nonthaburi

I'm sure you've all been asked this before but I have many questions and it's not easy to find all the answers in one place . Plus , info in old threads may be out of date .

Anyway , I'm moving to Saudi at the end of next month , the deal is all sorted out and I'm going back to the UK to do my visa and medical early next month .

So these are probably a bit random but answers to any would be helpful.
?
1) What is the electricity and is it 2 or 3 hole plugs ? are there ever any power shortages ?

2) What is the availability of copied DVDs and software for computers ?

3) A friend told me you can buy non alcoholic beer , is that true ?

4) Do you get many mosquitoes , cockroaches , biting red ants ? ( I'll be in Riyadh )

5) What is the range of prices for schools , cheapest with English to pricey ?
6) Do you have many Arab friends ? If not ,why not ? if you do , what do you do together ?

7) Are there many good places to take a family and how do you find yourself being treated ?

8) My wife is Thai and I've heard some people say that Asians get looked down upon quite a bit . Anyone got any experience of this ?

9) How cold does it get in winter ? Do places have radiators ?

10) Good bookstores ?

11) Phonecards ?

12) I have an aircard for a 3G connection . What sort of packages do you get for a sim and how much do they cost ? Also , how good is the 3G service ?

13) What would you bring from the UK that you can't get in Saudi ?

14) How hard or easy do you find Arabic to learn or speak ? I downloaded some apps and Arabic seems to have long words compared to Thai .

That's all for now , I'm sure there will be other things that I remember later.

flares

Few answers to get this thread moving...not that I don't know the rest but I'll answer the easy ones...been a long day

1 both in our villa
3 yes
4 nah, usually too hot and dry for creepy crawlies
8 yes they get looked down upon. Decent authentic diner along Aruba st called thai villa. Plastic chairs and v cheap
9 cold - seen it at 7 deg. AC units have heating elements but I just double up the duvet and wear a wooly hat
10 not particularly if you don't speak the lingo. Jarir is a good stationary/book place
13 patience

Desert Dubliner

1. all sorts of plugs plus cheap chinese extension cords equals hassle and hazard. Same all over ME.

2. dodgy markets all over the place. Fake everything available.

3. yeah but after a while you'll be fed up of it

4. yeah. there is roaches all over ME. Live in house you get thumbs sized live in flat you get small ones. Ants yes. Mosqitoes probably not in Riyadh but yes in Jeddah. Plenty. They use sewage water to water gardens in compounds. Good for plants shit for residents.

5. This is too vague a question. Goes from SAR 20k for small kids to SAR 50k for upper primary. That's good schools. Shit schhools you don't want.

6. I generally avoid. Every other Saudi works for secret service. Also if they get pissed of with you they can harm you. The 'law' works like their word against yours and you lose every time.

7. Don't know about Riyadh but in Jeddah we have beaches, malls and kids playgrounds. Same in Riyadh except beaches. Mostly you will socialise in the compound.

8. This place is racist like Luisiana in 1950's. Asians are generally looked down upon. If you're out with your wife and she does not cover her face you may get stopped by Muttawa to check if you are married or just screwing around with your maid. If kids are with you there'll be no hassle.

9. In Riyadh can get quite cold in winter during night. May need electrical rads. Some houses have AC with heating. In Jeddah no need for such stuff.

10. Some Jarir stores have plenty of English stuff. Most are crap.

11. What the **** for?? Use Skype.

12. All providers have 3G dongles. Not too bad but sometimes while mobile even calls are dropped.

13. Bring two gallons of gin.

14. If you're coming to work and have family you will have no time to study. Otherwise difficult to learn because you don't dig writing and hard to pronunce for English who mainly have soft 'r'.

nonthaburi

Some useful replies there , thanks . I'm also wondering about driving standards generally . A lot of people say how bad they are in Saudi and I'm used to bad driving but I'm just wondering what people get away with and how strictly laws are enforced . Would you see people on a bike with no helmets ? Would you see three four people on a bike ? Do people regularly drive the wrong way down a road , jump red lights etc ?
If you did something wrong like jumping a red light and the police stopped you can you quickly bribe them or would everything be done properly ? What are the penalties for this sort of stuff ? Not saying I intend to do anything wrong but I would just like to know .

auzdafluff

Driving standards? There are none.

It's not like Bangkok where you get things like you said such as four people to a motorbike, etc. What you do get in Saudi are huge 4x4 (think Yukons and Suburbans) travelling at high speed. It's not all that common, but a friend who lives there told me you see more people jumping red lights than you do in Dubai (that said, in two years here, I've only seen it once).

Desert Dubliner

This country has highest number of road fatalities per capita. That should tell you something.

The most common and annoying offence is tailgating at high speed. My next favourite is 'Saudi U-turn' - this is when one takes outer lane from for example four lanes and does a U turn ignoring all the others going straight in the other three lanes. Produces some funny results. Lane discipline is unheard off. Driving the wrong way can be seen on smaller roads but not on major roads, unless you're talking about countryside where they sometimes do it on the highway. Countryside must be a very interesting place to live - local youths do drifting on public roads and onlookers and drivers tend to get hurt. It's all over youtube. Police don't do lane discipline and largely ignore mobile phone while driving.

