for that case.

Plus and minus for both.  If pay and benefits are more or less equal for both locations, I would personally pick Qatar.  I've lived in Kuwait for about 4 years, have visited most of the countries in the GCC, and to be honest, Kuwait isn't the most desirable.  No, I DO like it here...the culture, the food, making new friends both Western and local but, you will find that Qatar is a bit more laid back, a little less restrictive, a bit more Western....and unfortunately for Kuwait, cleaner.  It just seems that Kuwait is more cluttered and messy then most of the rest of the countries in the GCC.  Maybe it is because that Kuwait isn't generally a tourist destination such as Oman, the UAE, or even Qatar.  I suppose with more open tourism, there is more incentive to keep up appearances.  Best of luck !!

Hi all.. thanks for your comments, any answers to the following would be greatly appreciated:
-Any idea what the housing in salmiya is like generally, is there a beach nearby?
-What clothing are women expected to wear, would i need to be well covered at all times?
-How much is it to join health clubs, and do they have creche facilities?
-I keep reading there's not much to do, what can you recommend suitable for families?
-How much is it to rent a car?
-How much is it roughly for a weekend in Dubai/Abu Dhabi?

Many Thanks.

I cannot answer all the questions but here is what I know.

-Any idea what the housing in salmiya is like generally, is there a beach nearby?
Yes. There is a beach nearby, the closer you are to Marina Mall the closer the beach is (swimming beach). Other parts of the beach in Salmya, is not allowed for swimming.

-What clothing are women expected to wear, would i need to be well covered at all times?
This question was asked before and here is a link to the thread with the answers from different opinions https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=30234

-How much is it to join health clubs, and do they have creche facilities?
Not very sure; but it can start from 30KD/Month and goes up till 80KD/Month. Depending on the health club .. etc. Other part of the question, am not very postive what you mean. Sorry.

-I keep reading there's not much to do, what can you recommend suitable for families?
Yes, there is kind of nothing much to do. As for recommend, cafes, beach walks, shopping malls, theaters, cinemas, swimming pools, diving centers, out dinning. Hmm that's what i can think of..

-How much is it to rent a car?
Daily rent starts from 10KD for a small sedan or you can go with monthly rent which is a one or two years contract. Costs from 150 and goes up to 200 for regular sedan cars.

-How much is it roughly for a weekend in Dubai/Abu Dhabi?
Luxury hotel including air fare and nightlife = 250KD the very Max
Or Regular hotel including airfare = 150 KD the very max

Well, I guess that is it. Please don't hesitate to post more questions if you have any.

Cheers,

syndilou wrote:

Hi all.. thanks for your comments, any answers to the following would be greatly appreciated:
-Any idea what the housing in salmiya is like generally, is there a beach nearby?
-What clothing are women expected to wear, would i need to be well covered at all times?
-How much is it to join health clubs, and do they have creche facilities?
-I keep reading there's not much to do, what can you recommend suitable for families?
-How much is it to rent a car?
-How much is it roughly for a weekend in Dubai/Abu Dhabi?

Many Thanks.

syndilou wrote:

Hi Im 26 years old and considering moving to Kuwait or Qatar, as my partner has been offered a teaching post in both cities.
Any advice would be appreciated, we have a 3 year old son.
Many Thanks.

Kuwait would be the last place I would take my partner if you wanted to have a safe, pleasant and drama free life. I have worked in both Kuwait and Qatar, and there is no comparisan. Qatar is semi-open and stable, with a more friendly western population and government, and you can even get a drink there without paying $200 a bottle on the black market to rich greedy kuwaity families who import the stuff in their private jets and yachts. There are 100 other good reasons never to set foot in Kuwait, many of them relate to the political instability, the inequality of women, the bribery and corrupt system, the rediculously dangerous traffic etc etc......Qatar, is the choice even its small, its more civilised......

@northshore: Your feedback is appreciated but it's really not constructive and a lot of what you said is based on personal experience. For instance, Alcohol is illegal in Kuwait and if you plan to buy it on the black market you should expect to get ripped off. It is almost the case with buying anything from a black market in any part of the world.

