Originally Posted by weasel decentral (Post 9639056)

Riyadh is a medieval dump for a western man, balance it versus what you get paid. If you have just somehow teleported from the 16th century, welcome home!

Incredibly oppressive atmosphere with no real entertainment available unless you like shopping, and you need to be in a compound to remain sane. As you have probably realised Fahd is a native.

Originally Posted by norsk (Post 9639512)

it's always about money! if you pay me enough i will also live in a shithole like kabul, islamabad or riyadh for a while, but that doesn't mean I will consider it to be a nice place to work and live. in fact even devout muslims (including saudis) i know think riyadh is an awful place to live..

playboy or alcoholic? you are a black and white man aren't you? you think it's impossible to have a drink once in a while without being an alcoholic and definitely you shouldn't be looking at women or you are a playboy.

also it's funny how bahrain and dubai is full of saudis every weekend getting it on with hookers and drinking more than their fair share of booze. of course there are also plenty of saudis who don't go that far, but who come with their family to go shopping in nice shopping malls or go to a restaurant without having to hide behind a curtain, and of course there is the possibility of going to watch a film in a cinema. yes mate, a lot of saudis think saudi is a shit place to live as well..

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639946)

and about your last point I admit it but these guys in the wrong way even if you asked they will said yes we are . however we should not change the main topic .

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639924)

you must consider the different culture if you are a grow man . when I visit any European style city i consider that but inside me i thought it is a big night club and your reputation is connected with your bank account !!

Riyadh or Saudi Arabia is a safe place people there are so kind if you treat them well , no one will hurt you if just because you are an European whereas in London many Saudi students get hurt because of their roots .

and about driving in riyahd at least you will not find a drunk driver hit you from back in the middle of the night ;)

Originally Posted by alcooke69 (Post 9639929)

Fahd - Thanks for the posts but my problem is not with the culture - I happily accept the muslim culture and how you live. My problem is that as a husband i must ensure my wife and daughter have a good quality of life in any compound . I believe Dammam/Khobar gave us a better chance of having that.

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639946)

usually nobody like to live in big cities even me !! i like to live in a small town . so this is not a reason to say it is a bad place . I know many of Saudi students studying now in London , New york , Paris .. etc. they are dying to come back to their home and hate these places as you hate Riyadh maybe more . they have their reasons and so you !!

and about your last point I admit it but these guys in the wrong way even if you asked they will said yes we are . however we should not change the main topic .

Originally Posted by Oyibopeppeh (Post 9639949)

Typical attitude from a local - when his head isn't stuck up his arse, it's down in the sand!

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639955)

yes maybe you are right that because Dammam/Khobar is full of westerners who working in oil companies .but i think you will have also a good compound here in Riyadh , i dont know if your employer choose one for you or you choose for yourself but actually there is many good compound out there just try to search and ask your embassy .

and welcome in riyadh .:)

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639924)

and about driving in riyahd at least you will not find a drunk driver hit you from back in the middle of the night ;)

Originally Posted by norsk (Post 9639953)

Yes of course all European cities are like night clubs. Didn't you know? And unfortunately money does define who you are in the modern world, even more so in Saudi than in Europe in my opinion.

Saudi is safe until the day it all goes pear-shaped. Last time it did was in 2003/2004 if I remember correctly. Lots of expats were killed just because they were non-muslims. You may remember this happening.

In terms of driving I saw people who were less capable of driving in Saudi than a person rolling out of a pub in the UK after 15 pints of Stella would be, and I have also seen plenty of drunk Saudi drivers on a Thursday and Friday morning coming across from a night of debauchery in Bahrain..

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639971)

terrorism is over if you hinting that .. yes it is not safe like before 2003 but it is much much safer than 2003 .

Originally Posted by Alexa (Post 9639966)

Fahd, you may not know this because you are a local, but even though there are good compounds in Riyadh, unless the company provides a villa, one has a very , very small chance to get housing on a compound. And the embassies have nothing to do with housing.

Maybe you as a local have a chance of finding out why there are no new compounds built...a lot of people don't come to Saudi because of the unavailability of housing in compounds.

Originally Posted by Fahd (Post 9639989)

we have to admit that things change here in Saudi and the Arab world in general and this affect a lot of things .

I don`t know why but i can assume that securing compounds is becoming a hard job to the security forces and national guard especially the national guard which has many duties than securing compounds .