Having said that, in one year + I have done allright. But I did discard the idea of buying a sedan / limo and got a Chevvy Tahoe so that odds are in my favour when the inevitable happens.

typical

Electricity is 60Hz (same as US) - and that is the only standard thing about it.

You'll see 2-pin Euro and 3-pin British sockets, and maybe 2-pin American ones too. You'll see 110 and 230v sockets. Sometimes they'll even be marked.

Be very careful plugging things in. Be aware things like clocks meant for 50Hz electricity only will not keep the right time, electric motors will run faster and burn out more quickly, etc.

I found brownouts were more common than blackouts.


Yes, and with many fruity flavours. They all taste rank.

I think it's worse in Dubai but yes, it can be an issue because such women are assumed to be maids or prostitutes (or both).

It snowed during my first winter in Riyadh. The heater/coolers had been hard-wired not to heat, we had to get maintenance to fix them...

Jarir is ok but it's really for Saudis, not expats.

dragonladyoz

Largely the same answers as above - except

I have seen people on large Harley bikes - with and without helmets......

I find Jarir OK - depends on what type of book/stationery you want

Arabic is difficult to learn, will you have the time?

Yes we have socialised with some Saudis, dinner in their home - and been to several weddings - but they were liberal Saudis who have spent many years living in US/UK. If on the off chance it happens you are more likely to be invited to visit husband/sons - you will not see wife/daughters. Your wife *may* be invited in which case she will meet ladies only.

Yes, I have seen people of Asian descent treated very badly here, particularly by Saudis. It will be assumed that she is muslim and someones maid..... won't be an issue on the compounds.

Plenty of places to take kids - but women will usually not participate - just sit and watch - the abaya can limit movement etc.....

Driving - think Bangkok and then multiply the horrendous factor by 5. We too enjoy (sic) the 4 lane sweepers - turning left or doing a u-turn across 4 lanes of traffic, from the far right hand side as well as the tailgaters and those that like to cut you off. Yes - have come across people driving the wrong way in back streets and I don't quite understand the purpose of median strips or road lane markings as they are not followed/used. A "free-for-all" would be the best way to describe the traffic. Enforcement?! The cops only like to sit at intersections and play with the traffic light signals causing a build up of traffic!

Our villa only has 3 pin plug sockets - might depend on the place you get.

agx_group

2) Get a decent VPN and utilities Pirate Bay, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD, SkyGo etc

4) at certain times of the year there are lots of Mosquitos on our compound and they do like to eat

10) Jarir is good, however if you need books for babies and toddlers they are very difficult to come by in English, other age groups don't seem to have that problem, so if you need that age group stock up at home or use the Book Depository website as they deliver to KSA for free (although you pay a premium for the books)

nonthaburi

A couple more things ,

I'm used to there being a lot of exercise machines being in public spaces as an alternative to going to a private gym , is there anything like that in Riyadh . I know it's hot there and people don't want to be out in the sun but so is BKK and people still go out at sunset etc .

Also about the Arabic , a few people have said I'm not going to have any time . I probably will have a lot of time on my hands with what I'll be doing and what with everyone saying how there isn't much to do in Riyadh I though it might be a good thing to do . Any good places to learn ?

What is the football season ? Is it worth going to the local club in Riyadh ? Can women go ? How much is a ticket ?

typical

The only really public space in Riyadh is where people get their noggins removed. Never seen anything approaching exercise equipment - that's a pretty Asian thing...

There really aren't good resources for learning Arabic in Riyadh that I've found. It seemed easier to learn Italian! However see http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=647458

Football is definitely men-only, but is quite a lot of fun. League runs September to April. It's cheap as chips.

flares

Three top flight teams in Riyadh:- Al Hilal, Al Nasr, Al Shabaab. Think Hilal have the greatest support. Hilal and Nasr play at the national stadium whereas Shabaab play in N Riyadh close to Saudi German Hospital. Shabaab although the smaller club actually won the league.

Some Irish friends of friends used to go to Hilal's matches sporting their home shirts and were received well by the fans. Won't see many westerners at the games. No wimmin obviously. Not very expensive to get in if you have to pay at all.

nonthaburi

that sounds good , I'll probably be taking my kids if I can . They like a football game as do I . What day do they play on and what sort of time ?

nonthaburi

something else I was wondering , but how is the pollution in Riyadh compared to say Bangkok or Manilla ?

Also , what is the general state of the pavements and the roads ? are they in quite good condition or are you forever going into a pothole ?

typical

Better than Bangkok for sure but still not exactly nice.

Roads are not terrible, particularly the main ones but there are the odd potholes and back roads can be bumpy. Pavements, where they even exist, are generally awful except where they have been specifically put down as a walking destination (outside strip malls, around the Khozama complex, at the "park" on King Abdullah road that used to be near a university but I think now surrounds the Ministry of Education).