I’ve just been offered a job in Saudi and I’m trying to decide if it’s a good idea. The money is decent (in-line with UK earnings, but tax free) but not eye watering in the way I had hoped it might be.

Has anyone been out there? I know there are real drawbacks in terms of the culture etc etc, but I am a little unsure about what it would actually be like to live there for two or three years to put some cash in the bank.

Do you really want to live in a country that cuts peoples hands and feet off as a punishment?

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/16/letter-saudi-arabian-human-rights-commissioner

And uses a load of religious mumbo jumbo as the basis of its justice system?

If you are a woman then it is a big no!
If you are a bloke that likes a drink then, again, a big no. Unless you are working at the US Embassy.
The money needs to be substantially more than you could earn in the UK to make it worth your while. Unless of course your employer provides all living expenses and accomodation.
I work in a fairly moderate Islamic country and have met several people that work in Saudi. The only reason they are there is for the money so it needs to be very good.

would go on some long moral rant, but in short NO!

Only visited. Interesting place to go to – ignore many of the preconceived stereotypes. Definitely wouldn’t live there though. I suspect that it would be very boring place to live and OK if you just want to put money in the bank – but for me life’s too short.

I’m not sure what line of work you are in but from the time i wotked out there, be prepared to live and spend the majority of your time in ex-pat villages. Most are fenced off.

I found Sauidi as a whole very unwelcoming and i tried extremely hard to visit the country, experience as much of it as possible. BUT as with most places i met some of the most amazing and friendly individuals as well.

I would not rush back. In fact i would do anything not to spend any time out there. Realy not my cup of tea.

If the wages were not as expected then the plan of going out for 2 years to put money down on a house etc might not be worth it.

friend of a friend works out there. earns same salary as he did in the uk (same job same company) but gets house/ car/ food allowance. he lives with two other lads (all late 20s/ early 30s). He said the only thing to do for fun is razz their big cars around the dunes. they have a 2 hummers and a land cruiser in the house.

last time i saw him he said that every month he means to quit. but he changes the date on his resignation letter as he’ll do one more month. he essentially trapped out there by the money. he’s already got a house deposit together. couple of years and he’ll have 50% of nice house in savings.

make of that what you will.

Mate of mine worked there for a while. He regarded it as a sort of (not-so) open prison. He (temporarily) put up with it because he was earning an absolute fortune.

For the same money as you’d get here? – not a chance!

My wife worked there for a fair while before we get together.
Despite cautions above, she had a really interesting time. It’s quite different! Maybe that’s a good thing to experience, if only for a while?
You can do some good exploring from there.
MIP if you want to get int touch with ‘Mrs Barn’ and see what she has to say.

they have a 2 hummers and a land cruiser in the house.

that’s a really big house.

They are very economical with execution …

You’d need to be taking your pay home in a wheelbarrow for me to consider Saudi. If the only differential between your UK salary is the tax it doesn’t sound a serious proposition IMO.

Mate of mine teaches English there and got 2 months free salary this year – part of the Saudi government’s effort to sedate any thoughts of an Arab Spring in their country. They apparently pumped a lot of money into the public sector for this reason.

The money needs to be substantially more than you could earn in the UK to make it worth your while.

This and leave emotion out of it.

You’re probably getting the general message already but…

…if it’s in/round Riyadh then don’t even think about it based on the money you’re being offered! I’ve done a few projects out there (a few weeks at a time, staying in hotels). A certain type of person seems to think that the money is an acceptable trade-off for the compound lifestyle, but it’s not for me. At all. I certainly wouldn’t be in any rush to go back there even for a short-term project (i.e. a week…). Lifestyle apart I’m not sure that I could put up with the work culture either.

Other parts of the country are meant to be better/more liberal but I’ve got no experience so can’t comment.

It sounds like I really need to push for more before it even vaguely begins to sounds like a good idea. It would be based close to Bahrain.

