Hello everyone and Happy New Year,
I have a potential offer to relocate to Riyadh. I say potentially because for now is just at the early stages of discussing it with the hiring manager but I already have a business relationship with this company as I've been providing consultancy services for 1 year.

I was told that the budget for this role is around SAR75,000 per month. I guess the answer is 'depends' but is this a fair salary in Riyadh for an expat with 20 years of experience in IT security?
I know that the answer depends on everyone's lifestyles but based on your experience, is this a good salary to have a good, comfortable live in Riyadh?

I would be relocating with my wife and our 2 years old son, so the ideal plan would be to live in a compound and enrolling my son in the British International School (even though I know nothing about it at this moment - still need to do my research). Anyone has experience with this school and would be willing to share how it works and potential fees?

Based on my initial research, I can see that a 2-3 bedroom villa in a good compound might go around SAR200,000 per year. Any suggestion for the best compounds in east Riyadh somewhere around DQ, Diriyah, etc..?

I already found a lot of useful information in the forum and I'm at the early stages of doing my research but I thought that dropping these questions in a new thread would be better as some information I found might be old and outdated and I now that the cost of living in Riyadh has been increasing.

Thank you in advance.

75k would be a decent salary. You would need to see what the total package is as I'd assume you be wanting school fees etc. We were looking at compounds in the North of Riyadh relatively near the airport - it's 200k+ for a 2 bed apartment these days, although obviously depends on the quality of the compound. BISR is at Al Hamra I think. That is a little cheaper. Dated but they are renovating.

First of all, thank you for your reply.

The limited information I have on the total package:
- School Fees
- Relocation Support
- Joining Bonus
- Family Visa
- Medical Insurance

I don't know the values for the above though. I will be asking specifically.
What other international british schools would you recommend in east Riyadh?

If 75k is your base, it's pretty good. School fees can be quite extortionate here. Probably around 80-100k a year now for the better schools if you can find a spot.

The khouzama area might be worth looking at. It's sort of between diriyah and dq. But it's not far from diriyah, and parts of it are currently being demolished to make way for the diriyah development.

I don't think properties in DQ are advertised as others are. I've heard good things about the Arab investment compound. 3 beds for about 120k a year, close to where you are wanting to be.

Thank you for the replies. I still need to do a lot of research and get more information about the potential role but it seems that 75k it's a pretty good salary which should allow for a good lifestyle in Riyadh.

Seems clear that rent it's the one that will eat the majority of the budget away if we decide for a compound. And the fact that we need to pay and commit for 6/12 months is also challenging.
For people not living in a western compound, any major neighbourhoods that you would recommend?

Regarding school, It's not that different from my current situation with the nursery in England, which is also exorbitant.

Decide where you want to live based on how much you enjoy sitting in traffic. North Riyadh, less traffic than central or southern Riyadh. Have a look at Google earth traffic later from about 4pm onwards. My commute used to be anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours. Now I've reduced it to 20-30 minutes in the evening, 15 mins in the morning. That's from almalqa to Diriyah and back. Used to be close to the Granada mall/Hilton.

Once you know where you are working and where your kids school is, it'll be easier to advice.

As far as neighbourhoods go though, Hittin and almalqa are ok. But won't do you much good if you work around DQ as king Khalid road down that end is a bit of a nightmare. Quite a few expat types in my building. Don't see neighbours much, and families won't raise an eyebrow with the locals.