Ten WhatsApp groups moderated by long-term Doha residents. Whoever you are, whenever you arrive, a community is already waiting. You will never stay alone in Doha.
A group of us sitting in a Pearl cafe realised something simple: most of our best Doha memories started with a stranger saying hi. So we started a WhatsApp group called "Doha Welcome" and added anyone we met who was new in the city.
Within weeks it hit the WhatsApp group limit and we had to split it. Founders wanted coworking meetups. Weekend explorers wanted a desert-trip crew. Parents wanted paediatrician recommendations. The one group became three, then five, then ten.
Ten WhatsApp communities, each capped around 250 members, each moderated by 2 to 4 long-term Doha residents. When you reach out, a human reads your message, checks which group fits, and adds you. We do not use bots, we do not sell numbers, we do not run ads in the chats.
It is a labor of love, paid for by the occasional restaurant that sponsors a members-only dinner and by a small number of members who buy us coffee when they can. That is it.
A rotating team of 12 moderators across The Pearl, Msheireb, Katara, Lusail and West Bay. Half of us have been in Doha 5+ years, half arrived in the last 18 months. We are not a business. We do not have an office. We meet for dinner every 6 weeks in different cafes to keep sane.
Communities
Every week
Running since