I am Ian Edelman.
In February 2012 I accepted a new job in Doha, Qatar. On 1 September of that year I finally departed the UK. We sold up most everything, rented out the house and put what little we kept into storage.
This was a major change of life, as my wife and I moved from south Hampshire to live over 4,000 miles away in the Arabian Gulf.
The first posts of this blog are all about the process of moving, including all the bureaucratic hurdles that needed to be crossed. It is then all about what has happened after we arrived.
We left Doha in late June 2016, after almost 4 years, to return to the UK. We now live in Totnes in Devon.
I have been back to Qatar twice since 2016, and will probably go back again in 2022. I retain a warm feeling for the country.
Ian Edelman in Doha 
September 19, 2012 at 8:44 am
I have decided to travel (vicariously) with you through the blog-hope that’s ok.
November 30, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Hi Ian,
Can you advise me who you took the trip into the desert with?
December 6, 2012 at 3:32 pm
Arabian Adventures tel 5539 6599
September 14, 2013 at 9:44 pm
Hey I am currently in the packing mode for a year long contract in Doha… as such would you wife be willing to tell me what she should have brought and didn’t? possibly even what she brought and wished she hadn’t?
September 15, 2013 at 3:40 am
Of course… we’ll email you in the next few days
January 22, 2014 at 9:17 pm
Hi Ian,
I discovered your blog a few days ago and, as someone waiting for the next stage of going to work in Qatar, have found it fascinating and so enjoyable. With all your posts, it was like finding a good book! I love all your details about day to day living and getting settled in. Am following with interest.
August 9, 2014 at 11:01 pm
As someone who moved to Doha recently, I can truly “live” every post. Perfect example- the morning ritual of going through the sparse local news in a pdf format on the iPad even though I am ardent fan of the “newsprint”!
Going to hop on the wagon, hope you don’t mind!
May 3, 2016 at 3:15 pm
You’re leaving!! I’ve been reading your sporadic posts for few years now and was taken by surprise reading that you’ve finally decided to leave. But why? It’s surely not said or hinted to in the post. Best of Luck.
The time has come to move on. New things to do and places to go… Ian