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  1. #1
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    Bettyboo's Avatar
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    Working in Saudi; what's your experience?

    Who has worked in Saudi?

    I'm interested in what it's like to work there: environment, people, culture, food, language - but especially the actualities of day to day living.

    Is it hell?

    Is it great?

    Is it good and bad, just like everywhere else? What are the good and bad?
    Cycling should be banned!!!

  2. #2
    Philippine Expat
    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^I worked in Dhahran from 1986-1988. It was the worst two years of my life. I had previously worked in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India for a total of seven years. I would have spent another two years in any of those places before extending for a weekend in Saudi.

    Environment: Rocks and dirt, sand, trash, glitzy malls full of utter crap, no movie theaters, radio stations, restaurants, bars, nightlife, tv, video stores.

    People: Women - no idea - you will never meet one. Men - an absolute total waste of space on the planet.

    Culture: There is none. At all. Zero. Nada.

    Food: Goat, fish, rice, dates. All badly cooked. Total shit.

    Language: Arabic, which few foreigners speak (why would you want to).

    Actualities of day-to-day living (if you can call it that) - Checking days off of your calendar. I spent almost every weekend, and many evenings, underwater. Strap on the scuba tanks and get way below where there is zero chance of ever running into a Saudi as physical exercise is one of the many, many things they don't do.

    Hell is not strong enough.

  3. #3
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    The Muffinman's Avatar
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    Geez Davis, don't mince words mate...tell us what you really think.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
    Hell is not strong enough.
    Yeah, I was worried that may be the case...

    Quote Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
    Actualities of day-to-day living (if you can call it that) - Checking days off of your calendar. I spent almost every weekend, and many evenings, underwater. Strap on the scuba tanks and get way below where there is zero chance of ever running into a Saudi as physical exercise is one of the many, many things they don't do.
    On the up side, I like scuba diving, or at least I used to - haven't done any in years...

  5. #5
    euston has flown

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    ^Compared to what I have heard from people who have worked there; sounds like Davis really liked the place

  6. #6
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    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^^Of course where I was, in the Eastern Province, the diving sucked like everything else. Nothing but sand bottom and rocks. Thousands of sea snakes too. But, if you got down to Jeddah, the Red Sea on the Saudi side is some of the best diving I have ever experienced, and I have been to lots of great dive sites. Much of this is due to the fact that Saudis bar diving there without a permit, and they don't issue permits. So, you have to get a boat somewhere, go out to the 12 mile reef, and slip into the water unnoticed. Like anything fun, it is both banned and made to be as difficult as possible to do, with stiff penalties if caught.

    Also in Jeddah, once the head-bangers go home after Hajj, you can pick up cheap prayer rugs as they sell them off to get the fare home. Of course you could go to Pakistan or any number of places and get better ones, but in fairness, I did pick up a rug or two in Jeddah.

    Riyadh you can just totally write off.

    If you live in a decent compound, you will spend a lot of time lifting weights, swimming, playing squash and reading what few books aren't banned. And checking the blocks on your calendar.

    The high point of a job in Saudi is leaving; I was happier to get on that plane than I was to get on the Freedom Bird home from Vietnam in '69.

  7. #7
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    You're not selling the idea to me, Davis...

    Do you reckon everywhere is that shite in Saudi? You seem to be saying that the people and culture are so repulsive that the place is a living hell.

  8. #8
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    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^Taking a job in Saudi will be the worst decision you have ever made in your life, and one that you will regret for the rest of your life. There isn't enough money in the world. And before someone asks, I was working for the USG, was sent there on a directed assignment, had no choice in the matter other than to give up my career, and made less money, and lived far worse there than in any assignment either before or after.

    On a one to ten scale, with ten being the absolute worst, all parts of Saudi are a 1,000 other than Jeddah, which rates a 999.

  9. #9
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    ^ it does seem to be clear... clearly a horrible place to be/go.

