Britons Urged To Move To This Middle Eastern State With Tax-Free Salaries and Amazing Healthcare

Forget Dubai – a new Middle East hotbed is attracting attention with all eyes on it!

Qatar has rapidly become desert backwater to the world's glitziest hotspot, with Doha the new hot ticket for super-riches and career-conscious young professionals.

Rich people who used to swarm Abu Dhabi and Dubai are now leaving their Lamborghinis in Doha instead. What are they attracted to? A siren's mix of tax-free wages, five-star medicine, almost no crime, and unlimited business prospects. No surprise that some 20,000 Brits have already set off for this Arabian peninsula haven!

The Popularity of Qatar

Social media is really abuzz with Qatar content today. Young Brits are inundating TikTok with viral clips of the just-about-impossible security – individuals leaving keys scattered across the bonnets of high-end cars for hours, then returning to find nothing disturbed. Have a go at that in London and see what happens!

In the past, the United Arab Emirates have been the most popular nation with its two biggest cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but now young people are being enticed to move to Qatar, especially Britons.

Doha gained popularity as it hosted 2022 FIFA World Cup, where the world was exposed to the Qatari culture and innovative architecture. Even adding their national team to the popular game FC (previously FIFA franchise), where foreigners started meeting the biggest players from the Qatar team.

A Cheaper Lifestyle

Here's the kicker – despite being one of the planet's richest countries thanks to its oil and gas bonanza, Qatar is surprisingly affordable compared to the UK. According to the Daily Mail, living costs in Britain are a whopping 34.2% higher than in Qatar. Restaurant prices? Nearly 50% more expensive back home. Groceries? 41.5% pricier in Britain.

Even a McDonald's meal will leave your wallet significantly lighter in London than in Doha. Combine cheaper everyday costs with juicy business opportunities (especially in real estate), fewer crowds, and that sweet, sweet tax-free income, and you can see why Qatar is stealing the crown from its neighbors.

Sports as Image Laundering

Prior to the World Cup, due to the country's poor football infrastructure, new stadiums and hotels had to be built in order to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. During the construction process, more than 400 people lost their lives, as working conditions were extremely poor. Fatal accidents included falls from dozens of metres and heat strokes largely due to the lack of rest, hydration, and food suffered by the workers.

The entire World Cup process was criticised globally, with hundreds of reports exposing the cruelty in which Qatar had been involved and arguing that the country did not deserve to host a World Cup. However, when it came down to it, these reports and criticisms did not have a tangible impact.

Despite multiple boycott attempts against the sporting event, more than 1.4 million tourists travelled to Qatar for the World Cup, many without tickets. In total, 3.4 million people attended the matches. When multiplying the average ticket price of £187 ($250), it results in a total of £636 million ($850m) in just under a month.

And this figure only accounts for match attendance, not including accommodation, flights, tourism, souvenirs, and stadium purchases. Therefore, the total amount of money generated in just one month exceeded one billion dollars — a ridiculous sum, which would not have been reached if people truly cared about the human rights violations that occurred during the 2022 World Cup preparations.

Inspired by Abu Dhabi's success with its investment in Manchester City and the exposure gained by its most prominent tourism brand, Etihad, Qatar decided to follow suit in 2011 by purchasing the French club Paris Saint-Germain through its government investment fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), with Nasser Al-Khelaifi as the main figure behind the project.

Al-Khelaifi being one of the best friends of the Qatar emir was appointed by him in the project. This strategy resulted in a dramatic rise in the popularity of Qatar Airways as a brand, and it has also boosted Qatar's visibility as an institution and a popular tourist destination for football fans.

Despite ongoing criticism from human rights groups, the Qatari government's aggressive promotion through sports and their flagship airline continues to pay dividends. Many seem willing to overlook troubling human rights issues in exchange for the lifestyle perks Qatar offers.

For a growing number of young Britons weighing their options in a cost-of-living crisis, Qatar represents an irresistible opportunity – controversy be damned. And all signs point to this exodus continuing well into the future as more Brits trade rainy London for sunny Doha.