co durham boy

You know the answer lad , you're living there and you don't need me to tell you what a shithole the place is .

nonthaburi

I said that Saudi can be a great place to go with family because of, in no particular order:
1) compound life can be great for kids. Loads of friends. They can play outside safely all day long. Good sports facilities on your doorstop.
2) a lot of leisure time. It's not the same for everyone of course, but for many the workload is a lot lighter in Saudi, which means you get too spend more time with your family.
3) high disposable income. Most expats in Saudi have a lot of spare money each month. Accommodation paid for, no bills, petrol free or very cheap, the only thing you pay for is food. This can mean you can go places with you're family on holiday you might not necessarily be able to afford going.
4) expat life. Saudi can have a great social life. Weekends a blur of pool parties, bbq, pay etc. Loads of families relaxing and having fun. Also, people are pretty down to earth, And welcoming.

Of course these things can quite equally apply to other places too, but to say that Saudi is Shiite, is not true.

You can have a very good life here.

Many people are dismissive very quickly about Saudi.

My experience here has been positive on the whole.

scot47

People have different experiences. Mine were generally positive. My daughter - now 22 - talks with nostalgia about her time in Jeddah.

co durham boy

If you're making it easier for yourself then great but it's a hell hole end of story . You make the best out of what you have but that's it and it's a society which is one of the most despicable and vicious on earth.

Each to their own though .

nonthaburi

So why do you say it's a hellhole? there are plenty of worse places to live than Saudi in the world.

If you speak to most Western expats who live here, they'll probably tell you that they're quite happy with life in the kingdom.

The only two things that really annoy me, are having to plan shopping around prayer times, and the driving. Apart from that, it's just like anywhere else really.

Millhouse

Now, I like Jeddah. I actually do.

But to say its like anywhere else... that's a bit of a push.

co durham boy

You've set the bar low .

scot47

Co Durham Boy


I recommend a few years travelling in the real hell-holes of this world. Nigeria, Rwanda, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Brazil.


After a few months in a Brazilian favela you might change your mind about Jeddah !

co durham boy

Fella , you have no idea where i've been and worked and believe you me a few of them are on that above list plus a few that can trump your hand.

The race to the bottom is deep and dark .

nonthaburi

I mean that my life here is just like anywhere else, with a few local differences. Obviously each place you live in is different.
I do the same stuff here in KSA, more or less, as I did in all the other places I've been.

nonthaburi

But why is it a hellhole?
You've not said.

co durham boy

Cruel and degrading punishments , systematic discrimination against women, routine torture, entrenched religious discrimination.............

You know , the usual stuff but as i said each to their own . You're there to make money and it's a means to an end and if you can make your life easier then fair play , i've done the same when i was there and in Yemen and other such salubrious hotspots .

Saudi is a breach to everything that any decent human being values and thus a grade a hell hole .

sicklyman

PNG? Excuse me?

PNG is an amazing place to live and work. I'd take a job there over a job in Jeddah anytime... how long did you work there then?

Or is this another case of you talking about what you don't know about scot47?

scot47

You would be surprised what I know and where I have been ! I must confess that PNG is not on the lost of places where I have worked, but I wanted to point out that there are THOUSANDS of places a lot less comfortable than Jeddah.


As for the OP, I would suggest
that working in Jeddah with a weekly commute to Dubai is not realistic - especially if your motive is to save some money !

scot47

Sicklyman, tell us about your experiences in Jeddah. Has your time in KSA been limited to Dhahran ?