Don’t know that part of KSA. Bahrain itself tends to fill up with Saudi’s ex-pats at the weekends… Bahrain is OK insofar as it’s more liberal, although it’s still not the most exciting place in the world. This year’s shenanigans may also be a bit of a question mark.

I live in the UAE and got a decent salary (in-line with UK earnings, but tax free.) I work with lots of people who have worked in KSA and none would go back unless the pay was well above in-line with UK.

Two questions.

is the moral aspect of it acceptable to you? the role of women in society – the use of “slaves” and second class citizens. to some folk tis is unimportant to others it is.

The second is is the money yo are going to get worth the lifestyle compromises you will have to make?

My dad has lived and worked in various Middle Eastern countries for coming up to 20 years now (on and off), including Saudi. I visited Saudi a fair amount, although not so recently, and ended up doing work on Saudi projects. I’ve spent a reasonable amount of time visiting other GCC places and doing projects there (from outside, I should say). I’m generally positive about Arab culture, working abroad and actually even quite like Dubai in a way.

So with that as a prelude: in my opinion, no, nay, never. It’s a complete dump, it’s not so cheap any more, it’s full of miserable **** and slaves, it’s fantastically boring and restricted, and the security situation imvh-amateur-o has never been worse.

Bahrain is a dump too.

Put it this way: think of the worst, nastiest town in the UK. Would you accept a 30% premium on the condition that you lived and worked there, and weren’t allowed to see any of your family and friends more than 3-4 times a year, and the only place you’d be allowed to go on the weekend was a 3 hour drive to the second worst, nastiest town in the UK?

YMMV, of course. Why not ask the employer to fly you out there for a look around first?

I’d work in Afghanistan if it was triple pay/and tax free, I didn’t have to leave the compound and I was provided with a fire arm and training.

Same would apply to Saudi Arabia. The only issue is I can look Jewish from certain angles and after a couple of weeks I’d get serious cabin fever.

Interesting thread. I’ve worked there for a month and wouldn’t consider longer term work there unless it was for a shit load of cash.

Whilst I never felt unsafe or threatened, I found the place itself oppressive – as said above, their attitude towards women is shocking.

I was working and living in a big camp, I only left to do a daytrip to Bahrain which was a lot more easygoing.

I worked there for all of 1994.

I lived on the outskirts of Al Khobar, here .

I was on an ex-pat compound with a mix of single blokes and families – MrsG stayed at home for the whole year.

We did manage to have a reasonable good time. There were a few bars and clubs, but they were all on other compounds and you needed a contact on the inside to get you in. Once there, copious amounts of (not particularly nice) homebrew was available – beer and sid (some form of distilled alcohol).

It was a long time ago and, I guess, quite a bit has changed but it was certainly an interesting experience. I did get to see a little bit of the country and, if you get away from the towns and try out a little arabic, the people were really very welcoming and hospitable. The biggest nobbers I came across were the ex-pats, the locals were pretty decent. A few of their ideals I found difficult, but hey, it’s their country and I was a visitor. As long as I kept clear of the Mattawa (religeous/moral police) I didn’t have any issues.

Would I go back? No. Been there, done it.

The only issue is I can look Jewish from certain angles

Hora – thanks for sharing that. But surely not a problem unless you’re planning to pull your shreddies down in public.

Hora having doubts about going to Saudi earlier today:

Work in oil and my colleagues who have been to saudi said they would rather work in nigeria than in saudi – says it all for me- i wouldnt rush there

My Uncle worked for Haliburton in Saudi. On one of the few occasions he ventured off his compound he was assaulted with an iron bar. It didn’t put him off though.

With a Lion bar?

One of my brother’s mates has been out there for a few years. Ex-army with a talent for languages and IT. Earns a fortune, has a phat Merc with chauffeur, huge gated home and all the toys/accoutrements he’d ever need. Will return here at some point but only when he’s bored of making stupid amounts of cash.

