Anyone worked in Saudi?

[Callum_62]

Hi,

I have a chance of moving to a job in Saudi.

It sounds like an amazing project to work on (Neom) and as you'd expect the wages on our are very very good

I've never been to Saudi, let alone worked there but I understand its one of the most oppressive regemes around and I certainly wouldn't be comfortable bringing my wide and 6 year old daughter

Anyone work or have worked in Saudi care to share there experiences?


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[Mibbes Aye]

My father did a couple of years in Jeddah working in his brother’s company when I was around 9-10 My mother and my sisters and I stayed at home in Edinburgh. He hated being away for months on end with the odd two week return, but the money was too good. This was pre-email or FaceTime so it was all airmail letters and phone calls. My abiding memory is that when he was back he struggled with remembering we drive on the left here and it led to a few scary moments! This was just around the time CDs were taking over from cassette tapes and he would bring back loads of pirate albums, whatever we wanted, but the title sheets and lyric sheets on the insert were invariably and comically awry :greengrin

[Colr]

There was someone on here or Hibees Bounce that did and helped me with advice when I was considering working in Abu Dhabi.

I’ll try and dig it out

[Jamesie]

I know some people who have and I am told that there is a bit of a hierarchy of compounds (compounds being the effectively gated communities on which expats live) but if you get a good one, life can be pretty similar to being back home to a large extent. That said, I’d imagine cabin fever could quickly descend, no matter how big the compound. What’s your area of expertise, if you don’t mind me asking?

[Colr]

There was someone on here or Hibees Bounce that did and helped me with advice when I was considering working in Abu Dhabi.

I’ll try and dig it out

Bounce threads been scrubbed but try posting there.

Haven’t been on it in 6 years, myself!!

[Callum_62]

I know some people who have and I am told that there is a bit of a hierarchy of compounds (compounds being the effectively gated communities on which expats live) but if you get a good one, life can be pretty similar to being back home to a large extent. That said, I’d imagine cabin fever could quickly descend, no matter how big the compound. What’s your area of expertise, if you don’t mind me asking?

Hi,

Its a position leading a finance team

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[Bostonhibby]

A relative of mine worked on civil engineering in Saudi and Libya, he was from a fairly poor background but his 3 decades of contract work out there offered decent breaks back home and it vastly improved his, and his families lives to this day.

He worked in Gadaffi's Libya and was sometimes caught up in the political disputes that used to go on and their teams would end up being expelled for a while so they just waited in Malta for the inevitable call to return.

Saudi was good in that they lived in a very nice expat community but I know he did not enjoy the culture and attitudes of the Saudi people generally, this was the 70's 80's and 90's but some might feel they've not moved on much.

Good luck whatever you do, it's what you make of it and could be life changing.

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[HappyAsHellas]

I worked in Saudi for 7 years in what was termed a remote location, so my experience will be very different to what you are being offered. We used to travel to Dammam whenever possible, to visit friends who worked with BA. Their sites were like night and day compared to where we stayed, with lots of amenities for the employees. The culture shock is one of the biggest factors in re locating there, and as good as the BA sites were I would still have doubts about taking my wife there. If you live entirely on site then the boredom factor will set in pretty quickly. Of course you can go out, but it's not like going out here. Shopping malls are one of the big things for people to do which pretty much sums up how exciting it can be. Your wife cannot go to the shops on her own so you have to be with her, or she can go with a friend.
Some companies have people who rent their own properties once they get settled in, but that depends on your reasons for going in the first place. The bonus systems may be very generous if you do something like 10 years, which is why some people move out of the sites. It's easy for you as you will be working, it's probably your wife who will have the bigger problem as she will be entirely reliant on you for pretty much everything.
Some people go out themselves and work for a while before arranging for their wives to travel out and some companies encourage this. It's not all doom and gloom though - I really enjoyed it as we worked with Saudi's and got to see an entirely different way of life, values, etc.
Go for it.

[Bristolhibby]

My Uncle worked out there in the early 80s in IT and I know friends of my Dads who have worked there recently. Mostly on British Government postings. In those jobs you have the full support and backing of the British Embassy to fall back on. Not to mention the Dinner parties, etc.

Booze is strange. You are allowed a certain amount of booze pre month through the embassy. But takes no account for ABV. So pretty much everyone switches to Liquor. Beer is a waste of an allowance.

If you work for a private company then I think it’s a dry experience.

They all lived in compounds with security, etc.

The money looks unreal, but with young kids and a wife, it wouldn’t be for me.

J

[speedy_gonzales]

A friend of a friend worked there a couple of years back for a facilities management company (Mitie or G4S). He was well looked after and very well paid but he only did it to raise funds for a wedding and to get in the property market.
He was working 6 days a week, 12 hour days, virtually everything was paid for and he felt as secure/safe as could be.
Socially, he was a hermit, he took over a external storage device full of books/movies and rarely left his apartment.

All depends what you want out of life.

[Itsnoteasy]

Try chop chop square on a Friday afternoon

After*Friday prayers, police and other officials clear the area to make way for the execution to take place. After the beheading of the condemned, the head is stitched to the body which is wrapped up and taken away for the final rites.

Don't get caught with mobile phone.

How the he'll is that acceptable.

[grunt]

I only went out there once for a short job, less than a week, so I can't really say very much. I just remember filling in the visa form, and ticking the box that said "I acknowledge that the penalty for bringing drugs into the country is death". I had no intention of taking drugs into the country, but I still remember the shiver I felt ticking that box on the form.

And the 50 degree heat. And the complete insanity at security in the airport.

[HappyAsHellas]

Try chop chop square on a Friday afternoon

After*Friday prayers, police and other officials clear the area to make way for the execution to take place. After the beheading of the condemned, the head is stitched to the body which is wrapped up and taken away for the final rites.

Don't get caught with mobile phone.

How the he'll is that acceptable.

Their laws look quite barbaric compared to ours, and executions can take place anywhere in the country. If a family member is murdered, they will try to execute the offender in the victims home town/village so justice is seen to be done. Try telling a Saudi it's barbaric - they will tell you they have one of the lowest crime rates in the world. If you stroll around the market area in Jeddah you will come across people who will tell you your weight for a couple of bob. They all have a set of bathroom scales with them as this is how they try to eke out a living without a right hand. The hand amputations are now carried out in hospital nowadays.