Yvonne Akpofure, 29, was renting a flat in Manchester when she decided to up sticks and move to Doha, the capital and financial hub of Qatar, in search of a better and more fulfilling lifestyle
After leaving the UK to start a new chapter in Qatar, Yvonne Akpofure says there’s one thing in particular she couldn’t stand about her old life.
The 29-year-old ditched her Manchester apartment for a flat in Doha and claims living in the Middle East is ‘so much better’. Following her frustration with Britain’s dreary weather and escalating living costs, Yvonne decided to relocate in search of a more rewarding life.
The solicitor and independent author initially dreamt of a new life in Dubai before concluding it was overly ‘saturated’. Eventually, Yvonne broadened her job hunt to include Qatar.
A brief visit was sufficient for her to become enchanted with the location, and following her appointment at a legal practice, she relocated in September 2024. Nearly a year later, Yvonne is thoroughly enjoying her existence in her new homeland.
But there’s one thing in particular that Yvonne doesn’t miss about the UK. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a reason many leave the country.
“The weather is the number one thing I dislike about the UK,” Yvonne told the the Manchester Evening News. “It rains all the time, summer lasts for about two months, and then it’s back to raining again.
“It just makes me miserable,” she confessed. Her desire to move all stems from a holiday she took six years ago.
After travelling to Dubai aged 23, she said: “I just thought ‘I really love it here’. I just love being in the sun. It was not long after Covid happened, so no one was really thinking about moving anywhere.
“I then bought a house with my friend in Surrey in 2021, so I kind of thought I was over the thought of moving abroad. But then 18 months later I got itchy feet again.
“I wanted to move but I didn’t know whether it was the right time to move abroad. I wanted to live in a city, so I thought I’d move to Manchester in the meantime.”
Yvonne started renting a flat in the city centre in September 2023, but still had thoughts of relocating to the Middle East. Just a few months later, she had a change of heart.
She added: “In my mind I thought, ‘I’ll never do it if I don’t do it now.’ The worst that could happen was I’d move, and then if I didn’t like it, I’d just come back, rather than always wondering ‘what if’,” she said.
While job hunting, Yvonne began to consider a move to Qatar. “Dubai was definitely the first choice, but where Dubai is quite saturated, I then expanded my search to other Middle East countries and Qatar was the next one that was up and coming,” she said.
“There is a big expat community and it is quite similar to Dubai. Eventually I got a job offer but they said come and visit to actually see if you actually like it, and as soon as I came over I was like ‘yeah I love it’.”
Following landing a position in Doha, Yvonne departed Manchester in July 2024 and relocated back home to Surrey for two months before her major overseas move in September 2024.
However, she admits the initial six months proved challenging. “I’ve been here nearly a year now, but the first six months were difficult. Everybody who has moved here will probably tell you the same thing,” Yvonne said.
‘The lifestyle is very different’
Yvonne revealed two more things that stood out for her in terms of a better life in the Middle East. One is another frequently used reason for departing for places like Qatar and Dubai.
She added: “The second thing is paying tax. I feel like a lot of our money goes on taxes and as a single person in particular, life can just be very very expensive.
“The third thing is the lifestyle over there, because people just spend much more time outdoors. There’s so much more that you can do when it’s sunny all the time and you never have to rely on the weather.
“The culture is just completely different to the UK, it operates very differently even just down to day-to-day things like how people drive and communicate. There are a lot of different nationalities here and English isn’t everyone’s first language so you have to navigate that.
“The working style is also very different. There’s a lot more process in the UK, whereas there’s not as much process, and as a lawyer that was quite challenging because I’m quite used to there being a rigid process.”
Following her solo relocation to Doha, Yvonne confessed that building friendships proved equally difficult. “I didn’t know anyone in Qatar which was quite tough, you have to go out of your way to meet people and make friends,” she revealed.
“I met a couple of girls through TikTok, as I saw some people posting about their move to Doha so I just commented on their videos, and some of them also did the same to me. Then there were a couple of people in the UK who saw I had moved, and said that they knew people out here, so I met some people through mutual friends.
“I also joined a run club so I met a couple of people, as well as a couple of networking events and going out.”
‘I never thought I was doing the wrong thing’
Despite having a challenging time adjusting to her relocation, Yvonne admits she never questioned her decision. “There was never a point where I was like, ‘I’ve done the wrong thing’ but I just wondered when does this actually get easier?” she said.
“That first six months was a character building experience. However, I think once you push past that and when you meet people, life becomes a lot easier.
“I was going through the motions of a new job, new place, new friends, there was a lot to adjust to and you’re overstimulated. I think there’s a lot of people that might pack it in before the six month mark because they just think ‘this is just a lot’.
“My advice is to just push past that because it does get easier. You just need to accept that things aren’t done the same way that they are in the UK.”
Yvonne is renting a one-bedroom flat in Doha, and says that the property market is much less competitive than the UK, particularly in major cities like Manchester and London. “I found the whole process much simpler compared to the UK,” Yvonne explains.
“There are a lot of apartments here, and they don’t all go really quickly. I think there is definitely more supply than demand. You can often just walk into a building and say ‘I’m looking for an apartment,’ and somebody will probably show you around, and then you go from there.
“You have to sign all of your cheques up front for 12 months which is a bit different. So here they still use chequebooks, so you give them all to the agent or landlord and then they will cash the cheques on the first of every month, and then that’s it.
“All bills are usually included. The only thing I needed to sort out was my internet but I just went to the shop and then the next day there was someone here installing it all for me.”
The solicitor also reveals that renting is typically far more budget-friendly, particularly when you factor in the absence of tax obligations. “It all depends on where you live in Doha, but to live in the nicest area of Doha in a very nice one-bed, I’d say the price is about 40 percent cheaper than a nice one-bed apartment in Manchester,” Yvonne says.
“For my apartment I pay 10,000 QAR which is around £2,000, which sounds like a lot but it is tax free so you do have more disposable income. You would also struggle to get an apartment that is of this size in Manchester.
“It’s got a really big bedroom, two bathrooms and two balconies overlooking the sea. Again this is probably the nicest part of Doha.
“You could live somewhere else that’s still really nice, but pay probably £600 less a month. Renting is definitely way more affordable here, you get much more for your money.”
Yvonne explains that another major contrast between life in the UK and Doha concerns healthcare provision. “Every employer has to provide you with private healthcare, and the speed and convenience of it here is much better,” she said.
“In the UK you might be on a waiting list to see a GP for three weeks, whereas here, they will literally book you in the same day.” The 29-year-old has returned to the UK three times since relocating to Doha, but reveals the Middle East now feels like home.
“I do have plans to stay here long term. I see myself having a life here and having a career here. I’m not sure what would bring me back to the UK now,” she admits.
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