From February 2006 to July 2009, I lived in Qatar with my mother. We moved there in the middle of my junior year of high school because my mom got a new job there as a registar for an art college.  It was the first time I had ever lived overseas. Before this, I just lived in LA county (Hermosa Beach & Redondo Beach).  It took me at least the first 1.5 years to call Doha home.  I tried to learn the language, Arabic, but it was too hard to learn for me, so I ended up pretty much failing the class.  Living in Qatar, you get to see things you can't normally see living in the US, such as seeing sheep or two camels riding in the back of a pick up truck or seeing Qataris driving around in Lamborghinis.  In my opinion, Qatar is like a smaller, more cultural version of Dubai.  I'm pretty sure hotels in Qatar are less expensive then in Dubai as well.  Many expats live there.  As a matter of fact, really this is a statistical fact, there are more expats in Qatar then there are Qataris.  It's hard getting a visa in Qatar, especially if you're a woman.  If you're going to the visa office, and are a woman, bring a male friend with you and you'll get out of there much quicker.

Also to work there you need a work permit and someone to sponsor you, otherwise you'll get no luck finding a job.  All the jobs I got were volunteer jobs.  2 of them I got at the art college where my mom worked & I had to get paid under the table because the college's administration didn't allow employees' family members to get employed.  The first job I had was not at the art college.  I didn't get paid there, so my mom would pay me for the time.  This first job was as an Assistant Vet Technician at the Falcon Center, a vet clinic for falcons.  It was an interesting job.

Overall, there are almost as many downs as there are ups to living in Qatar.  I'm happy that I lived there for 3 years.  You make great friends and experience lots of new things.  Try and go at least once in your life.