'I escaped the rainy UK to tax-free Qatar - both life and the weather is much better'

A young woman who left Britain to begin afresh in Qatar insists that life in the Middle Eastis 'so much better' - and now intends to remain there permanently.

After becoming disillusioned with Britain's dreary weather and soaring living costs, Yvonne Akpofure, 29, decided to relocate to Doha, Qatar's capital and financial centre, seeking a superior and more rewarding way of life.

The solicitor and self-published writer was renting accommodation in Manchesterwhen she opted to take the leap and seek employment in the Middle East. Initially targeting Dubai but concluding it was overly 'saturated', Yvonne broadened her job hunt to include Qatar.

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A brief visit was sufficient for her to become enchanted with the destination, and after landing a position at a legal practice, she relocated in September 2024. A year on, and following an admittedly challenging initial six months adapting, Yvonne has now established herself and is thriving in her new homeland.

"I went on my first holiday to Dubai when I was 23 and I just thought 'I really love it here'. I just love being in the sun," Yvonne told the Manchester Evening News.

"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."

She added: "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 harboured thoughts of relocating to the Middle East. "The weather is the number one thing I dislike about the UK. 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.

"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."

Yvonne continued: "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."

Just months after relocating to Manchester, Yvonne experienced a change of heart. "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 explained.

While hunting for employment opportunities, Yvonne started contemplating a switch 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 revealed.

"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 her successful job application in Doha, Yvonne departed Manchester in July 2024 and returned to her family home in Surrey for two months before making her major overseas relocation in September 2024.

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However, she acknowledges the first 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 explains.

"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."

She said: "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 move to Doha, Yvonne confessed that establishing friendships proved equally demanding. "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."

Yvonne added: "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."

Despite facing challenges adjusting to her new life, Yvonne insists 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 confessed.

"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."

She continued: "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 currently renting a one-bedroom flat in Doha, and says that the property market is much less competitive than the UK, especially 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."

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Yvonne explained: "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 more budget-friendly as well, which is aided by avoiding tax payments.

"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 said. "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."

She added: "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 reveals that another major contrast between living in the UK and Doha is the healthcare system: "Every employer has to provide you with private healthcare, and the speed and convenience of it here is much better. 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 says the Middle East now feels like home. She admitted: "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."

Yvonne has recently launched her debut self-published memoir 'Wine, Weekends and What Came After' about her experiences of modern dating and importance of female friendships.

"I had all these dating stories like many other women and I just thought 'let's just put this into a book'. The more I wrote it, the more I got into it and thought 'I've got something here'."

"The book basically goes through the journey that I went on as a young woman from university until my mid 20s. There's ups and there's downs, but I've written it in a light-hearted way so that a lot of women can relate, feel like they're not alone, and laugh at all the funny stories."

She said: "It's still surreal seeing the physical copy. The response has been really positive so far, there's a lot of people that have finished the book already when it's only been out two weeks".