nottmbantam

I know Jzala compound, we housed some of our guys for a short time. Looked ok to be fair, but wasn't fully occupied at the time, so still felt a bit empty.

Yes, if you're commuting to Al Kharj, you defy wanna be nearer the south / or eastern side of Riyadh. Maybe somewhere off the Khurais Road, perhaps a compound like Ranco. Don't go too far in South Riyadh, starts getting a bit ropey down there.

Tandy

Cheers for the info.

DVD

Hi all, we are exploring accommodation options in Riyadh prior to a possible move. We have read quite a few comments about Seder Village, ranging from "avoid at all cost" , "Lebanese are taking over and atmosphere is deteriorating" to " best compound experience in Riyadh".

We are a couple in their early fifties with no accompanying children, we have lived in various developing market places over the past 25 years, but this would be our first Middle East posting.

We would like to receive, either through this forum or through PM, some feedback on the current situation at Seder. We would like to know;

How is the atmosphere
Are there any two bedroom garden villas available
Are small dogs allowed
Are Abaya's banned or optional
Are facilities generally in order or are there long term problems
How is wifi in general
How much is the rent and anything we should be aware off
Is the accommodation furnished or unfurnished or can you choose what you wish
Is it advisable to ship household goods

Or are there other compounds that are popular currently that do not necessarily cater for the international school crowd and that are recommended.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

F1z9

Hello there,
My name is Abdullah from Saudi Arabia "Riyadh".

I would not recommend you to live in Seder if your job going to be in Riyadh, due to the distance between them is "1:30 - 2 hours by car".


How is the atmosphere
( it is very quiet village and lots of farms over there).
Are there any two bedroom garden villas available.
(Yes, there is so much options in tearm of renting either Villas or apartments)

Are small dogs allowed
(Depends on the landlord,but I think mostly will refuse any pets)

Are Abaya's banned or optional
( Abaya's is mandatory all over the kingdom, you have the right to cover your head or not. In Seder, IMO you have to have Abaya and cover your face as well, because the ppl who are living there is mostly acting like Bedwens. So you are going to face some difficulties and some frown faces " I'm sorry")

Are facilities generally in order or are there long term problems
How is wifi in general
(Wifi is good, you don't need to worry about Internet.)

How much is the rent and anything we should be aware off
(Approx 15k-25k Saudi Riyal per year)

Is the accommodation furnished or unfurnished or can you choose what you wish
(Both of that are available in the market.)

Is it advisable to ship household goods
(No, you'll find everything's you need and cheaper than the U.K)


Or are there other compounds that are popular currently that do not necessarily cater for the international school crowd and that are recommended.
(I've not any idea sorry)

DVD

Thank you F1Z9 (Abdullah) or taking out time to reply to my query. I suspect that you are maybe mixing it up with another place as it seems quite close to town , when looking at the map, and I believe that the rents are a tad higher than you believe. Are you actually living at the compound currently?

F1z9

It looks like that, after googling the name you mentioned above I then found what you mean (Al-Khaleej Area Salman Al Farsi Road, Riyadh 11391 Saudi Arabia)

There is also a small village called Seder sorry about that.

No, I live in a private Villa located to the north of Riyadh.

nottmbantam

How is the atmosphere

We've lived on Seder Village for 2.5 years, and it's the most friendly and social compound we've lived on. There is a good ix of Western nationalities, Europeans, Brits, Irish etc. Also a good number of Lebanese, but wouldn't say it's overrun . Not yet anyway.

Are there any two bedroom garden villas available
Yes, there are a range of sizes available, from apartments to 2/3/4 bed bungalows available.

Are small dogs allowed
Yes. And even big ones too.

Are Abaya's banned or optional
Banned on the compound.

Are facilities generally in order or are there long term problems
A bit meh to be honest. THe outdoor swimming pool isn't heated now in the winter which upset a few folk. Generally, they're ok. Nice restaurant at weekend. Through the week, most folk are busy working, but there is a good social scene for any non working women.

How is wifi in general
Depends on what you go for. You can buy your own, Saudi I find very expensive for internet compared to the UK. THe Compound provides a internet service for 300 SR per month. You buy a plug and play wifi modem from most mobile companies which will cost your around 300 Sr for THREE months. It's good enough for Netflix.

How much is the rent and anything we should be aware off.
We pay ( or my company pays ) 145k a year for three three bed bungalow with a very large garden. Utility bills are extra. Smaller ones ( eg 2 bed ) are I think in the region of 120k.

Is the accommodation furnished or unfurnished or can you choose what you wish
Furnished. It's basic Ikea stuff, you can buy your own stuff if you want to.

Is it advisable to ship household goods
No. Buy it here, probably a touch cheaper anyway. ( I'm assuming you mean white goods - which are supplied by the compound anyway - fridge/freezer, cooker, washing machine, tumble drier. Although it puzzles me why anyone would want a tumble drier in this country. Hang it outside on an clothes horse - it's dry in 30 mins. )

Good Luck.

DVD

Thank you for the commentary on Seder Village, it is much appreciated. The question around shipping household was not for shipping white goods, but furniture only. We are looking as to whether to ship some or rent furnished, else I have to put it in storage for who knows how long, which cost me as well. So was thinking of maybe shipping a 20 foot.

nottmbantam

You may be able to negotiate with Seder on renting unfurnished or even half and half type of option. You might as well bring it over with you - at least the stuff will get used rather than sitting in storage. Would also help to make it feel like home if you have your own things around you.

Another compound you might want to investigate is Ranco. I had a couple of friends on there, they quite liked, fairly Western by all accounts, good range of facilities etc. It's on Khurais Road, so a little out of the way, but enough going nearby to get all you need. Prices are around 150k for a large 2 bed apartment.

Moalsahli

Hi guys
I'm based in Riyadh and willing 2 help anyone's coming to KSA and have no idea how to manage things.

Regards