Hi all,

Just wanted some basic information on living in Riyadh as a placement student teaching English at the Ghana International School? So far I've only been given basic information regarding the potential placement and so have been reading as much as I can as possible but would like some more information regarding the school, area and activities for when I have spare time.

From what I can gather I will be living in a Filipino majority compound, if anyone can help with this? The salary will be approx £600 per month (accommodation/bills paid for), is this enough to live on? I've been told that I can earn more money from out of class private tuition for students, so that's always an option.

I'm sure there will be more questions along the way, but any answers/information to the above for now will be very much appreciated.

woah! £600 a month as a Westerner in Saudi?! No no no no no... no! No, there is nothing about that that's right - that's less that the UK minimum wage! Surely you can do better than that in the UK, where you can at least go out on your own, not have to wear an abaya, frequent people of the opposite sex without fear and go for the occasional after-work drink?

No way.

As for the "additional income" - if Saudi is anything like the UAE (which it's not, it's stricter) then out of hours working is illegal, as it's not covered by your work visa and could therefore land you in a lot of trouble. "But everyone does it" won't get you out of jail, and Saudi is not a place where you want to get stuck in legal terms.

Thanks for the reply Kitty.

Firstly, I'd hope not to be wearing an abaya being a man and all.

The monthly salary is only what I've been told by another student who's planning on going. The money wouldn't be the reason for going in all honesty, but the experience of a different culture and the fact it will look pretty good on my CV for post-university. However, would c£600 be enough to live on? As mentioned, the accommodation/bills are paid for by the school and so my only need will be for food and essentials as socially there seems not a lot to waste my money on.

I've e-mailed a student currently over there for this years placement to find out more, but it was his initial e-mail that suggested private tuition is allowed but I'll look further into that.

If anyone could shed any light on the area the Ghana Internation School is based, and if possible information regarding the school.. it would be very much appreciated.

Don't know anything about the Ghana International School, so really can't comment on that, or the compound where you might be staying.

It all depends on your lifestyle really, but essentially, £600 is enough to get you through the month, if you fancy it. You can eat out very cheaply, nothing fancy, but can also cook for yourself and get by easily enough.

As already identified, there isn't an awful lot to spend your money on Riyadh, ( no bars, nightclubs, casino's - in fact, not even any cinemas ) so it is enough. Exchange rate is currently around 6 sr to the £, giving you around 3,600sr a month. There are plenty of foreign workers here who earn half that a month - but they are mainly from Indian sub continent.

Most expats here in Riyadh tend to concentrate on either driving off into the desert or building up their own social life with friends. Nowt else going on really.

Otherwise, you can get pretty much everything you may need - apart from the bars, nightclubs, casinos, cinemas.....

Good luck.

hehe - not quite sure why I got the female vibe from your post, but hey... maybe wearing an abaya would be good?

Anyhow, aside from my dubious fashion suggestion, I can't really comment - others are far better placed to do so.

Thanks Nottmbantam.

I live on less than that in Uni currently, and that's with going out quite a bit. So I'm sure I can cope without such luxuries. I will however miss my betting as that's what I do for extra income whilst studying... looks like a lot of calls back to the UK to place bets.

When I find out more I'll post up information on the exact compound etc.

cheers.

Get yourself a VPN and do it online. Not that I condone that sort of illicit behaviour.....

Forgot to mention the tutoring thing. There is usually a big demand for it, and you can earn some good money through it, in fact my wife knows teachers who can double their monthly salary by doing private tutoring through the week. Does depend on who you're tutoring - the Saudi's will be able to afford it plus their kids are lazy enough to want someone to do their work for them. Average 1hr session is around 200 SR.

Lets face, you'll have plenty of time on your hands in the evenings....unless you're caning the online Poker sites.

I don't think it's enough money (all though I know of a few students who have come here for that kind of money). Make sure you can get a multi-exit visa as most/all of your money will be spent getting away from the place on the weekends!

My advice would be to get good quality teaching experience in a western country and come here when you're qualified and can earn good money. Saudi is not a place to live on a tight budget!

If you do go for it then I'd be interested to know how you get on!

Disagree.

Of all the GCC countries, I reckon Saudi is perhaps the cheapest place to live. You can get by on quite a low budget, but of course, have to cut your cloth accordingly. Just depends on how well / willing you are to adapt.

On SR3,600 per month, getting a car may not be an option, so you will soon feel like a prisoner with very little (if any) contact with the opposite sex. At least the weather is more bearable than Jeddah, Damman and Dubai (very low humidity) but you will soon become glued to your satellite TV and internet for your entertainment. Hardly ideal but, if you simply want to save money then good luck to you.

So darylclaresleftboot, have you made a decision yet?

Hi again,

Thank you for your valuable information, it's really appreciated and gave me food for thought. At the moment I have still yet to decide on which options I will be taking so opinions both good and bad are a real help.

I'm flying off to Mallorca for summer today so will try and post whether I accepted the placement sometime within the next month or so.

Again thank you all for your help, any more will obviously be gratefully received too.

Magaluf v's Riyadh

Enjoy!

Bit of a contrast hey! Thanks.

good idea... get all the shagging out of your system.