Do you like it there/here?

I get this question a lot, amongst others. It is either from someone back home or from other expats. I almost want to laugh when I get asked it. Not because it’s not a legitimate question, but because knowing me if I didn’t like it here, I would have been gone long ago!

Why do I like here? That is harder to answer. There are also days where I wonder why I live here, but I have felt that way about many places I have lived.

I like living here because every day I interact with people from all over the world. A few weekends ago I had breakfast with friends from four different countries! (New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and the Philippines) By the end of breakfast we were talking about the kinds of roadkill we have in our home countries!!

Travel! Seems cliché, but it’s true. It is one of the main reasons for me to move abroad. I can travel easier from here than if I was living in the U.S.  Rome is a four-hour flight away. London is about six. India is three hours. I could go on. Plus, I can afford it now. I was lucky if I got to leave the state of Texas before I came here.

Qatar is growing every day and I am getting to see it all. Not all of it is fun, but still I can say I came to Qatar before the World Cup did. I was also lucky enough to see some of the famous roundabout monuments before they tore them down. Qatar has changed so much since I arrived. Even when I came back from Christmas, there were changes. (I was only gone 12 days!)

I actually like the weather the here. Not that it is much different from Texas in the summer. However, I specifically left New York City for this reason. I enjoy snow about every 5 years now, not every month in every year in winter. Right now the temperature is about 77 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and in the low 60s to upper 50s during the day. It is lovely. Of course, I am now a wimp when it comes to cold and need a jacket if it dips below 70!

The things to do here. Yes, there are things to do here. Unlike when I lived on the small island of Grand Turk, which is 7 miles long and about 1 mile wide.  My favorite thing is to go to Souq Waqif at night and people watch. So many cultures meet there. I am sure we are all watching each other. The Souq is the traditional market in a middle eastern country. You can buy just about anything there including a falcon. My other favorite thing to do here is to go to the water be it the beach or the mangroves. In fact, I am heading to the mangroves this weekend!

Why do you like about where you live?