A house is a property that is usually set out over two or more floors. In Qatar, houses are usually referred to as villas, although it is possible to also find townhouses too. There are two kinds of villas: either standalone villas or compound villas. A standalone villa is defined as a house that has boundary walls and stands on its own private land as a detached and separate entity. A compound villa is defined as a house that is located within a residential compound or "neighbourhood/society". Compounds vary in size and can be anything from a handful of houses to hundreds in the much larger compounds. Both have their benefits and drawbacks for example, standalone villas offer more privacy for their occupants and compound villas usually benefit from many more amenities, security and maintenance.
A townhouse is a type of terraced housing often referred to as "row houses" as they are constructed in rows and stand side by side with shared walls usually to both sides. Most townhouses typically have more than 2 floors and commonly three in most regions. There is a wide variety of houses available in Qatar with varying amenities and suitable for most budgets.
Al Gharrafa is a district in the Al Rayyan municipality of Qatar. The word "Gharrafa" in Arabic means "to scoop up". It was named such due to the low-lying floodplain land profile that meant locals could scoop up water from the area. Al Gharrafa is known for its many large shopping malls that attract the residents of surrounding districts and namely the Q Mall, Ezdan Mall, Landmark Mall and Gulf Mall. There is plenty to do and something for everyone to enjoy as each one is buzzing with a wide selection of retailers including various boutiques, large chain stores, artisan cafes, restaurants, supermarkets and cinemas, all easily accessible from Al Shamal Road.
Al Gharrafa is home to the impressive Sidra Medical and Research Centre, a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation located on Al Gharrafa Street. Other local landmarks in the district also include the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium on Al Zubar Street, Al Gharrafa Health Centre on Abu Silla Street, Fereej Al Gharrafa Stadium which is administered by the Qatar Olympic Committee on Al Argam bin Abi Al Argam Street. Al Gharrafa is a district populated with many residential compounds offering varying levels of facilities that suit all budgets. The majority of apartments and villas for rent in Al Gharrafa are found in these compounds that also offer additional benefits to their residents like 24 hr security, maintenance, children's playgrounds, clubhouse facilities, swimming pools, gyms, spa facilities, indoor and outdoor sporting facilities to name a few. This makes them an ideal choice for families especially and one can find plenty of furnished villas and apartments to make the move easier.