    I must admit, when I covered the Middle East as a territory, I only went to Egypt because I didn't like being around the rest of em; got my Egyptian contacts to go to all the Gulf States and do business on my behalf, and even the Egyptians I knew would rather not do business with them (and they thrived on business challenges)...

  10. #10
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    ^After about nine months of living hell in Saudi, my wife and I got a week or so off, and went to Yemen. After Saudi, it was like the garden of Eden. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. My wife cried when we touched down in Dhahran.

  11. #11
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    ^ what's Yemen like? I don't know any of these places - any of them nice/liveable?

  12. #12
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    ^Yemen is a horrible shithole, inhabited by goat herders who are stoned out of their minds on ghat. But, they do have some cool daggers and old weapons. I picked up two great muzzle loader flintlocks there, as well as a bunch of daggers and swords. They generally kidnap foreigners and hold them for ransom, when they aren't too stoned. Now, in the new post 9/11 age, I think they just kill them. See comments on Saudi for details on culture, people, food, etc.

  13. #13
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    ^ doesn't sound like a great place either.

    I'm starting to get the feeling you don't like our raghead brothers and sisters, Davis.

    Have you been to Egypt? Did you like it?

  14. #14
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    It really depends where in Saudi you are working and what type of rotations you can negotiate. The pay is good and tax free.
    Don't take a job as a domestic helper, mall cashier, or fast food cook.
    I liked Dhahran due to the fact that I lived on a compound and drove across the bridge to Bahrain 4-5 times a month.
    Listen, learn, and don't ever become complacent.
    Saudis are arrogant priks in their Kingdom but fun to drink with in Bahrain.
    (Allah is not watching in Bahrain)

  15. #15
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    DK do you live in Mindinao?
    Assalamalikum.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by IceSpike
    Don't take a job as a domestic helper, mall cashier, or fast food cook.
    These weren't too high up on me list.

    Quote Originally Posted by IceSpike
    Saudis are arrogant priks in their Kingdom
    This sounds like the problem...

  17. #17
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    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^^^^Also while living (if you can call it that) in Saudi, wife and I took a romantic Nile cruise. Ended up on a cruise ship (actually a dirty little boat that navigated from mud flat to mud flat down the Nile) with a tour group or about sixty frogs. What fun! Egyptians were some of the dirtiest Arabs I ever met - clothing was generally filthy. Hit the casinos in Cairo for a night - nothing to write home about. Egypt - been there; done that.

    ^^No.

  18. #18
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    ^ you bloody Americans don't travel well, do you... I can just imagine you on a Nile cruise with all the lovely French folk.

    Egypt is fine, lots to do, lots of culture, food, etc; just avoid the French (& Italians, obviously).

  19. #19
    Philippine Expat
    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^Liked the pyramids and other sites. Fortunately, having grown up in Paris, I speak Frog so knew what was going on with my companions. All in all, I was glad I at least did the Nile cruise and saw the sites while I was in the area. Wouldn't go back if I could find somewhere better, which wouldn't be difficult (maybe Somalia).

  20. #20
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    Heliopolis is awesome! Near the Airport between Cairo and the Pyramids.
    I was invited to an Egyptian Wedding Reception in the Heliopolis Movenpick Hotel.
    It Lasted for three days.
    Great fun.
    The Cairo City Museum of Natural History is unbelieveable. One of the most amazing collection of ancient artifacts and mummies I've ever seen.
    Egyptians are loud! When they have a conversation amongst each other, you'd think they were going to start a brawl.
    Taxi driver's are crazy.

  21. #21
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    I went for 3 days, stayed there near 3 month !

    It started well with the Immigration officer that check one person and then goes to pray for 30 minutes, took near 5 hours for about 20 ppl queue...
    The driver assigned to get me at airport was long gone when i came out of airport and it was like 2 or 3 Am.

