Cost of Bills Etc

Water Bill Monthly?
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There are no monthly bills for water supply. Annual charges are 300-600 SAR (varies building to building)

Normal non-mineral Drinking water is 5 SR/gallon. Enoough for one week for 2 persons.

Elec?Gas Bill Monthly?
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Electricity will be 200-300/month SAR in summer (ACs); around 100 in winter.
Gas is 15 SAR per cylinder enough for a month or so. There are no pipeline supplies of gas in KSA.

Telephone and internet line?
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Around 300 SAR per month. Depends on chosen package of course. Check STC website www.stc.com.sa for details about packages.

TV Package?
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300-400 SAR depending upon your chosen package. Check a leading company www.artonline.com for details about available packages.

Gasoline is available in 2 purities. 0.45 and 0.6 SAR/L

Thank you for your quick response.

so how are you billed for electricity usage? do you receive a bill every month which you need pay for?

As in UK - it is fixed for every month and a direct debit has been setup, price has been agreed before hand.

You are welcome mate!

No in KSA elec bills are based on the usage units and the bills are monthly based (Hijri calendar not Gregorian)
The same goes for telephonic bills. The call charges of course depend on usage but internet package charges are fixed.

House rent is usually charged on 6 monthly basis. Water annual charges are fixed and have to be given to the real estate office along with the rent (once a year on renewing the contract).

For elec, in fact the usage varies. In summer you'll have to run Air conditioners continously which are min 12,000 BTU. Other available are 18,000 BTU (1.5 tons), 24,000 BTU (2 tons) etc. Commons are 18K ones.
In winter you just have to run heaters which consume much less electricity.

Thanks Mate that has been helpful. fingers crossed just waiting for my final interview and then take it from there.

been researching some apartments, i would like to stay in olaya area 2/3 bedroom apartment. secured apartment but not in compound, like it to be modern. any ideas of any and what the rent cost will be? also can the landlord be paid monthly as am not sure how i can pay 6 months all in one go.

Olaya area is a very good area to live; though a little rushy but it has almost all amenities. I hope it will be fun. Just make sure your office isn't far away so that you don't have to drive a lot on rushy roads/highways. The rents of apartments start from 30K-60K per annum.

thanks mate - any idea if you could pay monthly. as how would you expect a new expay pay all for 6 months in advance

Never heard of anyone paying rent on monthly basis mate. Usally one year contracts are signed and 6 months payments are taken in advance.

Let me suggest what the new-comers usually do. There are many furnished apartments (lot of them in Olaya as well). They offer monthly packages that start from 5000 SAR. Once you feel you are okay with the country, culture, job conditions etc, you can switch to the appartment rental we have been discussing earlier. The package price will cover electricity, water and possibly internet.

Thanks for all your help.

I think all your questions have been answered.

But please do look into the housing matter seriously, Olya although its a very central area it is very busy and the traffic is horrendous.

Also if your planning to come with family, an apartment may not be the best option, you will also need to bear in mind school distances and social interaction with others for family. (otherwise they feel very isolated).

Your employer should provide a housing allowance and education allowance for children. (british School fees are in the regioj of 50K)

Although utility bills etc are significantly cheaper than UK, your weekly shopping is going to be about par with UK.

Good Luck

Thank You Saudi UK

There would be me and my wife and a baby few mnths old, so I thought a 2-3 bedroom apartment would be big enough? What are your thoughts?

Also which area near olaya would you say was nice and had some good housing? What would the cost be?

There will be a Housing allowance from the employee, not sure how much as yet as still going through the interview process etc. Reg children schooling, as my child is only few months old she won't be attending any kind of schooling for another few years.

Olaya is good area - if your work is close to Olya I would definately go for it.
The area next to Olya is called Sulimaniya this is also a very central area.
A good apartment 2/3 bedroom will cost in the region of SR 30 - SR 40K. (this cost will be easily accomodated with the housing allowance which is normally 3 x basic monthly salary).

Housing is probably the biggest headache in moving to Riyadh (if employer does not provide accomodation) make sure you get 3 or 4 stay in a hotel(covered by your employer) when you arrive.

You will need this sort of time as you cannot obtain housing until your receive your Iqama ( takes normally 5 days - but is dependent on your employers HR dept efficiency!)

Do some research into your employer, there are saudization issues coming into effect which will hinder long term future plans for expats.

Any other questions this blog is a great place to ask.

I believe the office is around or next to Al Khozama Centre –which I believe is in Olaya District. I don’t mind taking transport to get to work, but don’t want it to take longer then 15-20 minutes to get there – so any areas around there would be ok? Is there good areas for expats to stay within 15 minutes drive to Olaya (I will check Sulaimanah area out also, how far isSulaimaniya area to Al Khozama Centre).

Thank you for all your help

Yes Al Khozama Centre is in Olaya area just adjacent to the famous skyscrapper Faisaliyah Tower.
Sulaimanya area is hardly 5 minutes drive from there.

Thanks