I lived in Saudi Arabia for 7 years, and I really liked it, I was wondering if anyone who lived there or visited also found it a nice place to stay. But I mainly liked Aramco, and the private compounds that people could hang out in. I want peoples opinions out of curiosity :)
Saudi Arabia - 16 Answers
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1 :
I live in Saudi Arabia. I like it here. Aramco is very nice. I haven't been inside any other compounds though.
2 :
Well i found out i was moving here roughly a year ago. and to be honest, i was dreading it. i thaught it was going to be awful! like people going to school on camels and people forcing you to pray :S i was currently shifting from ireland and as soon as i arived it was the worst day ever, from the depths and slopes of the lustrous green hills and mountains, to flat and sandy ground.. killed me. the days passed on slowly and i moved to a compound which was mainly full with arabs, jordanians, ect. i felt so alone. it was so hot and so boring, i couldnt run around a huge grass field or climb trees and make swings and do what ever i wanted. i felt like i was trapped. i felt like a nun in a brothel. as time passed on, i started school, and that made it even worse. it weas a brittish school but the people were so weird. and un welcoming. but as i settled in i slowly started to make friends and became very popular... parties stated to occour and i was invited to several compounds such as Najd, Hamera, and Salwa. it was then in the parties when i saw guys and girls jumping in pools, laughing their lifes out and being free, that i realised this place isnt so bad after all. now and then i have my lows. but knowing i have great friends. and great fun, makes it alot better =]
3 :
I have no choice it's my Home :D
4 :
^^ same as this guy i have to like it it's my home
5 :
Ok i am going to try and answer this properly. when i came to riyadh I had lived 12 years in the Uk, three in the US, two in dubai and before that in India. (I am 38 years old.) The company has done very well by us and gave us accomodaation in one of the most sought after compounds of riyadh. I have been here for one year and well i am used to the expat life so I have made friends here and its ok bcos i know its for a short while - another year or two at the very max. I have some very serious issues with life here in regards to: 1)Schools - my son goes to the british school which is supposed to be th ebest school in riyadh and it is seriously crap. Considering the opportunities it has and the resources it has, why even the village school my son was going in in the Uk was thousand miles ahead. This school cannot hope to catch up simply bcos the quality of teachers is crap - mainly bored housewives or rejects from the UK. 2) Hospitals - the hospitals here have the best facilities and any equipment money can buy but they dont have the doctors. the doctors are of very poor quality who arent even able to communicate properly with patients. 3) Restricted life: Where does one go for some culture? there is not a single theatre, cinema, art gallery... nothing whatsoever. Nothing cultural seems to fit into the saudi version of islam, which by the way i have very mixed feelings about. If i want to take the kids to a museum or something there is that excuse of an museum on riyadh thats IT. On one hand i like wahhabism bcos it follows very pure essence of Islam stripped of all ritual. On the other hand it has also confined Islam to a very narrow channel - when I have always found Islam the most radically liberating of religions. Going from one point to another is such a hassle even if you have a driver you end up giving up half the time. so most of your socialising and kids' social circle ends up being in your own compound which not at all healthy and find meeting the SAME people everywhere i go - shops, other compounds, even on a holiday to egypt (!!) very suffocating. i m one of those people who like being lost in the crowds of a city - being recognised everywhere disconcerts me. 4) Compound life has its own disadvantages. It encourages pecking orders and groupism. Thank god the company my husband works for has a flat structure so we have no such nonsense for me but i find for eg the bank crowd is full of this burra memsahib, chota memsahib stuff. and you piss off one you piss off everyone! So better to stay away and just be distantly polite with eveyone. I have two very good friends and i have very content with just them. Frankly even though i have a good life here, as i have had a good life every where i have gone bcos i believe its not the place but you who make your own happiness. But just as a neutral observer i feel if it hadnt been for Makkah and the oil no one would ever give a second thought to Saudi. There's nothing here to keep anyone coming. No offence to any saudi - this is my reading, and i have travelled all over the world. there is not a single country i have not been to and i still travel at least six times a year to various destinations bcos of my work. so this is my own dispassionate reading of this country. I repeat though I am quite content here - but only bcos i know we are here for only a couple of years.
6 :
I wish Saudi Arabia didn't have oil so we wouldn't have millions of greedy foreigners ruining our country.
7 :
I love Saudi Arabia. It is my home.
8 :
Well I used to live and work in Saudi Arabia particularly in the Assir Region for 14 years. I love the climate there, the local foods and the place. The people are not very conservative there but it is really up to you as long as you do not violate Saudi laws and respect their customs and tradition. The Saudis also are generally nice people. If only given a chance to go back there. I would be glad to.
9 :
i like saudi.. i miss it, i wanna go back (in sha Allah i'm planning to after studying).
10 :
.....I like it because it is safe and I like the simplicity of life here......
11 :
People are not subjected to law equally. Some laws are very harsh, can eject visitors very rapidly. Little sense of community available around even among locals( I am local) People through trash from their cars to everywhere ( No respect for land) Some simple freedoms are denied expats live in isolation Many people don't like locals .May be due to their strange laws One of the worst places for women rights ,human rights. Poor laws and poor education system You could be caned if you sit with someone from the opposite sex not of your close relatives . The list is endless However, the only good thing is that it is still OK so far.
12 :
I don't like it much. Driving is dangerous, most men smoke and are huge perverts. But I make good money here so I stay for now.
13 :
i visited Saudi Arabia for 1 month, and i have to say that i really enjoyed my time there!
14 :
i have never visited Saudi Arabia .. do NOT want to ever visit it .. and will never think about visiting it .. what i hear about that country is enough to make me afraid of going there @ the guy who said "i wish we didn't oil so foreigners would stop coming" or something like that .. if you had not had oil, you would have been still living in desert dude .. so ignorant that you depend mainly on a natural resource while all other countries are inventing and having something unique eww!! saudi arabia
15 :
Well, I am new to this country just 2 month. I believe living the life in a compound is not the real life you live in saudi. Like somebody mentioned, coming to saudi people told me so many stories. Well, i am person who lived in many countries, and i would not judge it by what people say. For me 1st month, living in saudi was a nightmare. Cause, I visited the entire riyadh looking for good, clean new apartments. That was the biggest Challenge. Second was getting used to the fact, ho But all in good terms, I met lot of people, good kind hearted to cheaters and crooks, from saudis to indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, sudan, Yemenis, syrian, jordan, sri lankans... all in all.. This is the first country that i visited which had so many different nationality of people. But language was the the biggest barrier. But its crazy so many more nationalities here than actual saudi's. Bottom line, I like it here, I know its all desert and sunny here unlike where i come from where its all green. But I like the indiana jones style desert adventures here. I really want to go find a oasis in the middle of the desert ; ). This excitement, and the excitement to visit all holy and historical places keeps me going. I enjoy all the shopping, the cars, the food. Friends and family, its always good to have some known close relatives with you who enjoy the same life style as you, but your second family will always become the workplace which i enjoy.
16 :
its too gud.but only coz' of the two holy mosques in Mecca & Medina. for a muslim, this is the best place on earth.
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