MomOfABunch Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I'm seriously considering a business opportunity in the Middle East and would like to hear about experiences from people who have lived or are living there. I have lots of questions about daily life and other little things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I can ask some on your behalf to my husband's aunt - she and her family spent most of the last three decades with oil companies in Dubai, Egypt, the UAE, etc. He still goes over to Egypt every three weeks for a rotation, and she raised her three daughters mostly abroad while teaching ESL classes in the countries in which they lived. What kind of things would you like to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Give me three weeks and I'll be there! I've lived in the Middle East before but never the Gulf so I'm excited. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfABunch Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 Amira, that's exciting! Where are you moving to? Arctic Mama, thank you! We're looking at Doha right now. I guess most of my questions are about setting up for the kids, what kinds of materials are available locally for their schoolwork and details like that. Should I plan out their curriculum and bring it all from the states? I've gotten pretty spoiled with Amazon prime. I'm assuming that I would lose that convenience. My high schooler has been doing AP and CLEP tests. Can he continue to do those? How will he do the tests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 AP tests (and possibly CLEP tests) can usually be taken at an international school. Doha will have several options and the American School of Doha will probably be your best bet. My oldest has taken various tests at international schools. Sometimes it's possible to do them at the embassy but a school is a better choice. Homeschooling without Amazon can be more challenging, but if the American School will allow you to use their library, it would make a huge difference. It's not uncommon to allow that. Between those two things, I'd recommend starting with the American School of Doha to find out what they can do for you. We've rarely found good English schooling resources anywhere we've been except at an international school library so you might need to bring the most important things with you. We've homeschooled in places with far fewer resources than the Gulf has and it's doable, especially with good internet access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi mum Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We returned home a year ago after five years in Doha. I'm happy to pm with more information. I can also put you onto my friend who runs the homeschool group there and has lots of connections which may be helpful to you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We were in Oman, and it was a while ago, so it might be different, but I'd say daily life was the same, except conducted in T-shirts and long pants / skirt (i.e. no shorts or sleeveless tops - people did it but it was looked down on). Only one shop carried pork products, and it was kept in a separate room. Only one store had alcohol and you needed a special license to buy. Book Depository would probably be your cheapest option for books, but I used to get deliveries from Rainbow Resource Center and Amazon with no problem (except expense). Dubai was the nearest Ikea to us (good for cheap temporary furniture), but there were furniture stores where we were, and plenty available second hand because so many people were there short term. Lots of amazing handcrafted furniture from India. All the leading clothes brands, although mainly European. If you have children, not being connected with a school could be isolating, because a lot of social connections are built through schools, but if Doha has a good homeschooling network, that might be different. Oman didn't and the one homeschooler I contacted was very dismissive of me as a mother of a preschooler, so I enrolled dd in an IB school, which was a fantastic experience. She got an incredible exposure to people from all over the world - 17 countries were represented in her class of 22 (taking into account parents). We had a very happy, easy life there for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Book Depository ships to Qatar for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfABunch Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 Thank you so much for all this information! If makes me feel 100% better knowing that I can still use Amazon, even if I have to pay shipping. Kiwi mom, yes, I would be very greatful for that contact! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi mum Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We are just headed away for the weekend and not sure if i will have internet access, but I should be able to get back to you Saturday night (your time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 My sister lives in Doha. I you want to PM me your email address, I can introduce the two of you. She has younger kiddos-- 7 and 5 yr olds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Thank you so much for all this information! If makes me feel 100% better knowing that I can still use Amazon, even if I have to pay shipping. Kiwi mom, yes, I would be very greatful for that contact! Just to say that it almost always works out cheaper to use Book Depository for books rather than Amazon. Compare a few times to confirm if that's true for yourself, though. Many people will also use one of the forwarding companies that give you a US or UK address so that you can receive orders from places that don't ship internationally (outside of booksany Amazon products don't ship to us here in Australia, for example). You will quickly learn the best way to do things through the expat grapevine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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