nottmbantam

...Hello Jeddah.

Just arrived in the 'wealthiest city in the middle east ' (source: Wikipedia)

Moved from Riyadh a couple of days ago with the recently arrived family, arrived on the West Coast. Living in Sierra Village Arabian Homes.

Drove out on Saturday, took around 8 hrs to get here ( wife and daughter had to endure this after an almost 48 hr journey to get to Saudi !). Anyway, all is good and well, just trying to get used to the humidity!

Bijilo123

Hey, good luck. I'm in Kuwait and the humidity is at a rare 80 % - the climate is normally like Riyadh but with a touch more sea.

Have a good time in Jeddah.

Blue Cat

enjoy it Nott, I hear it is nowhere near as bad as Riyadh

Shadya

Congratulations, you are probably going to be living on one of the better compounds in Jeddah, certainly for western families.

benzonar

The humidity can be bad down there, at least the diving is good. In fact it is fantastic.

Are you still with the Baron then? If so are you going to work on Albert whilst down there?

typical

Good luck! I managed to get some time back in Dubai but will be back in the Kingdom soon. Will drop you a line if I head west!

nottmbantam

Thanks for the repliesand the good wishes.First impression of Jeddah is that is seems more 'established' than Riyadh.

Riyadh seems to be a collection of new buildings, whereas Jeddah has a different feel,more 'together' ,nicer feel to it. The compound is also very nice,will be moving soon into a four bed villa - next month, whereas we are now in a 2 bed apartment ( three of us ). Its quite a big city,bigger than I had first thought.

Will be looking to take up diving after Ramadan, have been reading up about diving in the Red Sea which seems to recognised as one of the best dive spots worldwide.

By all means Typical - give us a shout if / when you head west and we can meet for coffee. And Benzonar, still trying to work out your cryptic questions!

The Dean

Firstly, matey, if you start 'working on Albert' - will you post pics on www.gayboysinjeddah.com? Thanks............

Yea - you know my views on Jeddah - it DOES have a more cosmopolitan feel to it (and I know what you mean about it compared to Riyadh...........), and does seem to be slightly more internationally-focused, if you follow me.

The worst time to arrive is now (horrible pollution hanging in the air due to the humidity) but if you think it's OK at the moment, you'll be fine there all year round.

And yes, Arabian Homes is a good place to pitch up.........

If you get out to the Economic City, take some pics - now they WILL be spectacular, I think..........

nottmbantam

Well,after making sure Sara was going to be ready for next year, I'm just tapping up Albert to make sure that little project is all on track....

By all accounts, this time of year is the worst for the humidity, and it all eases off around October. Looking forward to that,phew! Not heard of the Economic City - sounds like an 'industrial estate' then?

The Dean

That would be the "King Abdullah Industrial Estate" then........

benzonar

Baron = Bungling Baron = BAE Systems

Albert = Fat Albert = C-130J Herc

Sp you were working on Sara, I know it well.

Keep an eye out for the Al Bilad hotel, they have a nice private beach (nowhere near the hotel mind) and it has some great diving just off the jetty there.

nottmbantam

Got the first bit re Baron ( BAe ) and yes still with them, although I actually work for one of their subsidiary companies, and will be providing support as a consultant to a local company here in Jeddah who themselves work on Fat Albert and also a couple of other projects.

Wasn't working on the Sara project, had just heard about it!

Was advised to look out for the Al Bilad hotel and their beach, several people have now recommended that, will defo have to check that out soon.

The Dean

Albert presumably won't be working on Sara, as he will be too busy being serviced by you.....?