Now apparently you have had a bad experience somehow which I can see is likely to happen to a lot of people. Yet, I know expats that moved to Kuwait several years ago and they cannot be happier. I agree though that traffic is crazy and people drive like maniacs but again that's the case in other GCC countries as well. In fact, if you refer to “deadliest countries to drive in” from the OECD you will be surprised that most EU countries, Korea, China, Turkey, Russia and USA all rank higher than Kuwait. This is a ratio comparison in case you are wondering

As for corruption, I also agree that there is a lot of that but it's not only Kuwait. Same thing is there in Qatar, UAE and Bahrain it's just differs from area to another and users affected. There are plenty of facts you can look up online in that regard, if you are searching into knowing more about which is more corrupt then use facts published online that will help you realize where Qatar and Kuwait fall in the ranking

Thankyou for your opinions, We have decided on Kuwait!
@ Mo.Mughrabi: your reply was very helpful and much appreciated, Im sure ill be back for more info, Thanks.

I Qatar

I think kuwait is better

In Asian Cup 2011. Qatar Defeated Kuwait.

Qatar 3-0 Kuwait.

Mohammedalkhater wrote:

In. Asian Cup 2011. Qatar Defeated Kuwait 3-0.

@syndilou I have a nearly 3 year old and new born and have been here for nearly 2 months. We have found plenty to do and met quite a few expats - lots from UK and US with little ones. Feel free to message me for details and I am happy to give you a hand when you arrive. I am in Salmiya.

many thanks for being ever so helpful lleela but this post is older than your new born (congratulations btw )

Ha! I didn't even notice it was so old! Thanks for letting me know

Hi,
I know this is a very old thread. But since im moving soon to kuwait I'm wondering if you'd let me know how did you find it so far.

Is it as boring and miserable as everybody seems to picture it? Any feedback would be really appreciated 😊

Hello Ma'am! I have been living in Kuwait for the last 18 years plus and have never been to Qatar. So I can only offer feedback about Kuwait.

What I would like to say is that you will have to make out of it what you want to make of it. If you look for, there is a lot to do in Kuwait too. There are a lot of leisure activities that you can do provided you take the effort to find out about them. Leisure parks are located at many places like Shaab, Ahmadi, Salmiya, Fahaheel, Messila, Doha etc. There are also different clubs that offer memberships for leisure and adventure sports acclivities.

There are a lot of self-help and community groups that you can find on this forum as well as volunteer activity groups that you can associate with to further your passion or keep yourself busy with something you feel may be worthwhile to do.

In a nutshell, seek and explore and reach out for whatever your heart and mind will feel for. I am sure you will find here what you are seeking.

Good Luck and welcome aboard.***

Thanks Ayyaz1972... you sure made things seem much more optimistic. This volunteering work thing you mention- "volunteer activity groups that you can associate with to further your passion or keep yourself busy with something you feel may be worthwhile to do"- really interests me especially that I am a stay at home mom and would really like to engage in such enriching and fulfilling  activities without having to commit to fixed working hours. If you do have more details I would really appreciate if you could share them with me.

Thanks again ☺

Hi Judy80,
how do you like it so far??
I will move from France to Kuwait with my kids as well in AUGUST 2016 (I have four kids aged 9 to 4).
I would love to exchange with  you on the subject.
Do you live in Salmyia? Whereabouts? do you like it there?

Salmiya is pretty close to the water but unless you pay to use a private beach then you can't actually swim there unless you'er fully covered.
You do not have to be fully covered but the law requires modesty so to avoid any problems its best to wear looser clothing and cover your knees and shoulders.
Health clubs are quite expensive but usually are quite nice
Family activities are available but the problem is the cost of things.
Renting a car is fine if you do not have residency but if you have residency then you need a Kuwaiti license and well that is a chaotic process i'm not even going to touch
As for Dubai well it can be relatively cheap to fly but Dubai itself is expensive so it's typically a treat.

Hope that helps

PS I wouldn't advise coming to Kuwait

Salmiya is pretty close to the water but unless you pay to use a private beach then you can't actually swim there unless you'er fully covered.
You do not have to be fully covered but the law requires modesty so to avoid any problems its best to wear looser clothing and cover your knees and shoulders.
Health clubs are quite expensive but usually are quite nice
Family activities are available but the problem is the cost of things.
Renting a car is fine if you do not have residency but if you have residency then you need a Kuwaiti license and well that is a chaotic process i'm not even going to touch
As for Dubai well it can be relatively cheap to fly but Dubai itself is expensive so it's typically a treat.

Hope that helps

PS I wouldn't advise coming to Kuwait

Kuwait is much better than Qatar. Kuwait is more liberal and open minded. There is more gender equality and females working.

Covering your shoulders and knees is not required by law. Many Kuwaiti girls and expat women do not cover their shoulders or knees. Tank tops are common in Kuwait. If you head over to the Avenues mall, you will likely see tank tops or women in skirts above the knee.

At many professional workplaces in Kuwait City, there are female workers wearing skirts above the knee to work.

