# Jeddah



## Markgraham (Jul 6, 2011)

Hi all

I have an interview next week and have recently found out the area I would live in is Jeddah.

I dont know much about the place other than what Google tells me.

Anyone reading this Thread, if you have anything to say, comment etc about Jeddah, whats there, what its like, where are good/bad areas, what is schooling like for the kids, anything else you can think of.

It would be good to get a broad range of comments

thanks in advance

MG


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## jrp928 (Jul 27, 2011)

Dont personally know Jeddah (have driven throught it once I think), but can offer some general background from working ther 1994-2002. The main things you need to know relate to housing and schooling if you have kids going with you. If its a govt organization, be very careful not to make ANY assumptions about anything. I worked for one such for 2 years in Riyadh, no kids, and had a dingy 1 bedroom flat in the city - dreadful place in summer! Ask to see pictures of proposed quarters, name of compound if relevant, and details of any housing allowance offered (usually 3 months pay), and we used to hear that on that money, if you could afford a house rent, you didnt want to live there, and if you did want to live there, you couldnt afford it. If a compound is mentioned, look it up on the web and see if you can find somebody who has lived there. If a suburb of Jeddah is mentioned, do a search, check it out on google earth etc.
Do some digging on what schooling will cost, and what allowance you will get for it. Ask how many air fares home per year are provided - used to be 2/pa, now 1 I believe. Do you get tickets or money? health cover fully provided?
Jeddah has a reputation of being more open and tolerant than Riyadh, as it has had foreigners there for 100s of years, but dont know from experience. She will be REQUIRED to wear a body covering robe (abaya) in public at ALL times, she will not be allowed to drive, and may be chided about covering her hair .
IMHO the best jobs are with western companies who know what westerners expect - after the first 2 years I worked for western operations, and lived in compounds where women could drive (inside only, but they can be several acres in size), go around in skimpy clothes in hot weather etc, as normal. 
We met many good people there, travelled a lot both inside and out (Jordan, Egypt), saved a bucket load. If you meet the right people, and your housing is OK, life can be very good. If you are into swimming, diving etc, you would love the Red Sea.
jrp


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## jrp928 (Jul 27, 2011)

Another thing to be aware of - almost never can a new expat enter Saudi with family on first entry. You will go in ona visa, and they will start process for your residence permit - Iqama. This used to take 8-12 weeks . Until you get this, you cant open a bank account, or buy a car, or get a driving licence - take an International one as well as UK one, and carry only copies. Once you have this Iqama, then you apply for family to come in, where they assemble all the paperwork, and get visas, and employer issues air tickets. You will need to take in with you all your qualifications, attested/certified copies, birth certificates, marriage documentation etc - pretty much every piece of paper you can think of that documents your family. 
jrp


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## bodget (May 24, 2011)

Do you have to support yourself whilst you wait for the residence visa or are you on salary and supported housing wise from day one? Especially if it takes 12 weeks can you work during this period?


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## jrp928 (Jul 27, 2011)

No, employer must house you (as long as that is part of employment contract) and pay you while you do in country formalities to get Iqama (full residence). Until this is done, I could not open a bank account, buy a car, almost anything official. Used to take 8-12 weeks. I was put in some very average accomodation in this phase, and only moved into final 'family' quarters just before She arrived, so I could get it set up in a very basic form. You could push hard at job offer and negotiation stage to get family in with you, but you would have to be a pretty high level appointment to win here. 
hth
jp


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## bodget (May 24, 2011)

do you start work whilst waiting for your residence visa or are you sat on your hands for 8-12 weeks? can you leave the country during this period?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

bodget said:


> do you start work whilst waiting for your residence visa or are you sat on your hands for 8-12 weeks? can you leave the country during this period?




Your employer is responsible for you as soon as you hit the ground so to speak so yes you should be paid, to leave Saudi you will need an exit visa unless you are there on a visitors one. 
Jeddah is much more relaxed than Riyadh and your wife will not have to cover her hair but she will still have to wear an abbaya when outside.
I love Jeddah and enjoyed my time there,


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## bodget (May 24, 2011)

MaidenScotland said:


> Your employer is responsible for you as soon as you hit the ground so to speak so yes you should be paid, to leave Saudi you will need an exit visa unless you are there on a visitors one.
> Jeddah is much more relaxed than Riyadh and your wife will not have to cover her hair but she will still have to wear an abbaya when outside.
> I love Jeddah and enjoyed my time there,


do you just sit and wait for the residency visa or do you start work as soon as you arrive whilst its being processed?
I'm sure my better half would have loads of questions for you if the job comes to fruition would you mind if a she pm'd you?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

bodget said:


> do you just sit and wait for the residency visa or do you start work as soon as you arrive whilst its being processed?
> I'm sure my better half would have loads of questions for you if the job comes to fruition would you mind if a she pm'd you?




To be honest I do not know as I actually worked for the Saudi royal family so of course I was whisked through everything, however your wife is free to ask me questions, I presume she is your wife as they do not allow unmarried couples to live together.

Maiden


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## jrp928 (Jul 27, 2011)

Employed party would start work immediately, while Iqama is processed. Once it arrives paperwork for dependents can start. Pays to be nice and polite to relevant people to accelerate the process - usually a dept known as Govt Relations gets visas etc. Build a clear plastic file of ALL possibly relevant papers (birth certs for all, marriage certs, education stuff, drivers licence etc or cerified copies) and have it ready - they love to say 'you also need X paperwork', and when you come back with X, they say you also need Y - try to get a full list ONCE, make sure you fill the list. Similar file of paper will be needed to open a bank account, get a local drivers licence, buy a car etc. 
jp


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## Ruu (Feb 11, 2011)

Markgraham said:


> Hi all
> 
> I have an interview next week and have recently found out the area I would live in is Jeddah.
> 
> ...


Hi MG,

What everyone has told you so far is correct, as i was born and raised in jeddah. if you want you can pm where they've told you'll be living and i can tell you if its decent or not. As for schools there are plenty of good schools but reallly expensive. Jeddah is much relaxed than any of the cities in KSA especially more than Riyadh.

If you've got anything in particular to ask me feel free to do so as most of the general info has been already posted on the forum.

Good luck

Rue


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## hinings (Sep 24, 2014)

*Should we bring our own camping equipment?*

Should we bring our own camping equipment to Jeddah or are there fully equipped sites for rent. If there are fully equipped sites, how much would it cost for a weekend?


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