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I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Old Jan 2nd 2020, 10:37 am
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Default I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Hi all!,
I'm Jenkin, am 45. I am about to move to Riyadh to work at King Saud medical city.
I have 2 daughters
I was offered a consultant doctor job at King Saud medical city, the monthly salary which includes the housing, transport allowances, etc is SR 50,176.97pm.
I have tried to have accommodation at the hospital compound but I couldn’t get it, I was given instead SR 4,166.67 per month which is included in the total salary of 50,176.97
I am the one who will work as my wife doesn´t have any offer (solicitor), she is thinking of teaching English. I am thinking of solo working for the first 6 months then my wife and daughters could then join me.

I was hoping to find something near the hospital, not really fan of spending time commuting. Ideally, I would really like not to spend more than 50K per year for a 2 or 3bed apartment or villa.

I have to admit the reason why I wanted to live in a compound is because I am a sociable person especially for the kids and my wife; I have the feeling that if we live off the compounds we will be very isolated

I would really appreciate any input from any colleague working in KSA, what do you think about the salary?, would also be very grateful if anyone could shade some light about the accommodation options near Kind Saud Medical City.

Thank you very much in advance for your help!, and Happy New Year



Jen

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Old Jan 5th 2020, 3:18 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

No I am not a doctor and I have not worked in Riyadh since 2010. You appear to have already made a decision to move to KSA for financial reasons, but I would not consider your package to be brilliant. I cannot believe that you will find working in KSA any easier than in UK, my view is that you will need to have a very large financial benefit to stick it out. You mention that your plan is to go out on your own for 6 months and then take out your family. I recommend that you stick to that plan. As a doctor you should have no difficulty returning to UK if it does not work out. Sort out where you want to live once you get out there. There is now considerable choice in compounds.
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Old Jan 7th 2020, 8:36 am
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Hi,
I'm assuming your housing budget is 50k SR ( not 50K Sterling ) as this is your housing allowance. You'll be hard pressed to find compound accommodation for that price, and for that size of apartment / villa. Also, I really don't know of that many compounds in that area close to KSMC.

Most of the compounds that I know of tend to be in the North of Riyadh, with a few central ones. Compounds these days have far more availability than a few years ago, and prices have dropped. Generally speaking, if you pay for one year up front, you'll get the best deal. If you want to pay monthly, then the price goes up. Compound accommodation would probably be better for your family once they are here. I would suggest you need to look at a minimum of around 100k - 130k - that is still relatively cheap for compounds, some of the larger more exclusive ones go for 250k and above for a large villa.

Just to add into the mix - are your daughters of school age? This then wlll be another expense, the British School is eye wateringly expensive if your company doesn't pay for this. Best of luck.
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Old Jan 7th 2020, 9:22 am
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Hi nottmbantam

Thanks for the input
Yes, you are right SR50k, not £
I totally agree with I think any mid-end finish house will cost around 150-200K
My daughters are 12 and 10, I have to pay for the school, I am sure that´s gonna hurt
I have the feeling that this ´´Trust´´KSMC is less endowed in terms of funds
I was told that doctors salaries dropped drastically over the last few years, especially after the Yemen war
BTW, I rejected the offer, I might be able to squeeze another SR50K per year from them which gonna help with the rent
Meanwhile, I find it challenging to find any compound around KSMC, I definitely don´t want to commute more than 10ish minutes
One last question, any advice about buying a car, I am thinking of Japanese car, Toyota or Mazda

May ask you what you do for a living, and how long have you been in KSA?, happy?

Thank you so much for your replay

Kind regards
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Old Jan 7th 2020, 11:55 am
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Yes, the 150-200k is far more realistic , can get cheaper but then, the standards do diminish a little. Traffic in Riyadh can be a real headache depending on rush hour. At the moment, Riyadh Metro is under construction - road works which seem to crop up over night and changes to road layouts is always a joy. A 10min commute to work would be difficult in all honesty, it's such a big city, you just can't get anywhere quickly, unless you actually live in the Medical City itself.

