thecentennial

Hi guys,

As the title says, tomorow is d-day. Family hopefully joining me after 4-5 weeks, going to miss them. Have a lot to sort out, so hopefully the time will pass relatively quickly (don't yet have a compound spot...I know, I know..)

It would be useful to have a list of those expats currently in Riyadh who won't mind being contacted (name / location / compound / email).

Feeling very nervous about the whole thing, but trying to keep a postive frame of mind - I know without this the move will fail.

Look forward to seeing some of you face to face.

So, folks in Riyadh reply here...

Blue Cat

good luck with it all, I am sure still.unsure would be up for a pint of juice when you get there.

eylesda

Get in touch with the BBA as soon as you can. You'll meet loads of good people.

thecentennial

BBA? British...???

..

Thanks for the good wishes, keep the Riyadh contacts coming..!

Smoochy Girl

If something happens to us here .......... that's where we plan on going, so good luck - and watch this space!! I might be yelling for help soon

cake ace

Are you British? Make contact with your Embassy. I lived in Riyadh for 10 years--been out for 2. The British Embassy always had something going on--a great place to meet new people. What type of work do you do? You will definitely want to live on a compoun--safety in numbers. Best of luck to you!

thecentennial

Yes, British, also hold an Aussie passport (does that mean I can register at both embassies and double up on the fun?!)

Will be working in a Head Of role at Saudi's largest bank. Money not fantastic, but better than current, and wifey can play mum full time, which she is looking forward to.

cake ace

Head of? Does this mean that they will arrange housing for you? Are you looking at any compounds in particular? Have you tried Kingdom compound or Arizona Compound? You will definitely want to be on a compound if you have children, of any age. You wife will definitely find living in Riyadh different. Some may say difficult but it is what you make it.

Slingshot

good luck
please update us on life in Riyadh once you are settled

still.unsure

yes, you can (and probably should) register w/ both embassies but be aware that registering with the embassy does not get you onto the party invite list. the oz & british embassies have separate social committees that are independant of the register which you should try and get onto. (coolabah club fo the oz, forgotten the name of the british)

the BBA is a good place to start to get into contact with people as well as the (very new) ABGSA (Australian Business Group of Saudi Arabia). (it's so only a month or two old so watch-this-space for it)

recommendations for when you touch down... FIND A COMPOUND!!! screw any bank work for the first few weeks until you have that well & truly sorted. i know a few going through the 'finding a compound' bit at the moment and it is a 'no rooms at the inn' nightmare. (because of the shortage of places, a couple of the bigger companies have been buying up leases everywhere irrespective of whether they've got staff for the place or not. additionally, there's very unsubstantiated rumours that some of the more expensive compounds have been putting the squeeze on their obnoxious tenants so that a company can buy the lease - not sure if i believe that one though). it's the tightest for places that i've seen in the last 6 months or so, and the more experienced have been saying in a couple of years. sorry to sound flat about it, but seriously need to put all your energies into that as soon as you touch down.

other things you should do when you get in...

1. first day in the office, get your HR person to sort your in-country medical straight away - they need this before sorting your residency permit and you need THAT before you can get your family out here.

2. get a mobile number - all you need is your passport and you can grab a pre-paid from mobily or STC (recommend mobily myself - SAR0.50 per min int calls after 1800h local time)

3. get out and in the face of as many compound managers as you can find. to do this, ask for a recommendation for a pay-per-day driver from your colleagues that can get you to the compounds and wait for you. (and knows where they are)

4. write down the rough prayer times (they change every day by a few mins) so you're not left standing out the front of a shop when it's closed. (prayer times can be found at ... http://www.islamicfinder.org/prayerD...Riyadh&start=0)

5. let the bored know how you get on!

thecentennial

the bank is trying to "influence" compounds, and is confident they will lock in housing for us soon, though they are leaving it a little late if you ask me..

Apparently June see's a lot of expats moving on, and spots open up. I have to have faith they will find somewhere, sure it will work out fine.

Will update the forum on Riyadh life when I can.

coffindodger

please check your pm's

Nic1

Put as much pressure on the bank as possible to get the housing sorted - like everyone says this is crucial. I would say three-four weeks is a very optimistic timeframe for getting the family over - 6-8 weeks is probably more like it.

How old are your kids ? Do you have schooling sorted ? There is also a shortage of good schools out here and places are at a premium. However, with British passports that makes it easier.

Good luck
N

Smoochy Girl

May I ask a general question on this thread? Are salaries generally higher in SA as they used to be or are they the equivalent of here? I ask because we're in our 50's, came here to save for 10 years for retiring at 60 and as we all know - who the hell saves here??

Would it be worth moving to SA for our last 8'ish years??

Thanks

still.unsure

i'm not sure if the salaries are higher, that's probably more dependant on your sector of work, but you don't find many (haven't found any, yet) that don't have their accomodation paid for by their employer. at present, with housing being paid for by the job, savings ratios (if you've no debts in the real world to service) are around 70+% of income. (was averaging 91% for a while) if you can't make that sort of figure, i'd seriously reconsider coming to the magic kingdom. all the negatives aren't worth it for any less. (IMHO)