In my last post, I was a bit stressed about having to decide on our housing. Our choice was between a 2 bedroom apartment on the campus of Eduction City (where A will be working) or a 3 bedroom apartment in a high rise (brand new) hotel/apartment building downtown (30-45 minute drive). Initially I went with the space. The extra bedroom was pretty essential for our home school/toy room. We weren't provided much information about either place and needed to make a decision by this morning (actually Qatar morning, which was about 1 am our time). We got the information on Thursday and needed to make a decision by 1am Sunday. The Muslim work week is Sunday through Thursday and the month of Ramadan began over the weekend, so we weren't able to communicate at all with the HR person about our housing.
I was fairly stressed over the weekend about it, but in the end we decided we'd live downtown, have the extra space (A would have transportation provided to work and back), and see about moving/rearranging/replacing some of the "hotel" like furnishings to make it more homey and to provide us that school/guest/play space we were going for.
I should provide a disclaimer that we are currently selling our home that has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a large living room, family room, full finished basement, and very large fenced outdoor space. It is far to large for us and we really only bought this place because my mother was living with us. That said, we are used to the space and it's hard to see yourself living in a place with a couple thousand less square feet. We want something smaller for sure, but just weren't sure a jump down to two bedrooms and no extra spaces would work with two kids (opposite gender), home schooling, and visitors.
(If you know anyone looking for a GREAT home at a great value in Ft. Wayne, IN... send them over!)
A and I were up until 1:00 this morning waiting for a reply from the HR lady on some questions we'd posed to her about the housing, but we didn't get the e-mail. Of course, with my difficulties falling asleep, I was checking e-mails until about 3:00... I was very nervous about living in the hotel, I was nervous about A having to be on the road that much, I just wasn't settled about our decision to live in the hotel residence. We woke up around 7 to an e-mail from the HR lady explaining that we were unable to change out or rearrange the furnishings at the hotel (a deal breaker for me - I want to make it our home). Shortly after, we received another e-mail from one of the teachers at the school where A will be teaching! YES! A first hand account of life in Qatar in Education City!! He and his wife have a 3-month old and are VERY happy living in EC. They felt their apartment was very spacious and that they were well taken care of.
We were so glad to hear from someone living in Qatar and in the same apartments that we were trying to decide whether or not to live in. We messaged back with a few more questions and he offered to skype and show us the apartment. What an amazing thing technology is! We were able to skype both he and his wife (and their adorable baby), see the apartment, hear a first hand account of life in EC, ask questions. After seeing the apartment, we are certain that living there will be the right choice. The apartment is spacious, large living spaces, good sized bedrooms, a large storage closet (room), and a good size hallway space (that will work for play stuff). He was very encouraging about life in EC. There are apparently a TON of families from all over the world with loads of kids for P and M to play with. The rec center hosts a lot of classes for children of all ages in music, art, PE etc. There are large play areas and a great community feel and we can make it a home, which is highly encouraged.
We are much more at peace with a decision to live at EC, we've sent in our request and will be living in Education City next year. We can move into a 3 bedroom if one becomes available, we can move. At this point though, I never want to move again.
Thanks to everyone who gave advice toward our decision. It helped to hear from friends who have made this type of move with kids, friends who have had long commutes, and just encouraged in general. I hope to sleep well tonight!
Oh, and the teacher we were able to talk to put me in contact with a couple of other teachers who are gluten free! I'm loving technology today.
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