Hi Everyone!

I am new to blogging and am looking forward to being a member of British Expats.

I am considering an offer to go and work in KSA, Jeddah with my pregnant wife and dog. The package etc I am not worried about but what does concern me is:

1) what compound to stay at, I have heard that Arabian Homes is of a good standard? I will be insisting (please dont anyone be offended) that we are placed in a western expat compound only based on what I have read on forums, even if I have to pay extra out of my own pocket. Can anyone recommend any compounds?

2) taking our dog to KSA, I am aware of the Arab/Muslim view on dogs and am worried on whether or not our staffordshire bull terrier will be allowed in? I am aware of the paperwork process and pet relocation so would purely welcome any members input on type of dog allowed into KSA and whether inside the compounds you can lead a 'normal' life without being hassled with your dog, our dog will not be leaving the walls of the compound. Also what do members with dog owners do with their dog when they go on holiday?

I look forward for your views/steers as we have not worked abroad before and want to make sure that we have done all the possible research

Many Thanks!

Hi and welcome to BE, we have a couple of members in Jeddah and some who used to live there before so I am sure you will get the advice you need. Personally I would leave the dog with family until you get settled. Some dogs are banned for import in the UAE and I think the Staff is one of them but am not 100% sure. Good luck.

Your wife AND dog are pregnant? Bad luck.............

And the "brit.expat" handle was available? Good grief...........

Arabian Homes is very good but I'd be surprised if there were any places available at present - e-mail them under a false name just to check the official waiting list situation, then approach them personally to find out the real picture.

One important piece of advice - get the accommodation sorted before you leave the UK. DON'T assume you can just turn up, stay in a hotel for a few days, then find somewhere to live - you won't.

Merry X-mas, thanks for your reply and I look forward to hearing from other members who have worked in Jeddah before. I am of the same mindset to leave the wife and dog here in the UK for a couple of months until I get everything set up.

LOL! no just the wife is, if the dog was I would be seriously worried as he's a boy...albeit he does seem to prefer other boys to bitches

Thanks for the pointer, I will contact Arabian homes under an alias as I have heard that there are often different stories put out by the compounds to different people!

I was intending on going out for a couple of months on my own before getting the 'family' over as I have heard some scary stories on expats left hanging as the arrangements had not been either made or finalised. Hopefully I will be going out with a large western muti national so that should give some comfort.

I presume you have worked/visited Jeddah/Arabian Homes?.......

thanks for response, its appreciated.

The Dean is our resident Saudi expert

Meeeeeeeerry Xmas to all of you here!

I'm currently paving the way to Jeddah, however I'm not able to give you any piece of advice on the issue you're raising as my employer owns a private compound near the airport, Al Malek Rd. Only thing I need to draw your attention to is beware of the visa paperwork

Have you sorted out who's gonna take care of your pregnant wife in Jeddah?

Hi, Merry Christmas and Welcome to the Board.

We were in Jeddah for about two years, now stationed back in Riyadh. We lived on Arabian Homes ( Sierra Village ) , there are around four Arabian Homes compounds in Jeddah, and pretty nice. THe others you might want to consider are Sharbatly and Basateen ( same site as the British Continental School ) .

THey are all quite sought after though, so as Dean recommends, make sure it's sorted before you get there.

Otherwise, Jeddah can be quite nice, a little less restrictive than Riyadh, but then, it is Saudi Arabia, so there are still quite a lot of restrictions in place. Nice beaches for expats are around a 20 min drive from north Jeddah. THe north is probably the nest location, as it's near the airport and close to bigger and more modern shopping malls - and Malls will soon become a large part of your life. Either that, or take up Scuba Diving.

if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

cheers.

Sierra Village is an excellent choice if you can get in. If nothing is available, ask about the studio units they have as they keep these for guests. This would be ok if it is just a single man, and definitely better than a hotel, and of course once you are inside the compound, you might find that a villa comes available.

Diving, fishing and desert trekking are excellent options.

Re your wife and baby, we had our baby at the Sulaiman Fakheel, and they were great. Dr Sendi is a great choice, western trained and a really nice guy. The Fakheel (next to US embassy) has 10 delivery rooms and something like 200 cots! Everyone will recommend the IMC, but the price here doubled for us between booking it and going for the first check up, and we just could not face arguments over prices etc whilst my wife was about to deliver!

Any other questions, please let me know.

hi, i have heard that the paperwork is a nightmare for spouses but I take the view that i expect and plan for the worst and hope for the best!

the baby is due in July so if this move goes ahead quickly and I get the Mrs over also after a couple of months me setting everything up she can spend a couple of months with me before she flies back to UK to give birth, we are not keen on the baby being born in KSA

let me know if you know of anyone who has brought their dog with them to KSA

thanks

Hi nottmbantam, thanks for your post

I have no illusions about KSA at all! I have been there a couple of times before but that was only as a single male and it is a very different place for men than women!

I am keen to find out peoples experience on relocating their dog and if anyone knows of anyone who has their beloved furry friend with them in KSA as our dog is our pride and joy and his well being is up there on our list of priorties! so if you know of anyone that you can put me in touch with that would be great

I will not be rushing to KSA until I get a commitment on what compound we will be getting seeing this is where we will be spending most of our time I will not compromise, I will check out sharbatly and basteen, I have heard of the latter but have been hearing that waiting lists are long in general since the demise of Dubai and now Abu Dhabi.

Yes we are bracing ourselves to adjust our lifestyles to malls and eating! I do look forward to being close to the red sea though as I love the water and diving, is the coral still alive or has it been killed off? Im not sure my wife will be able to enjoy them as I suppose she will have to sit in an abaya and watch?!

i have not heard of sierra, but will check it out, thanks for the studio tip.

I love diving and fishing so i imagne that would keep me busy for a while, not sure if the wife can join in though?

do you know of anyone who has taken their dog to a compound in KSA? and how they had to adjust their life from a dog friendly country to a not so dog friendly country!

My wife is not keen on delivering in KSA so all going to plan she will fly back to the UK for child birth, quite a lot of aggro I know but we will deal with it.

i take it the escape is flying to dubai/bharain ?

Really can't help you with the pets thing, don't know of anyone who has brought pets out to KSA.

THe visa in most instances is pretty straightforward for your wife. Once you are here, you will get your Residency Permit - Iqama - after approx two weeks. Once this is in place, you can then apply - through your employer - to get your wife out. It should take on average a couple of months at the most.

However, in your situation, there *might* be a small complication. To get a visa, your wife will need a full medical which include Blood tests and a chest x ray. With the pregnancy, I'm not sure how the whole x ray thing will work?

In terms of going diving and fishing , if you go to one of the private beaches, your wife can join you and doesn't need an abbaya, it's a western style beach, the locals tend to be banned - but one does to pay to get in. AFAIK , the coral is still a sight to behold, as is the sea life. One of those things I intended to do, but never got round to it, and now of course, I've moved!!

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't be of any help on what regards your pride and joy.

If, by any chance, I come across any particular info, I'll definitely drop here some lines. PM in case you might need to know anything as I'm taking the visa nightmare

What agency are you planning on hiring for having your visa issued?

In terms of agencies, we used Harley Medical Services, they specialise in Saudi work visas and medicals, and have a very positive reputation from other users on this board. They are , as the name suggests, on Harley St.