Ricky says ……No

Whilst I never felt unsafe or threatened, I found the place itself oppressive – as said above, their attitude towards women is shocking.

IIRC their attitude to Johnny Foreigner isn’t much better either.

IIRC their attitude to Johnny Foreigner isn’t much better either.

IME it depends what color the foreigner is. And then, if the foreigner is white, how rich they are.

I’d do it for sacks of money, but that would be the only reason.. It would need to be sack loads though…
There is no way i’d even consider it for what I get now tax free…
We’ve got various friends who are either out there at the moment, or have done it and are now back here, they’ve all said the same.. treat it as a cash machine.

I have serious issues with their medievil approach to human rights but don’t want to get all moral about it.

If youre a bi-sexual alcholic, heres nothing there for you except perhaps a beating

What if you’re a bi-sexual, jewish alcoholic?

Better or worse?

What if you’re a bi-sexual, jewish, alcoholic political campaigner?

What if you’re a bi-sexual, jewish, alcoholic political campaigner?

No problem, you’d be refused entry.

IME it depends what color the foreigner is. And then, if the foreigner is white, how rich they are.

Do they not apply the “if you weren’t in the country, the accident wouldn’t have happened” legislation as a way of apportioning blame?

It’s a hole

My best mate is there now for nearly 2 years. He sees is as a slightly better option than working on a north sea oil rig. At least his wife is there and they can have a bevvy sometimes, made some friends and they’ve got skype for old friends and family.

He’s doing it so he can get a deposit on a house in Sydney. He is really well paid.

Otherwise – no.

I’ve only been twice – a short visit and again passing through. I wouldnt choose to visit or holiday or work there. But needs must and all that.

On one of the few occasions he ventured off his compound he was assaulted with an iron bar.

I find that hard to believe. The one thing that Saudi Arabia isn’t is dangerous (for white foreigners).

has a phat Merc with chauffeur, huge gated home

= he has a nice car with a driver (something that is massively overrated imnshe) and a house with a wall around it (like all the other houses there, so that people can’t see in).

Chicken vs. egg? Are all ex-pat types shallow greedy soul-less feckers before they suck the money-mans-c*ck? JOKE! I’ve met some nice ex-pats but I’ve also met many scary shallow keeping-up-with-the-jones’s types – as with everything it’s all about the people, and all the people out there are in it for one thing only so that is what they talk about… MONEY.

Seriously though. Living in a country like that with only ex-pats to talk to would be my idea of hell. As a very short term option, with huge rewards, and if your life is shit, then consider it… but if you have a good standard of living and enjoy your life now why would you gamble on giving it up for the possibility of a better future? Things can change greatly in a few years, currency fluctuations and house price rises can wipe out your savings, and loss of career options or promotional chances can also destroy the benefits – be aware of what you could lose and be vary clear about what you expect to gain.

If you stayed here and made the same lifestyle choices as will be forced on you living out there you would save cash quickly. Stop drinking, eat cheap crap food, stop going out (i.e. have no friends), stop buying stuff, rent/share a house. If you go out there and try to keep a “lifestyle” by going out, rewarding yourself with holidays and stuff then you will not save enough to make a difference (unless your on HUGE money), hence you will either stay out there to earn more or return bitter and twisted (see ex-pats).

P.S. I worked there about 10 years ago, but would not consider staying. I met a few nice Saudi’s but your mostly limited to ex-pats or TCN’s. Third Country Nationals – If I talked about this it would become a rant but basically it’s slave labour and some of the conditions these people work in and what they have to put up with is a disgrace. But we all turn a blind eye and carry on because the money is good 😕

I’ve been thinking, yes make great money there is a risk and what have you got to lose?

You can’t spend that money when your 6ft under in a box rotting.

How much more is it? 50%? 100% Its nowhere near enough.

A life is worth more than even a lottery win IMO.