Homestays?

Certainly not a good idea! I wouldn't dare recommend that.

Hi Jeju,
I've just enquired about your post with my fellow work colleagues. I don't think this is common or even possible here in Saudi. Single women may find accommodation where families are accommodated, This would be the best way to interact with other ladies in the compound and make friends with them.

Homestays ? Not recommended in Saudi !


Best advice , let her rent an apartment where Saudi families live , that way , there's gonna be no problem !

And she could mix-up with the girls in the other families or invite them too !

Ha! Thanks everyone. I must admit, I figured this would be a pretty long shot. She says she's had students from this area and she's hoping one of them could set her up with a family member. Guess that's the best option, but still...

Also, speaking of getting an apartment where there are families, I'm hearing something for the first time from an expat who's lived here 12 years. We have a housing allowance and I've mentioned to my employer that I may like to live off-compound. No one else has mentioned this to me, but this expat claims that single (expat?) women cannot live off a (western?) compound unless they have a male guardian. I'm thinking that my company qualifies as my guardian, no?

By male guardian they mean your spouse, brother, father, grand father or son Ithink

You would think... But my confusion is that no one, not even my employer or the Saudis who have offered me off-compound housing, have asked about a male guarantor. Is this a law, but no one cares? Or just a custom? Or is the expat simply wrong about the male?

there used to be this law when women could not roam around without male guardian or they needed to carry a letter authorized by a male guardian but i think that is the thing of the past... i am just using the little knowledge i have... someone experienced can shed some light on this