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Living overseas

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Moving to Riyadh

8 replies

Neetu55 · 29/01/2019 17:25

Hi everyone

DH getting a job offer in Riyadh. Can anyone throw any pointers in life there? Any idea about the British School (BISR), is it good enough? anyone heard anything about the Multi National School? Lastly any suggestions on good compounds with families around. I have two kids.

OP posts:
Shmithecat · 05/02/2019 20:34

@Neetu55 hi! I live in Riyadh, been here 4 years now (2 years before that in Jeddah). How old are you children? Is the employer offering to contribute towards school fees? Compound choices are varying here, and traffic is horrid in rush hour and school times so you would also have to consider that when choosing where to live. Happy to field any questions. 😊

Shmithecat2 · 14/02/2019 12:41

After mumsnet logging everyone out, I had to create a new account as I couldn't remember any of my old details, including the email address I use for mumsnet.. 🙄. If you do have any questions, this is my new user name.

Wonnacott35 · 05/03/2019 19:00

Hi, Theres a possibility we're moving to Riyadh soon. Kids are older so just the two of us. Have lots of questions and no idea how to private message on the app. Can I start with compounds and costs for housing?

Shmithecat2 · 08/03/2019 16:12

@Wonnacott35. Wrt compounds, prices vary hugely. When living in Riyadh, cost is just one factor - your journey to work needs to be considered too, as rush hour traffic in Riyadh is hideous, truly. You could spend as little as 60-80ksar for a 2 bed apartment in a small 'local' compound, or 250k+ on a 3 bed villa in a 'western' compound. And prices are never listed, they're always up for a certain amount of negotiation.

Wonnacott35 · 11/03/2019 14:05

Thank you. So I need to find out where his office is then look for somewhere? Also, is it fine not to live in a Western Compound?

Shmithecat2 · 11/03/2019 19:15

I've always lived in western compounds. It's not just westerners living there as such, but they are more western in lifestyle... no abayas/thobes etc. Freedom to live as normally as possible. Usually amenities like salons, mini markets, gyms etc all on site. Buses to schools/malls/souks etc. And dependent female spouses still can't get driving licences yet so not having to worry about transport is something to bear in mind.

Wonnacott35 · 11/03/2019 22:34

Thanks again for answering me. Nothing's confirmed yet for DH. But its looking likely so I'm trying to find useful info out to help us with the decision.

Is there a website that you would recommend for looking at housing? Just to give me an idea of what's out there? Are you allowed social media? Any websites like Expatwoman? I can work here will that be the same in KSA? Are things expensive to buy there? Food? Clothes? Are most things available there? In the UAE we have access to lots of things from all over but usually at a much higher cost.

That was a newsflash to me regarding driving - I thought that was all sorted Grin. We're in another ME country so were talking about bringing both our cars. That'll be a no for me!

Hope that's not too many questions - thanks for your help.

Shmithecat2 · 12/03/2019 08:35

There's a couple of good blogs - Layla Blue Abaya and Susie of Arabia.

No general websites for compounds that are any good, up to date or reliable (pretty typical for most business websites in KSA!). Most compounds have their own websites but won't list prices, it's all about negotiation.

Yes, all social media (apart from facetime, you'll need VPN for that) is allowed. VPN is handy, we use a VPN service and can watch all the British TV, Netflix etc.

You will need to be 'sponsored' by your employer to work - what kind of job would you be looking for?

Yeah licenses... when they first allowed women driving, it was for all women. But I think there was a huge number from applications from non Saudis compared to Saudis, so they've stop them until there is more uptake by Saudi women. Very frustrating, there's about 120k applications on hold at the moment. What makes it more annoying is that a female visitor to Saudi (ie not a resident iqama holder) CAN drive on their own country's license during their stay 🙄. But that's Saudi for you.

Food has gotten more expensive over the past few years..VAT @5% was introduced last year. Fuel has doubled in price from around 7p to 15p a litre. Whilst that's still ridiculously cheap compared to other countries, it still affects businesses relatively. We generally shop in supermarkets but you could save money by shopping at local markets etc. For transport reasons amongst others, we stick to the big supermarkets.

In general, cost of living v salary, Saudi is the best place in the ME. But that's because there's no booze or pork, so a bit of a trade off...

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