School Fees at British School ( BISR) will be in the region of 65-70k per year per child, perhaps more, so potentially this is another 140k per year. I think KSA is a great place for young children, it can be a great lifestyle, However, for those that are teenagers, or about to be, I think it can be a little challenging. They would potentially be leaving all their friends behind and the period of adjustment can be a little tricky

Used cars are easy enough to get hold of here, probably a little cheaper than in the UK, but used cars tend to hold their value a little better here. Japanese cars are very popular, as they tend to be reliable, and parts ( esp Toyota) are cheap and plentiful. However, this also makes them a little more expensive compared to European / American counterparts. Korean cars are very popular and quite reasonably priced, all depends on how much you want to spend. You can buy new on a finance deal and pay installments with a small down payment - most dealers will offer this. Most of the Mazdas I see on the road are the CX-9's. A lot of folk are tempted to buy a SUV, but unless you really are off roading, a standard car will be fine.

I work in HR, have been here for 12 years, but my contract will end in a few months and it's probably time to go home. I don't know much about Doctors salaries, but would agree that they perhaps not as high as one would assume. Plenty here fron local Arab countries, and relatively speaking, the salaries are not as high as I thought they would be.

Cheers.
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Old Jan 7th 2020, 3:31 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

A 10 minute commute is not realistic, it used to take me more than 10 mins just to get out of the compound. Other point to consider, if you are not living on a compound (particularly if you are working shifts), how will children get to school and to activities and how will your wife get around ? I enjoyed my time in KSA but after 2 years of compound living and relying on drivers my wife had had enough.
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Old Jan 8th 2020, 5:23 am
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

You can not live in south Riyadh its the equivalent of the East End of London. School is your primary concern, all the compounds are in North Riyadh (South West London) the two schools you will be looking at are the British and the American Schools one is at the junction of the East and North Ring roads and the other in North of the city toward the airport. The compounds with schools come at a premium which you can not afford although other compounds have bus services to the schools and to shopping centers for you wife. The problem with your hospital is its location on King Fahad road which is congested because Olaya Street is closed and will be until November. 50k will secure you a 2 bed flat in an old compound or one in a poor location. 120k will get you an old 3 bed villa with a pool you will share with 12 other households. 200k will get you a private pool. You can live of compound for much less although personally I would only live in the diplomatic quarter of compound.
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Old Jan 8th 2020, 8:30 am
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Thank you so much nottmbantam, gottheTshirt, HiHo, much appreciated

What can I say 140k for schools is way too much, I thought it would never go beyond 100k
nottmbantam, good point about the cars, again Toyota or Mazda will do the job, I own Prius here, they are reliable, I wonder if there any local gumtree there?, I don´t want to invest much money in cars, the idea is to buy a used ones that I can sell quickly even I am losing some money

gottheTshirt, good point, as my wife the time being is not working, she will be the driver of the family, so the idea will be buying 2 cars, I read that there is a quite waiting to list to get a saudi licence, but I hope with the British licence will be fine until we obtain the saudi one

HiHo, very valuable information, you see, I had no idea about the south of Riyadh, do you think it ´s dangerous?I believe the only way to sort this will be going there, live for some weeks, explore the area, and decide where to live, this is a 2 years project, not 1 month or 2, so we all have to be comfortable, otherwise this will create strain in our relationships.

200k will be our maximum budget for the rent,

To be honest with you all, I am not sure if it is worth it, I need to work 4 months to pay the rent, plus almost another 3 months to pay schools, omg 7 months gone, that left me with 5 months, but still need to eat, transport, travel a bit locally. ahm, is it worth it?, not sure


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Old Jan 8th 2020, 9:06 am
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Have a look at the British School website for a breakdown on fees

http://www.bisr.com.sa/admissions/school-fees.html

Used cars are easy to find, but you will need to look carefully for one that has been well maintained. Service History's don't really mean anything here, almost impossible to find a used car with an updated service manual. A good idea on prices is the following website, gives you an idea of the most popular type of cars taht are bought and sold. There are two large used car markets in Riyadh, but you're best going with an Arabic speaker and someone who knows their way around cars. The prices are a little over inflated, and the most often used question is 'what's your last price' when buying a car. Not many Prius' around in these parts. Most cars are petrol, diesel tends to be trucks and vans, and most cars sold are automatics.

https://www.expatriates.com/classifi...s-cars-trucks/

It is a waiting time for expat women to get a driving licence, as she will be under your sponsorship. Exapt single women who are here under a company sponsorship can get their licences a bit quicker. Note though that the driving standards here are not anywhere near the UK, far far worse. It takes a lot of getting used to. My wife refuses to drive here.

