My hubby is in the process of applying for a welding/pipefitting job in Jubail with three bedroom apartment accommodation offered in Al Jude 2. Everything should be finalised during July 2014.
His acceptance is dependent on me and how I feel about moving from the UK. We have six year old twins who will be leaving Year 2 in July 2014 and a dog.
Firstly, does anybody have any knowledge of the Al Jude 2 accommodation; does it look like Al Jude 1?
Schooling - this is the biggest (and deciding) factor by far. Can anybody recommend a good school? The fees won't be an issue as they are included as part of the salary. The twins are currently at an 'excellent' OFSTEAD school. I've read about international schools - are they any good or should we stick to English schools?
Support Network - I won't be working but will go off my head with boredom if I'm not doing something or something to help other people.
Pets - we have a dog - are dogs allowed in compounds? What the importation restrictions on dogs?
All members of our family are English, but Hubby and I were married in America - does anybody know if this causes problems?
New move - six year old twins
Seems like no one responded to you.
1) There has been a lot of discussion about the Jude 2 compound. Go to the top right of this webpage, and you will see a search box with a "GO" button next to it. Search for Jude 2 using the search box, and you will get all relevant discussions. Use the search box for any info you need, if it has been discussed before, the search feature (powered by Google), will find it.
2)Jubail is not a big city, and consequently, educational choices are limited. This is pretty much the only school you will have a choice of: http://www.isg.edu.sa
3) Support network - Again, Jubail is a small city, the the social scene isn't as vibrant as it would be in Jeddah, Riyadh, or Khobar. Look at the Jubail threads and see if you find any where other females are looking for social opportunities, or start your own thread just before you get here. As a general rule, in Saudi you have to work a lot harder to have a social life, and even more so in the smaller cities.
4) Issue of dogs has been discussed before as well. Dogs are allowed in compounds, but if Jude 2 has different rules, I wouldn't know. Again, use the search feature, and also to find the import procedures.
5) In general, the marriage certificate (and degrees) have to be attested by the Saudi Embassy in the country where the marriage took place (or where the degrees were obtained). In your case, I don't know, it might be possible to get the marriage certificate attested by the Saudi Embassy in London. Do you have a UK marriage certificate also? If not, look into getting that. Also, contact some of the many visa agencies/companies in London (search with Google) that get documents attested for a fee. Ask them if they would be able to get your US marriage certificate attested by the Saudi Embassy in London. It might be possible, but it might need to be attested first by the US Embassy in London, then by the Foreign Office, and then by the Saudi Embassy.
Sorry would have replied earlier but missed your post. There is very little info on Al Jude 2 but it will be a lot more modern than the original one as that is VERY old. I have been told families will get a villa not apartment.
With regard schooling the international school seems to have a good reputation but does use the American curriculum which is not quite the same as British. Start dates are different so a lot depends on their date of birth. I have a 3 and 5 year old who are 18 months apart, here in the UK they would be two years apart, in the international school they will be one year apart. It is a decent system for primary school and you can always home school them as well to get make sure when you come back they will fit in with their peers level here.
Have not got a clue about dogs sorry.
I am moving out early next year and my family will follow 4 to 6 weeks later, we are really looking forward to the adventure ;-)
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