The State of Unemployment and Economic Growth in Doha (and honestly, my brain feels like scrambled eggs)
okay, so, like, Doha. it’s… a thing. i’ve been here three weeks, fueled by lukewarm coffee and the vague promise of ‘opportunity’ - which, let’s be real, feels a lot like ‘expensive rent and slightly bewildered stares.’ i’m a freelance illustrator, which means ‘opportunity’ translates to ‘constantly pitching to people who don’t understand the value of a good doodle.’
seriously, the weather’s been… weird. it’s like a permanent July, but with a slight chance of a sandstorm that smells vaguely of burnt tires and regret. it’s not bad, per se, just… persistent. you can practically feel the heat radiating off the concrete. it’s a short flight to Muscat, Oman - that place is all turquoise water and ancient forts, which is a nice change of pace, honestly. and then there’s Abu Dhabi, a whole other level of bling and, you know, more heat.
I’ve been digging into the numbers, and it’s… not great. according to Bayt.com, the unemployment rate in Qatar is hovering around 9.7% - that’s a lot. And yeah, the cost of living? Let’s just say my bank account is weeping. I found this breakdown on Numbeo - https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ - and it’s brutal. Rent for a decent studio? Minimum $2,500 a month. Groceries? Like, $800 a month just to eat. Coffee? Don’t even get me started. I’m pretty sure I’m surviving solely on dates and the sheer terror of being broke.
I spoke to Omar, who runs a small electronics repair shop near Souq Waqif. He’s a local, been here for 20 years. He said, and I quote, "The government’s pushing for diversification, you know? Less oil, more… stuff. But it’s slow. Lots of expats, lots of promises, not a lot of actual jobs for us. The young guys, they’re frustrated. They want to start businesses, but it’s hard to get funding, hard to navigate the bureaucracy. It’s like trying to build a sandcastle in a hurricane."
Speaking of bureaucracy, I tried to register my freelance business. It’s a process. A process. I ended up spending three hours in a building that smelled faintly of old paperwork and despair. Someone told me, and I swear this is true, "Just pay the right people, and everything will be fine." It’s the kind of advice you get when you’re drowning in paperwork and caffeine. I’ve checked out some Reddit threads about starting businesses in Qatar - https://www.reddit.com/r/Doha/ - and it seems like everyone’s just winging it. Which, honestly, is probably the only way to survive.
I also stumbled across a TripAdvisor review for the Pearl-Qatar mall: "Overpriced, crowded, and you’ll spend more on shopping than you realize. But the fountain show is pretty decent."
Okay, one more thing. I found this Yelp page for some shawarma places - https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=shawarma&sort_by=relevance - and I’m pretty sure I’ve found my lifeline. Seriously, the shawarma here is… transcendent. It’s the only thing keeping me going.
And finally, a local warned me about the traffic. Apparently, rush hour is a biblical plague. "Don’t even think about leaving your house between 5 and 8 pm," he said. "Just… don’t."
So yeah, Doha. It’s complicated. It’s expensive. It’s… something. I’m still figuring it out. Maybe I’ll start a blog about it. Or maybe I’ll just keep drawing doodles and eating shawarma. Either way, I’m here. And slightly exhausted.
You might also be interested in:
- https://topiclo.com/post/the-real-cost-of-utilities-and-bills-in-ubungo-and-why-it-feels-like-a-game-of-survival
- https://topiclo.com/post/networking-events-and-professional-communities-in-sofia-my-sleepdeprived-survival-guide
- https://topiclo.com/post/maturn-parks-schools-and-the-truth-about-family-life
- https://topiclo.com/post/job-market-analysis-most-indemand-careers-in-johannesburg-and-why-you-should-rethink-everything
- https://topiclo.com/post/nizhny-novgorod-in-a-messy-afternoon