Coucou

Hello all,

I have just received an offer to work in Saudi in the eastern province.
​​​​​​salary all inclusive at 41ksar/month (incl housing and transp) the school fees are on top of that with no cap in the American school starting at the age of 5.
we are a family of 5 with 3 young kids below 7. My wife and I have a take home of 7.5k/month in London.
Main motivation for the move is for my wife to have the privilege to stop working for 3 years as she want to be fully involved for the kids education at this age.

​​​​​​I Have received a better offer to go in Qatar (see SP Vs JV thread) but the Saudi job is much better for my career (management and more western environment) as I only have 6 years of experience and still need to learn and suistain my market value. I am 31yo.

Any thoughts on the offer or general advice?
We are Muslims so the rigidity of the Saudi society may be easier for us.

Many thanks to this forum participants.

w_scott

Coucou

Hi Scott I KNOW THAT'S SHOKING!!
BUt the Qatar job was well paid bit it is a dead unlike the other opportunity.
And as a Muslim I would like to have access to the holy sites
Thanks a lot I saw your posts and how you enjoy Qatar it is just that I still have some career evolution opportunities in Saudi but not in Qatar

nonthaburi

Khobar area is quite a good place to be. Preferable to Dammam in my opinion. There's a lot going on there. Riyadh is only 3 hours away if you fancy a weekend in the big city and all that entails. KSA is a lot cheaper than Qatar for general living costs, and operates on a different scale, whereas Qatar is basically Doha. Seeing how you're Muslim I guess Bahrain won't be an attraction but it could come in handy for flights, anyways I think BA still fly from Dammam.

w_scott

This is rubbish. When was the last time you lived in Qatar? KSA used to be cheaper than all GCC, including of course Qatar, until 5 years back. At present, I bet KSA is at least 30% higher in living cost than Qatar, on average.

w_scott

If you think you will be more Muslim in KSA than in Qatar then you are wrong. KSA today is not KSA 10 years ago. I experienced both. If you hold a British passport or a EU/USA passport then you can get a tourist visa on arrival for KSA and visit all holy sites. In the end, it is obviously your decision to make, but I just lay facts before you based on experience in both countries.

nonthaburi

YMMV
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...country2=Qatar

https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/cost...i-arabia/qatar

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-l...r/saudi-arabia

https://livingcost.org/cost/doha/riyadh

These comparisons, all recent, would disagree with you. I'm curious as to what your average costs were and are in KSA and Qatar

Even with the VAT there's been no massive jump in costs, and it basically only sticks 150 SAR onto a 1000 SAR grocery shop. Gas has gone up admittedly but it's still peanuts. Accommodation on compound has gone down in the past five years, and off compound there has been no real change in prices, and water and electric is normally included in the rent.

A lot of food, meat, veggies etc in KSA is local produce, they are actually a wheat exporter. The local Al Marai dairy products are cheap and excellent quality. Qatar must have to import around 90% of its food and you're saying its cheaper.

I don't know where you went shopping..... 🙄

w_scott

Well, I should disbelieve myself and believe in those outdated website.

To see the actual and current cost, look at these website, which show promotions from various supermarkets in both KSA and Qatar.
Qatar:
https://qataridiscounts.com/
KSA:
https://ksaprice.com/deal/index

Here is just a few items to start with:
-1 Kg Beef cubes in Qatar is 27-33 QAR. In KSA 40 SAR and above
-1 Kg of Australian lamb leg in Qatar is 30-37 QAR. In KSA from 50 to 70 SAR
-1 Tray of eggs (30) in Qatar is 10-14 QAR. In KSA 20 and above
-1 Kg of local tomatoes in Qatar 2-4 QAR. In KSA 10-12 SAR
-1 Kg of cucumber in Qatar is 1.5-3 QAR. In KSA 10 SAR
-1 Kg of Roman lettuce in Qatar is 3.5 QAR. In KSA is 8 SAR and more
-1 kg of watermelon in Qatar is 1-2 QAR. In KSA it is 3 SAR
-1 pak of cereal or Weetabix in Qatar is 10-15 QAR. In KSA is 30 or more
-1 pak of dishwasher tabs in Qatar is 17 QAR. In KSA is 36 or more
-1 pak of toilets rolls in Qatar is 10 QAR. In KSA is 17 SAR or more
-1 pak of toast bread in Qatar is 4.5 SAR. In KSA is 5 SAR
-2L of milk in Qatar is 14.75 QAR. In KSA is 11 SAR (one item cheaper in KSA)
-1 body deodorant in Qatar is 12 QAR. In SAR is 18 SAR or more
-1 kg of Mild cheddar cheese is 45 QAR in Qatar and 60+ SAR in KSA

and the list goes on.

Did I mention anything about Quality? the quality of food and fresh produce in KSA is nowhere near it in Qatar. It seems they have a problem with storage and/or transport of goods in KSA.

This also applies to everything and not only food. I used to pay 200 QAR for my cellphone subscription, which included 8 GB of data and 500 min of international or local calls. I never consumed it, with carry over from one month to another.
And the month in Qatar is a calendar month not 28 days like stc.

nonthaburi

Like I said...YMMV. the websites I linked to are all up to date though from November.

I'm not going to start scrolling through promotional pamphlets of umpteen supermarkets, I never look at them in-store let alone on BE, needless to say I think it's best we agree to disagree coz you're obviously convinced you're right, just as much as I know you're wrong....😆😆

On your internet and phone though, something's not right. I currently pay about 180 a month for unlimited internet at home with Mobily, and about 80 SAR a month with Virgin for 15GB and 500 mins. International calls aren't necessary these days anyway. Just use WhatsApp, Messenger, Snap IG, or whatever.

nonthaburi

Furthermore, 1 month is 1 month, don't know what you're taking about re 28 days..... 🙄🙄🤔


First one is the Virgin, second on Mobily..

w_scott

OK. We agree to disagree.
As for 4 weeks validity of the stc, see this website:
https://www.chooseyourmobile.com/stc...rnet-packages/
It is not shown in their website, but all plans are for 28 days (4 weeks).
I like to know how you got fiber internet at home for 180 SAR only? I checked mobily website and the cheapest plan is 287.5, which is the same as stc:
https://shop.mobily.com.sa/fiber/?lang=en

w_scott

nonthaburi

Well, I guess the moral of the story there is don't use STC!!

it's often worth going into different places and shopping around, and find the best deal for you, quite often they'll have promotional offers for new customers. And once you're on that tariff, you'll remain on that tariff..

Think the 28 day thing must be STC only, neither Mobily or Virgin do that. A month is a month.

Coucou

By the way I was checking the compounds prices and the salary difference is almost exactly the rent difference.

w_scott

All mobily prepaid plans are for 4 weeks as well