Advice Bahrain or Qatar?

Financial packages aside, personally, I would always prefer Bahrain over Qatar.   It is much more relaxed and open vs. Qatar.  Also cheaper and the locals are much nicer here.   And I have lived in most of the countries of the GCC so it is a thought out comparison, not a preference .

Thanks so much for this reply. I really appreciate it. Does Bahrain have good doctors and hospitals also? I’m having a baby in February and I remember that the hospitals and doctors in Dubai were a bit hit and miss. Look forward to hearing from you.

Yes it does.

Hi,

I've been living in both countries for several years and I have to say: XTang is absolutely right.
Based on the assumption that your salary would be similar in both countries, Bahrain has a lot more to offer than Qatar. Accommodation is up to 50% cheaper in Bahrain and there are much more vacancies here to choose from. The Bahrainis are more "feet on the ground", you will also find local taxi drivers here (you'd never find a Qatari driving taxi). Both countries have great restaurants and hotels where you can enjoy dinner or Friday brunch but you can also have delicious Indian food at small eateries for very few dollars.

However, as always, there are also a few things on the negative side, of course. For example, I personally consider Qatar the more beautiful country where you have more options for weekend activities. You could drive into the desert and hang out at the Inland Sea all day, or you could drive to the "Movie City" and watch ostriches and wild Oryx's, just to mention a few. Doha also has a beautiful corniche road and is generally more modern.

Please do also not forget that both countries are MUCH less open regarding their Anti-Corona measures than Dubai! In Bahrain you cannot enter a mall without certification of vaccination or recovery anymore which even limits your options to buy food drastically if not vaccinated! I (who won't accept these vaccines anytime soon) can do my shoppings in Juffair in only ONE supermarket now instead of 5 options I had before!
I don't know if this fact is relevant for you but I believe it's something to be considered.

Good luck with your decision!

Good comments from poppy01.   I fully agree.

One point is really interesting i.e. here in Bahrain, you will have locals being food delivery people, mechanics, taxi drivers etc.....basically any and all menial professions which you won't find locals doing in any GCC country - with the exception of Bahrain and Oman (and now to some extent, Saudi).   This means that they are more down to earth and easier to interact with.  In my personal experience (and I am not generalizing), the best locals are Bahrainis and Omanis whereas the rudest are Kuwaitis (by far) followed by Qataris.

Qatar is much more modern and is being set up in the style of Dubai.  But in my experience, that usually leads to an element of feeling like you are in a theme park i.e. not feeling real.  Of course, the positive side of that is that you have a lot more entertainment options as poppy mentioned.

The other element is tolerance.  Bahrain is a lot more tolerant (and before UAE relaxed some rules), it was one of the few countries in the Middle East where you could purchase alcohol for personal use without a license i.e. online delivery, shops etc.  Now I am not sure about Qatar today but in my day there, you could only go to a few luxury places to drink and if you wanted to purchase alcohol for consumption in the home, you had to have a liquor permit.

That mindset of tolerance extends to all things.  For example, during the worst of the Corona crisis, Bahrain was the only country in the GCC that treated citizens and residents the same i.e. both could enter without issue - while everyone else was only letting citizens enter.

Hi,
Thanks for this post, I have been here for 5 mos now and was ‘almost’ considering to try Qatar. But I have been told, most people prefer to stay here and been here longer, more relaxed. Been in UAE for 13 yrs, I just missed the beaches.