shaka11

Hello

I am in discussions with my employer for a 2-3yr assignment in Riyadh
base salary is attractive, there is a generous hardship allowance

the housing allowance is 100k SAR which seems low for a young family (wife and 2 months old baby) as I want to make sure we live in a compound so that my wife can make friends etc. What do you usually see for housing allowances?

in addition the company is offering to pay for 1 return flight back (economy) plus 2 one week holidays. this is on top of c.30 days holidays.

as for compound, I've read through a lot of forums and have a fair idea. However ideally I'd like a compound which has a lot of British and German residents, given my background (grew up in Continental europe, studied and work in London).

any tips/views would be much appreciated.

thanks

nottmbantam

You might be able to get a 2 bed apartment on a Compound for that price, but would imagine it will be mainly Arab nationalities - Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian etc. eg Fal Compound

I considered a new compound , 2 bed apartment for 85k per year. Compound seems ok, but lacked a lot of the amenities that other compounds have eg bus service to schools, shopping bus service etc. It did have a pool and gym at least. Didn't actually visit it, just spoke to the main sales guy.

The Western type compounds will start at around 120k for anything half big enough for your needs. There may be some negotiation to be had as a lot of compounds are suffering from people leaving and empty properties are more common.

You could try places like Riyadh Village, Seder Village,

The other option is to rent an apartment for 50K and pocket the remaining 50k for yourself.

Leave entitlement seems harsh - you should be getting around 30 days a year ( Calendar days )

shaka11

Thanks very much - this is helpful. Given the young family situation, I wouldn't want to rent outside a compound, as I fear my family may find it challenging to make friends and to settle in.

sorry should have been clearer on the leave entitlement...the above is what they are paying for, on top of about 30 holidays.

I guess the most expensive compounds are Arizona, Al Nakhla, Al Bustan, etc? Is my assumption correct a 3 bed will cost around 300k SAR there?

Can I ask which compounds you went for or have lived in previously? I hear a lot about some compounds being ghost town.

I will be going to Riyadh next week to do some further due diligence, however am told by our HR department that I will only get assigned an agent to help me once I sign the contract, which isn't entirely helpful.

Charl01

Not sure about Riyadh compound cost, but in Jeddah 100K is on the low side for a family, unless of course you move into an old compound with limited facilities lacking ordinary maintenance. Agree about leave, two weeks is very harsh, 30 days is the norm. Personally I need a sanity break every 6 weeks if only for a weekend in a "normal" country

nottmbantam

Most expensive that I know are Al Hamra ( same site as the British School ) and Cordoba. 3 bed villas are in excess of 300K. Probably way too big anyway. Arizona isn't actually as expensive, but as its small and has excellent amenities ( 9 hole golf course ) it quite hard to get onto so tends to be more exclusive. Full of Americans anyway.

California is relatively new but is all apartments - prices around 200k. The large VIP villas at Al Bustan can get stupidly expensive too.

I've lived on Cordoba and Eid compounds previously in Riyadh- currently on Seder. Seder is perhaps the worst standard of housing, but it's the best compound I've lived on for atmosphere and social life. Current villa is a modest size bungalow with a very large garden and a large driveway which can probably accommodate three cars. Price for that is 145k. It's perhaps one the oldest compounds in Riyadh. Smaller 2 bed with garden is around 130k. You can get smaller, but with a family, you'd want a reasonable outdoor space.

I've heard that Eid is now quite empty / half full.

I would imagine most compounds will now all have availability due to many expats leaving KSA due to economic downturn. Long and short of it is that you'll struggle to get a good compound for that price.

shaka11

Thank you very much. This is very helpful. Should indeed be a better market to negotiate good prices in case compounds are getting emptier.

MattGoesWandering

Thanks for this great info, it's as if I'd asked the questions myself. I'm looking at compounds myself at the moment and I guess the key is negotiation, since they're clearly looking for tenants.

Moalsahli

It might be too late but however for me, alhamra compound is great and well constructed.

If you need any help drop me a private message.

Regards

shaka11

thanks. I went to see Alhamra but found it a bit dated for the price! looked like a very busy community however

MattGoesWandering

I moved into Ranco. Depending on where you need to be in the city, I think it's great. The homes offer good accommodation at a good price and the social life is fantastic.

Elgin1983

nottmbantan is right about Eid Villas: I've been here a few years and it's really died a death. When I first arrived it was quite lively, lots of kids, families (including the ex-Colombia goalkeeper Rene Higuita), activities; apparently 10 years ago it was Riyadh party central.

Walking around now, however, it seems that 2/3 of the villas are empty. Quite astonishing as there used to be talk of waiting lists. I think it's been hit by the economic problems along with the opening of new compounds such as California and Al Bustan (I personally know people who have moved from Eid to those two).

Still a reasonably pleasant place: lots of pools including a big wave pool/waterslide; nice deck for relaxing with a view over the pool; grass football pitch; restaurant and cafe; salon, shop, laundry, bowling alley, billiards and table tennis; big indoor and outdoor play areas for kids; decent gym; tennis and squash courts; free satellite TV with all the sports and movie channels; good location; pleasant and fast maintenance guys (not surprising they're fast really - not much for them to do all day) and a personable compound manager who gets things done if you request them. Given how empty it is, I imagine you could probably haggle with their starting prices.