may11

Hello, my husband is now in Riyadh, he is in the prosses of looking for compounds, he has been given Granada, does anyone know what its like, does it have a nursery, i have a daughter age 2! is there other actvites. sorry for all questions. Ideally i would have like to go to EID but the waiting list is to long...

many thanks

still.unsure

sorry but i don't know much about granada (and to be honest, haven't met anyone on it). it's right behind Eid and that's about all i know...

in terms of Eid, has your other half been to the place and met the manager? it really pays to be there in person because you'd be surprised how the 'long waiting list' can be shortened just by turning up. (and no, not talking about bribes, just playing on the managements laziness in chasing up the lists...) also, in terms of the waiting lists, some compounds either ignore them, reset them every few weeks, or (i'm sorry to say) use them as an excuse to refuse people.

haz saeed

may11

thanks for the infor, my husband has been told he cant visit or put his name down on a compound unless he has he's iqama, is this true??

MGinRiyadh

Hi there, he will need at least a visitors visa from his employer to get into the Kingdom.

In relation to compounds, most good ones have a wating list at present, but will be happy to show you around to view the facilities...

still.unsure

no, you don't need an iqama to visit a compound or put your name down. sounds like a rude question, (and perhaps a stupid one given that it's the british expat bored...) but what citizenship are you using in the kingdom? (you will probably be asked that when calling up the compound managers.) it can make all the difference, sadly

may11

hello, we are british indian.. and im guessing that wont help. my husband should get this iqama this week. he works for a saudi company maybe that will help. why cant things just be easy... we are getting so many conflicting information.

still.unsure

sorry to say but being a british indian won't help matters much. they (locals and even some expats) will only 'see' the indian part and make a very harsh judgement on that and that alone. a further rude question, but is your husbands accent very british? (yorkshire, brummy, gloucester or, god forbid, a geordie?) the reason i ask is that in these cases, if may help to put in a call to the managers of the compound, talk up the british side very largely ("I'm a brit and I'd like a place for me and my british wife... blah blah blah") to try and get the message across before he shows up.

sorry for sounding discouraging, but on a positive note, though the majority of residents on Eid (for example) are 'white westerners', there are a number of families that are 'non-white westerners' too. so, it may be unnecessarily difficult, but it certainly is doable. (just need to have a bit of patience - inshallah!)

haz saeed

p.s. have sent you a PM

gatwal

I'm on Granada, been here since February. Its mostly Filipino on account of the hospital staff. Lots of subcontinentals, mainly doctors and the like. The Filipinos have parties in the hall most weeks, the subcontinentals about once every two months. There are some American / South Africans / Czechs too - they mainly have gatherings around one of the pools. Pretty friendly but unless you like ten pin bowling, like to swim, play squash, tabale tennis, tennis or basketball, there isnt much to do i.e. no "bar" or restaurant. Though for a sporty person its pretty decent. There is a shop. The compound manager is a Saudi and has ridiculous restrictions on who can come in and out although in practice its more relaxed. There used to be a bar up until the bombings but not operated now (I think the Saudi likes to give the impression to the heathen that he is a clean living sort ha ha).

I understand there may be some places now. Good luck!

david760

Hello,

I am from the UK and have been living and working in Bahrain for the past year, now have to re-locate to Riyadh with a Saudi company who advise it is almost impossible to obtain compound accomodation.

I wondered if anyone could help me with rental prices and availability - I read the posts and can see that there is a shortage.

My company set a budget of 120,000 Riyals a year so am pretty restricted, wondered if it is worth taking a private villa and buying furniture.

Any comments greatly appreciated.

Regards

David760