    A company in Jeddah purchased a line of machines from Europe and i had to have a look at the setup before sending a technician later on to start the whole...
    They just inverted any connection, just like they took the setup drawing up side down.

    So i told them just re-start the whole, see you in few month. They asked the company i worked for that i stay there to supervise, i did...

    It was in Jeddah and during Ramadan to make it worst...Hide to eat, go to jail if you eat on the street...

    If you are in the street while it is mosque time, there is a special police to jailed you (European look is less tough then on Asians..)

    There were 14 nationalities working on the site, owner Saudi, his nephew Algeria,the right hand Yemen,the driver Marocco, the factory manager Canadian, Swiss, Italian, Spanish,Philippinos, Indians,Lebanese,Egyptian...

    The cleaner team from Somalia were throwing buckets of water on the factory floor, walking bare feet, lots of live electrical provisory wires here and there, danger all the time...

    If you assign a duty a bit complicated to a muslim, he just disappear, gone to the Mecca... It's in their right..

    Every Thursday, they ask you if you wanna go see chop heads and hands at the mosque, on Friday morning.

    Friday was Red Sea Diving time on an enclosed Private Beach reserved to expats, that was good...

    I was purchasing distillate grapes from Pinoys secretively somehow and we had some fun Karaoke evenings... 50 Us a liter and add grape juice to drink it...We were near catched drunk, we could have ended our days in a Jail there for this reason.

    The Spanish team had to leave after 2 month of setup of their machine as the rest of the factory was way behind schedule. Those chaps were so happy to go. Next breakfast we see them back, their visa expired and now since Ramadan was over it was EID, all offices close for 1 Week. They had to stay one week, driven to beach each day...
    The visa stamping in in Indian number on the Arabic calendar, each and every guy that left came back next day due to visa expired, i seen about 15 !
    Before to go i asked them to check if my visa was ok, and they looked, yes fine, had to live in 3 days... Back in the hotel i asked the Lebanese at Reception if my visa is ok to leave in 3 days, he said no, expires tomorrow !

    In the evening you can go to the shopping malls that look like anywhere or in the souk that tend to disappear. or go to a good hotel for food, not much amusement available.

    The expats gather together in their own homes and that can be quite nice if you join the correct ppl...

    Still had quite some fun with the Filippinos and the Canadian Manager, they asked me to be hired by them on long term i said not thanks...

    Not only bad, but for sure there are better places around.

    The real good times are gone ! I had a friend working there in the 80's they were throwing away big Caterpilar equipments, not working anymore, they purchased a new one, the friend input Diesel and the machine was fine, as example, those were the times...

  22. #22
    or TizYou?
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    I lived in Jeddah for 8 years. These were 8 great years, I loved the place and would return tomorrow if the right job offer was made.

    I had great friends, attended many great parties, and the diving was fantastic.

  23. #23
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    Some more positive replies - thanks.

    ^^ a green for your efforts.

    ^ so why is Jeddah better than the other places?

  24. #24
    Philippine Expat
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    ^Not answering for Tizme, but a partial answer is that Jeddah is a more religiously liberal city than Dhahran or Riyadh. In general, expats living in Jeddah appeared to be less miserable than those living in either of the other two places. The diving in Jeddah is great, if you can access it. Long-term expats know how to get around the regulations.

    At the end of the day, it comes down to how much are you willing to endure for the money. Back in the '80's, the money was good (made no difference in my case, but for others it was good); I suspect it is less good now. If you were in Jeddah, had a good circle of expat friends, made your own wine, beer and booze at home, smuggled in movies from Bahrain, etc, etc you could survive.

    In some ways it is no different than a lot of guys I know who are on contracts in Iraq or Afghanistan - they are there for the money, and they endure.

  25. #25
    The Pikey Hunter
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo
    I'm interested in what it's like to work there: environment, people, culture, food, language - but especially the actualities of day to day living.
    It's great. You should go immediately. Sign a 10 year contract. You'll love it there.

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