Jeddah or Riyadh
 

Hi all.
wanted to check the opinions of these two cities, pros and cons, such as cost of living, standards of living, climate/weather, schools for kids and their quality

my “unprofessional” personal views
Jeddah pros: seaside, weather unlike as in Riyadh, close to Mekkah (for Muslims)
cons: infrastructure? Not a hub,
Riyadh: central location, hub (all major companies and banksnhave offices, even Aramco), infrastructure, international (relatively)
cons: weather/climate (can even be dangerous for those with asthma), living cost more pricey

what would be your views?

Re: Jeddah or Riyadh
 

I've not been to Jeddah yet, but give me Riyadh over the humidity of the coastal cities any day. I can walk around comfortably in Riyadh in 40+ degrees and feel fine. When I go to the coast, the humidity is unbearable.

Re: Jeddah or Riyadh
 

I've only visited the two cities. I prefer Jeddah to Riyadh, it just feels more laid back and friendly. It's a chaotic place, and half the city was torn down some years ago to deal with crime, apparently. Jeddah also benefits from a nicer airport, and I suspect more international destinations than ruh, with it being saudias base of operations, and the cities status in the Muslim world.

I find it less hot and humid along the red sea coast than the Arabian gulf.

Re: Jeddah or Riyadh
 

When I first was in Saudi over ten years ago I'd have said Jeddah. More freedom, more laid-back lifestyle etc.

These days though, I don't think you'd notice a difference freedom wise and Riyadh has got so much more going on, places to go etc. Jeddah feels like it's slipped behind in comparison now.

And as another poster said. Humidity in Jeddah can be unbearable, but 40 in Riyadh and I'm not even sweating.