ninlyna

Hi there,
My family will be moving to Yanbu in a few months and I was wondering if anyone has any info about living in Yanbu. To be more specific, my husband will be working while I will be looking after our 2 year old son and 6 month old daughter. Of course I've read up on life in Saudi Arabia so I know what to expect to an extent, however I'm wondering whether there are there groups for mums and young kids? Is it easy to meet other mums in my same situation? How do other women not working spend their time? Etc.
I think we will be living in the Royal Comission area...so no compound for us. I would greatly appreciate any info! Thanks!

mentalist

Sorry to sound negative but Yanbu is the arsehole of Saudi Arabia. You had better take some gas masks to protect your children from the petrochemical stench that prevails there. Your husband's employer should have arranged accommodation in Jeddah as its only a 40 minute flight and has so much more to offer. Hopefully your stay in Yanbu will be short and sweet. The only positive is the excellent diving conditions.

ninlyna

Thanks Mentalist.
While I appreciate that you took the time to write back, the fact of the matter remains that we are moving there. I was asking for information, not for an opinion. Some people like marmite, others hate it, there's not much of an argument there really, is there? So yes, you do sound negative, and no, I don't think you're particularely sorry. I'll also add that I have yet to come across a company who is willing to arrange accommodation in Jeddah and fly their employees twice a day to Yanbu and back...have you ever in fact lived/worked in Yanbu?? And if so, which company if you don't mind me asking.
Anyway, thanks for the positive note, my daughter will definitely appreciate the excellent diving conditions.

shiva

Yanbu is a shit hole, not an opinion just an unpleasant fact, don't know anyone who has found it even vuagely nice on a good day. That said like everywhere it's liveable for a while if the money is right but I guarantee you'll wonder if the money is right within a few months

Stealth Otter

On a positive note, Yanbu's airport is far more modern and better than Jeddah and Riyadh...not that you can fly many places though.

ninlyna

Wow,
I expected to find slightly more articulate answers than 'it's a shit hole'... '...an unpleasant fact'...? I was asking about life there and instead I've landed a forum full of seeminlgy 'open minded' people who seem to have a hell of a lot of comments to make but no real interest in expanding on the WHY's...perhaps you folk don't really know what you're talking about since none of you actually have anything real to say....sad...you people have wasted my time and you've wasted your own time...but perhaps you get a kick out of writing idiotic comments on this forum, each to their own then.

So Shiva, you don't know anyone who found it vaguley nice...do you in fact know ANYONE there??? I don't think you're in the position to guarantee absolutely anything at all to be perfectly honest..you don't know me from Adam for goodness sake!

And please enough with the ridiculous positive notes about scuba diving and airports!!! In fact, forget I asked anything at all!

Tillybean

Have you tried a google search? A simple one turned up these answers:

http://forum.aramcoexpats.com/viewto...p?f=20&p=12031
http://www.expatexchange.com/rspnet....97&start=24235
http://www.expat-blog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=62660
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Saudi-Ara...ving-Yanbu.htm

May be worth posting to these sites as the questions asked are quite current, ie, this year. There were hundreds of hits for older posts, but I guess you want current.

Also, just an FYI - you get back what you put into any bored (sic). Not sure that your comments about our regular people who post and take time to help out where they can will do you any favours.

Anyway, I have added my bit, which I hope is neither idiotic nor has it wasted your time.

Tockalosh

Cant believe everyone has been so negative and unhelful to you. As you have done your homework on Yanbu you know there is a lot to more to this beautiful city than fantastic diving and a world class airport (it is the fastest airport for checking in I have ever been through by the way).

I dont live in Yanbu but do go for 5 days at a time every couple of months.

There is a vibrant night life at the 2 hotels for when your husband needs to kick off his boots and relax in the company of good guys over a beer.

The architecture is stunning in a shabby chic half built Arabic style with shit stacked up against the crumbling walls. I am sure you will find somewhere very comfortable to live with delightful views. This is vital because there really isnt anywhere to go so if you have to stare at 4 walls all day, at least make them nice walls.

I think the driving is worse in Yanbu than the East coast. We had one of our company vehicles trashed by a police car jumping a red light. The officer gave a heap of verbal abuse to our driver and then just drove off. Pretty much sums up the wild west.

Everyone seems to say that its 2.5 hours by road to the delights of Jeddah but it has always taken me quite a bit longer and you wont be driving anywhere of course.

To be honest all the other posters are absolutely correct. Yanbu is a toilet. Besides that the fact that my wife wouldnt go; I wouldnt dream of asking her and the kids to go to such a shithole.

I am sure there are mums groups there so I wish you good luck and hey, good diving

This will be a great opportunity for you to take up knitting so you best warn everyone they will be getting a jumper for Christmas

spartans53

Think she is in for a real shock in Yambu.

Locals will love her "I know best and no one else has a clue" attitude. Why ask if you only want good news?

From my limited and non-extensive research it is, like the rest of Saudi a shithole. A very remote and backward one at that.

ninlyna

Thanks Tillybean,
I appreciate your help with the links, I'd seen a couple of them already, but also a couple new ones.
I don't think I need to explain myself regarding my comments about the people on this forum...as I'd think it's fairly obvious I was referring to the ones who 'answered' my question. Now if you think that thanks to their answers I now have more real information, fine. But I think you'll agree that this is not exactly the case. I totally respect people giving advice and info in forums and sharing what they know, I wouldn't have posted a question if I didn't think so. But I don't appreciate being mocked and told I'll want to leave within a few months...or that my children will need gasmasks...or that it would have been better if we lived in Jeddah and commuted on a plane (!!!!!!) to work every day... This is someones life...my family and I are really moving there and its a huge deal! So if someone wants to genuinly help me with info, great! Otherwise find another post to crap on because I don't find such comments particularly helpful.
Anyway, that's just to clarify your FYI bit.
Thanks again for your help.


Btw Spartans53, it's Yanbu...not Yambu...and 'i know best attitude'? I'm trying to ask a genuine question. If people think it's a shithole fine, but please explain why. That's all i'm asking for...

spartans53

Yanbu' al Bahr (Arabic: ينبع‎ "spring by the sea"), also known simply as Yanbu, Yambo or Yenbo

Only the Arabic spelling is correct the rest are rough translations so GFY

Tockalosh

Btw Spartans53, it's Yanbu...not Yambu...and 'i know best attitude'? I'm trying to ask a genuine question. If people think it's a shithole fine, but please explain why. That's all i'm asking for...

Interesting that one regarding spelling. The first christian "explorer" to visit and record his visit to Jeddah, Mecca and Yanbu was the famous African explorer Burton who achieved a little more fame in his search for the source of the Nile with Speke some years later however in his book on his travels in Arabia he spells it Yambu so who knows how its really spealt

Hope all goes well

northbadawi

Because it has no any attribute of something else. Except diving.

mentalist

Sorry Ninlyna but you asked for comments upon what Yanbu has to offer and you got a selection of reasonably accurate replies. As somebody else quite rightly said, Yanbu is definitely not the place for a western wife with young children. Most of us would not have even contemplated taking our families to a place like that. The normal practice (at least when I lived in Saudi Arabia and yes I have visited Yanbu dozens of times) is for the husband to live/work there for 6-8 weeks at a time and then go home for 2-3 weeks before then returning to work. As you seem happy to ignore our advice, all we can do is wish you the best of luck and hope that it all goes well. At least your husband will be getting paid handsomely, no doubt.

shiva

In my experience it takes most people at least a year in yanbu to be that pissed off the op should fit in just fine with the ones who are about to leave

Burtons other famous work was translating the Kama sutra did a much better job of that than the Nile