I'd agree with the other comments - the British School is in the North as are most of the compounds. American School is also in the North and is, as far as I know, even more expensive than the British one.

Lots for you to think about.
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Old Jan 8th 2020, 6:40 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

My wife has driven in many countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon; she could not drive in KSA, but even if she could there is no way that she would have. It would be intertesting to hear from Nottmbattam on how female expat drivers are treated by Saudi males.
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Old Jan 9th 2020, 12:20 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Jenkin,

I have just run the numbers and your projected outgoings exceed your proposed income by 4,000 sar per month. The housing costs quoted don't include utilities. School fees are high. Once you add in the cost of flights, phones, food and fuel and exit visas and dependant tax etc. Its not worth your trouble.

Saudi Arabia is trying to shed expats not attract them, and it is working, expats are leaving in droves. The exit is not fast enough for the powers that be, dependant tax goes up to $104/month/head in June. This is impacting those working in traditionally less well paid sectors first although all will feel the pinch eventually. The quality of education available was the first to suffer as quality teaching professionals became impossible to attract.

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Old Jan 9th 2020, 5:02 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Thank you so much guys

Waw, I didn´t imagine that I will face such a problem with driving, I thought as many other cities there will be some crazy people but overall it will not gonna be that challenging, especially because it is a flat city with very dry weather, my wife is very scary now, I tried to not show her gottheTshirt last comment.


´´Saudi Arabia is trying to shed expats not attract them´´ seriously, it wasn´t my impression during the interview, of course, nothing like living there to know the reality of the country.

Every comment has a surprise, I was assured that there are no taxes, so
HiHo do we have to pay $104 per month?
I have to say that they offered us the flights, so besides SR 50k per month, we have flights every year, also the healthcare.

Thank you again very much guys, I think we made the right decision of rejecting the offer, I really thought it was worth it, but giving all these expenses I don´t think it´s worth it.

I am aware there are no names or surnames, I wonder what the salaries of other sectors?, I can assure you that 2 consultants from our trust accepted offers of 55k per month which is 5k more than mine, I am just surprised about the high-cost living, what an English teacher gets per month?, how about many other Brits in Riyadh?, are their salaries very high?






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Old Jan 10th 2020, 1:58 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

English teacher might get 20,000 Riyals a month. More on a military contract. Depends on nationality.
Ministry of Labour and Ministry of the Interior are doing all they to get expats out and locals in.
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Old Jan 10th 2020, 3:24 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

Re the driving, I think it's improved a lot in the past couple of years as the number of cameras just seems to go up and up, as have the the fines. This has been especially noticeable on the highways. Don't seem to get so many people coming up behind you at 160+ flashing lights these days. In the cities maybe not so much improvement but it just takes a bit of getting used to. I quite like driving here.

As for the women driving, even in the very conservative area I'm based in its becoming more and more common. In the first year I saw three the whole year. Might see 1 or 2 every time I go out now. Not noticed anything remarkable about attitudes from males towards them although there have been incidents reported in the local media.
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Old Jan 13th 2020, 2:03 pm
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Default Re: I am a doctor moving to Riyadh

To whom looking for a consultant job in KSA

Dear Aaron,

If you have are an orthopaedic consultant, have CCT and have more than 3 year experience than the minimum you should expect is 60,000SAR/month. I know consultants on 80,000SAR as well. In addition to that you should get a furnished accommodation, business class return tickets for up to 3 dependants, some contribution towards the school fee etc.

KSMC may not be able to offer you a good package as they do not employ as many western consultants. Look at the list of preferred hospital on my blog and apply to them directly or through a recruiter. Quite a few British and American agencies recruit for KSA. For example Hziegler, Head Medical, Pulse etc.

You may send me your CV and I may be able to help you.

I would not recommend the 50K with not much benefit offer.
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