Khobar bound - some Q's

Hello, this topic is one of the major problems being an expat and somehow tricky. Anyhow, I'll try to be as much accurate as possible.

First of all, a compound is a villa surrounded by walls which provides more privacy than a crowded apartment building but is way too expensive if you try to arrange its rental by yourself.

In case of apartments, they're good in order to save some of the allowance money (if a compound is not arranged in your contract) but you'll have to attend some neighborhood rules like everywhere else in the world. If you choose this, make sure that it belongs to a bachelor or bachelor-friendly building because singles are not so welcome in family-only ones. Prices can change depending on the area, if they are already furnished, on extra value such as lifts or laundry center, etc. (check your budget according to your contract before starting the real-estate quest). I'm not sure about the whole price range but they might be around 1500-2000 SAR/month aproximately.
By the way, your working area is called Akrabia and is nice and quiet but there is no compound nearby. Most of them are like 15 min by car but be aware of traffic jams during rush hours.

Regarding transport, I bought a second-hand car and is a common practice around here. Taxis are OK but during rush hours is almost impossible to get one. Maybe your company can provide you a company car as well, is also common and usually they allow people to use it for personal purposes.

Please feel free to ask for more doubts, cheers.

Gracias Juan.

really helpful info. Is there many expats living out of compounds, is that common? The company that is hiring me is small, so no allowance, just a paycheck and I have to set money aside for accommodation. Where would I start looking for my accommodation? Should I go through real estate agency, or is it common that locals from the company help me? Should I fix everything from home before I get there, or just wait and arrange it when there?
What I'm after is a small apartment with A/C, internet, heated water, furnished... What else should I pay attention when looking for apartment?

Cheers

Absolutely, lots of expats live in outside compounds and get along with it. Since there is no such a regulated real estate market I'd suggest to search once you arrive here and search for something comfortable.
As a tip, try to catch an apartment in the first floor or middle floors because of the summer heat and regarding services it will depend on the place itself (it would be possible that you might have to pay some bills too). Meanwhile check this out:

http://www.expatriates.com/classifieds/ … available/

Hope this helps.

juangcr wrote:

As a tip, try to catch an apartment in the first floor or middle floors because of the summer heat

Also a good idea due to the frequency of elevators being out of order (shouldn't be a problem if it's a newer building, though)!

Good luck!

Hi....you can contact Amana Properties they are an estate agency who are based in Khobar. They speak English and Arabic.