Potential move to Bahrain

Lnea1310 wrote:

Hi there,

Apologies in advance if many of my questions have already been answered elsewhere on the site. I am looking for some advice in relation to a potential move to Bahrain from the U.K.  My husband has been offered a position working in Saudi with the idea that we would be based in Bahrain. We have a four year old daughter so I have many questions about the poential move. Any advice would be very much appreciated, most of my questions are related to cost of living and the practicalities of the potential move.

Hello there. Welcome to the Forum. Most of these questions have indeed been answered before, but no harm in "refreshing" them.

Lnea1310 wrote:

How easy is it to lease a car? Although my husband would have a car provided I would need one also. What are rough prices for car leasing for a standard car?

Leasing a car is fairly straightforward if you have a valid driver's licence. You will be able to get a Bahrain licence over the counter if you have a UK licence. You may need to get a Bahrain ID number for this.

Lnea1310 wrote:

Would anyone have any recommendations for schools for our daughter? What are the typical coatings for fees and is this something we should
expect the employer to contribute towards?

There are numerous expatriate schools. I will leave the details of fees and other information regarding schools to those with better knowledge.

Your husband should try to negotiate school fees as part of his package. This is normal expatriate benefit.

Lnea1310 wrote:

Does anyone live in Saar? If so what is the quality of housing and what can we expect to get for our money?

Saar is good area to live in. Home to a lot of expats and to two popular expat clubs - the Rugby Club and the Delmon Club.

Lnea1310 wrote:

Is it easy to open a bank account? Or do people continue to use their existing bank accounts?

Either option is possible. Only issue with using your existing bank account may be the higher foreign exchange costs when you withdraw local currency against your home currency.

Lnea1310 wrote:

Does anyone use the Saudi causeway? It's this very busy and something that you have to pay for?

Lots of people live in Bahrain and work in Saudi Arabia. Its very common. The daily commute across the Causeway can be a bit of a challenge, especially on weekends, when the crossing can take a few hours. On a good day, the crossing is about 30 - 45 minutes.

There is a toll - BHD2.5 (or SAR 25) one way.

Lnea1310 wrote:

Any help would be really appreciated. It seems a wonderful opportunity and something we have wanted to try for some time now but we also want to feel prepared for the transition.

All the best.

Let us know if you have more questions.