Kuwait is more open and liberal than Qatar. Kuwait is the most democratic country in the region.

Why wouldn't you advise coming to Kuwait??
Relocating there soon and wonder why you are saying this.!
Thank you

Lizven35 wrote:

Why wouldn't you advise coming to Kuwait??
Relocating there soon and wonder why you are saying this.!

Isn't it pointless to worry about this if you are already relocating? The thread is about Kuwait vs Qatar, so to answer your question, what are you comparing Kuwait to? Point is, we are all here because at the moment we don't have better opportunities, and there are many that are way worse than Kuwait.

I think that there's nothing to be worry about , kuwait and Qatar are very beautiful countries.
Kuwait is an open- minded country , it's just that there's not much to do , there are some places that you would like if you visit " tripadvisor " , and there are many malls in here , the avenues is very popular large  mall ,   you would find everything u need there , but i advise you to go to it early in the morning or in the evening ,  because it's  slightly  crouded in the night .
Hope you have a nice stay here .  😊

Interesting to see this thread revived just as I returned to my first visit to Qatar this weekend.

Now I have been to all the gulf countries and as always I was paying special attention to the state of things in Qatar that bother me in Kuwait.

Granted, I was there for two days only, but I was going around a lot. What I noticed is:

- While I mostly don't dare going out in Kuwait on weekend afternoons, I took a chance and drove around Doha on Friday evening. No craziness, pushy drivers and endless car horns going off. It looked almost normal, even with all the construction going on.

- I haven't seen a single wreck by the side of the road.

- People stop (!) when entering the roundabout.

- People don't block the road lanes waiting for the bakala boy to deliver their stuff.

- Bike lanes! :-D I am willing to trade Kuwait "open-mindedness" for this any day.

Downside? Finding a fuel station anywhere near the airport is a bitch.

My 20 fils...

Would you say a weekend is enough to explore qatar? What were your favourite spots/attractions?

For main attractions definitely, I'd say. We wanted to visit Zubarah fort on the north of the peninsula, but as it is not too old, and it was unclear what the Friday opening hours were and whether the archaeological site is opened to visitors we gave up on the idea for the moment.

Museum of Islamic Arts is fascinating and definitely a must see. They had a visiting exhibition of Chinese culture, and I had an unexpected opportunity to see some of the famous clay soldier statues first hand.

Souq is nice, Falcon Souq probably being the most interesting.

The whole city is one big construction site, I think in a few years it will be dramatically different. And yes, they are building a Metro.

Nice, glad you had a good time. Thanks

I know this is an old post, but there have been things happening recently which I believe should be included in this discussion. First, there has been a huge split between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and Kuwait has become the moderator to try to bring the GCC countries back in line. From what I understand, the argument is between the new crown prince of KSA
, who is implementing huge cultural changes in his country ( think rock concerts - I kid you not!) and the fact that Qatar continues to support fundamentalist Islamic factions like the Muslim Brotherhood is one of the points involved in problems between the two countries.

I'm sure there must be many more issues at play, but some very good Kuwaiti friends explained this part to me, and I know them as honest  and kind Kuwaitis.

Hey all! I've read the whole post from the beginning to the end and its interesting how the opinions are quite different (also because the length of years from beginning of post)

Basically I have a job offer in Kuwait and another in Qatar. Both similar roles. The kuwait offer is of 1400 kd monthly, 20% off some retail brands and one air ticket every 2 years (no other benefits).
The Qatar offer is of 45k sterling with private health insurance and a yearly air ticket.
Now my questions are: where can I save the most money?? I'm a single professional who would rent a one bedroom apartment and not after an extravagant lifestyle, however I like living comfortably so I wont be stingy either lol I cook and not a shopaholic, I like outdoor activities and I understand there arent many in Kuwait, unlike Qatar that may offer a bit more.

Opinions on where i'd be able to save the most in foreign currencies, euro/sterling as i'm originally from europe and the uk (mixed)
I'm mainly relocating to be able to save the most I can in the least time possible

Many thanks in advance

Hello Nutellina,

There is a general consensus that it is easier to save in Kuwait, mostly because there are less opportunities to spend money on. However this is also changing. It is also irrelevant if you are the type of person who can control his/her spending.
I also believe that at the moment property rental cost in Qatar is higher then here.

I thing the deciding factor should be which of the two jobs you would enjoy more as the conditions offered are pretty similar. I would lean a bit towards Qatar as they will soon offer a proper public transport and have a direct flight connection to a lot of destinations from Hamad airport, unlike Kuwait.

Thanks Robisom!!