AGS in Jeddah.. anyone else work there?

hi, hope u doing well, from the pictures i saw it is very good , i am living in riyadh and i have good experiences with my daughter in International school < from what i saw it is very good school in compare to the others.

good luck

mahdi owda

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Thank you for your response!
What is Jeddah like as a city?
And do you know anything else about the school? I've seen the pictures and a few videos online. It seems nice but I just want to be sure!

May to Sep hot but overall nice city but traffic is not organized. A nice beach there too.

....one day they might actually finish the roads/buildings/airport/etc etc
It's unique, I'll say that. I prefer Jeddah to Riyadh but it still needs to move forward a bit before it becomes somewhere I'd want to consider ‘home'

Thank you!
Are you living in a compound? What it is like? And I've also heard they've introduced a new expat tax. Is this true?!

thanks

Jeddah is pretty much like any other city, but, there are some things you should know before you accept a post here. The entertainment is limited compared to any other country in the world, this may seem like i'm stating the obvious but, trust me, after a year or so stuck inside your house it begins to get to you. Boredom is a major issue in Jeddah even with all the new events happening because  they all get advertised in Arabic on God-Knows-What platforms so we foreigners usually find out about them too late.

There aren't many people, especially in the service sector (shopkeepers, delivery men, cops etc) who speak English so you will have a tough time communicating but there are a lot of Saudis and expats who do and are usually happy to translate.

The income is great, and you can save a lot of money even with the new dependent's fee, if you sponsor someone to come with you to KSA there is a monthly levy that you will have to pay per dependent which is currently SAR 200 per month and will double until it hits SAR 400. If you dont account for this in your salary negations, it will become a big part of your annual savings.

Compounds are a good place to live but bear in mind that they are expensive, the cheapest compound that I have come across that is livable was around SAR 55k per year, and not all compounds are equal. There are cheaper ones but there is no point in living sub standard housing just because it's called a compound, The nice one is the Basateen compound but they never have any vacant homes and the waiting list is at least a few years long.

You can choose a house in the city since it's generally considered a very safe city with almost zero street crime or organized crime, but, the random hecklers and catcallers aren't unheard of. You can get a unbelievably large flat in a very posh area of the city for 35k or less with rents still on the decline, but, the architecture is very "Saudi". You'll understand when you see the houses.

This is strange, but, Jeddah does not have addresses. It is a b****h ordering food and explaining your location to a guy who does not speak English.

I've lived here for 4 years and I've never seen a "religious policeman" so you don't have to worry about them at all.

Getting about is easy now with Careem and Uber but come July women will be able to drive around the city and own a car (highways will be off limits, dunno why).

I hope this addresses most of your concerns regarding Jeddah. It's a brilliant city to live in with some awesome people.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions or concerns.

Regards,

Z

Hi
AGS is very near from my home, the appearance of the school is amazing and I thought is it equal with the quality.
My suggestion, more searching for the reviews about the school more better and at final you are the one who will decide base on ur comfort.
Good luck anyhow !!!

Regards
Farhani Dewi

Hello madman....
You did explaination correctly about Jeddah city and honestly what you are saying is mostly right.
Jeddah is the best city compared to other city in the kingdom.
Just enjoy your life here with all genuine part of the country and you will discover more and more interesting stuff.

Regards
Farhani Dewi

Thank you for your reply!
Everyone seems to be saying the same thing about Jeddah so far.

I will have to sponsor my husband and child when I get there. I've been told I can't start the process till a month later. Do you know how long this takes? And is it expensive? My baby is really young (8 months) and being away from him for a long time will be difficult

Well...
The procedure of taking about one month of sponsorship your husband & baby is a must & can be more sweetie....
Make sure too your occupation is allowed to sponsoring the husband & kids before you sign the contract.
The fees for sponsorship  honestly I don't have any idea , but I thought it's about  one shot payment for visa 2000 SAR/ person excludes Iqama SAR 600 annually & SAR 200 monthly fees.
You can ask more details to the company or Saudi embassy online..
The best way is let your husband apply for a job too, so both of you have a job together here.
Anyhow please don't be hesitate to ask me anything and I try my best to reply you as much as I know the answer correctly.

Regards
FD

Thank you so much babe!

My employer has said I will have to wait a whole month before I sponsor them. Do I have to wait another month after while the process takes place? Or is it just one month. And who can I contact to start the process early?

HI

I M IN JEDDAH

IF YOU NEED ANY TYPE OF SUPPORT DO LET ME KNOW

Hi,

Spousal sponsorships are fairly straight forward in Saudi Arabia (for men)

As far as I know teachers are allowed to sponsor families, but, you must absolutely ensure that your Iqama (residency permit) is of your profession and your degrees are  stamped by the Saudi Embassy in your country. This is important. For your entry, your employer will not be that strict for this attestation, but, when it comes time for your family the ministry will not accept these missing attestations. In short, my advice is, do not leave your home country until your degrees are stamped.

When you arrive, you will have two options. Sponsor a family visit visa or apply for their residencies. Check out lifeinsaudiarabia dot com for the exact process. If you plan on relocating your family here, just apply for their residencies. Ensure you have all your docs, the list is in the website, if everything is present with translations, they give the authorization for the residency visa within the hour and the home country process lasts a week which includes a medical test.

All in all, once you have your residency, it takes a dedicated week to finish the processes here. You will need to plan for this because everything closes for prayer in the middle of the day and working hours are not as long as other countries so the simplest job takes a full day and you will have started a new job so it might get a little stressful, but, employers know this and are usually more than willing to help and accommodate. You will just need a working day to have your marriage certificate and other docs translated. Certain documents will need attestation from the Foreign Ministry in Jeddah, for which, you will have to go in person and is a pain.

You should be prepared to be away from your family for at least 8 weeks (if everything is going smoothly) which is actually the hard part. You will find a lot of people willing to help and the whole process is well listed on the web.

I hope i have covered everything. We are all happy to help so do not hesitate to reach out whenever you need to.

Regards,

Thank you so much. You're all so kind!

I must stamp my certificates? Or copies of them? I don't really feel comfortable stamping my actual degree certificate 8 weeks without my little one sounds dreadful but I guess I'll have to cope. Are there any expat communities in Jeddah? It'll be nice to meet people who can show me around.

Hello,

You'll need to stamp the original degrees, I think you will have to have it stamped by the British Foreign Office too so, more or less, your degree will be a cornucopia of official stamps. No way around that.

There aren't many expat clubs in Jeddah, it's more of a self service thing, but there are a lot of groups on facebook for various activities if you are into desert Safaris or Hiking in the desert. A lot of tour operators have even started cropping up to take people to various craters and mountains in and around Jeddah.

Me and my wife will be happy to show you around, as would most other people. You don't have to worry about seeing the city, there will always be someone willing to show off Jeddah.

The most popular thing to do in Jeddah is food. Other than that there are sea sides (called corniches) a few "artistic" roundabouts, Malls and some flea markets. Yes, it is a boring city for now but one day we will have a cinema too.

Regards,

Z

not to be blunt, but to be blunt - what are your offers like with AGS?