Cost of Living : Jeddah

Hi MobileHunk,

Welcome to expat-blog!

Hope members would be able to advise you.

Regards,

David.

Anybody to help me out with this, I need your help urgently.Please suggest me something.

Since you are saying that you went through many threads here talking about cost of living in Saudi Arabia, then you know it’s not an easy question to answer. What is a good accommodation for you might be a dream house for someone or a shithole for others and that can be said about any thing else when it comes to one’s life style and cost of living.

That being said, I will try to summarize some of the cost of living here taking into consideration a low- medium middle class life style.

Accommodation; it’s not easy to find a one bedroom apartment,  but let’s say it will cost 12k a year and for two bedroom (sharing ) 16k/ year ( am paying 27 for two bed rooms apartment in a nice area).In Jeddah , Azizia is the little India for the meddle class Indian community and Sharafia is for lower middle class.

Transportation: buses are for SR2 per trip but you can’t count on public transportation here , they are bad and have very limited routs so you will be using taxis and  its 10-15 per trip.

Food/supermarket; around SR200 a week

Utilities; 60-100 for electricity, water is either included in the rent or you will bay SR20-50 a month to the landlord and a another SR20-50 swage . Mobile and net depending on your use but let’s say SR350 a month.

Other expenses : there is always uncounted for expenses

For your contract, Health insurance is mandatory here in Saudi and your employer should provide it to you, but there are classes so at least ask for  B-class or Silver insurance. Ask that they should cover all the administrative expenses like Iqama renewal

Thanks for your timely help and that has given me proper guidance about with the residence too..

Just one more thing, frankly speaking, according to you this offer means ?

I can’t judge, only you can.You know your situation better.

Yes.. one can only judge to himself rather than others.

Thanks,

Do not under any circumstances accept this salary without medical insurance, accommodation and transport allowance.

Good luck.

For local company 8k is around the average. Though little toward the low side. Now health insurance is a must and mandatory by the Saudi law so your employer should pay for that( non negotiable )

He didn't state anything about his experience or training and that what will make all the difference on the offer ... If he is fresh graduate or even with few years experience then 8k is about the average if not more

Discrimination and racism on the basis of citizenship, unfortunately, is the norm when it comes to salaries in this country.

Considering you are Indian, 8,200 is good.  A western person (and even many non-Western nationalities) in the same position would easily get anywhere from double to 4 times or more, depending on company.

One thing concerns me, though.  You say you won't get housing and transportation allowance, which means the 8,200 is the total package, not the basic salary.  So whether breakdown is given or not, it means the basic is roughly 6,000, housing allowance is about 1,700, and transport allowance is about 500.  6,000 as a basic salary for a software development position is low, even for an Indian, unless you have no experience.  But you didn't mention your position, I am just assuming it is software developer.

I think you should negotiate, if there is room for negotiation.  However, as others have said, health insurance is a must, and they MUST provide it, class A.  And if you speak to them, ask them about the breakdown of the 8,200 first, and then negotiate on that basis.  For example. If they say the basic is, say, 6,000, ask for a thousand more.  The housing/transport will automatically increase as well, as they are usually certain percentages of the basic.

Either way, if you do accept the job, work for a short time with them and always keep a lookout for better paying positions.  Again, assuming that you are a programmer, programmers earn very high salaries in most countries, typically the equivalent of at the very least $60,000 per year, and commonly $80,000 or more. (Even in Saudi, but as I said, many companies here give according to citizenship, sadly)

As it is mentioned earlier, it depends on your expectations, desired lifestyle and versatility.

I am typing for an average expat. maintaining a healthy and convenient lifestyle, yet nothing extravagant.



Rent (1BHK Apartment/House/Room ) :
This might be between 12000-25000 SAR/A, depending on where you want to live. Usually Jeddah downtown (Al-Balad) is less expensive and more crowded (as low as 10,000 SAR/A, whereas Al-Basateen and Al-Marjan districts tend to be more expensive (as high as 35,000 and 40,000 SAR/A) for a one bedroom apartment.

Food (For Pure veg, not even the eggetarian) :
Vegetables could be bought cheap from Farmers market (or vegetables market as it is conventionally called). I would give you some examples of expenses.

A tomato box (local) around 5 kg (8-10 SAR)
A bag of onions (local) around 13 kg  (9-12 SAR)
A Cucumber (local) around 3 kg (5-6 SAR)
A Hot Peppers box around 7 kg (14-17 SAR)
A bundle of Parsley, Mint, Arugula, etc (1 SAR)

Supermarkets/Hypermarkets are usually more expensive than Farmer's market, and could cost as high as 50-80% more


Utilities and Transportation:
They have been answered above in a previous post.


Any Other Expenses :
Internet usage is around 250 SAR/Mo from STC for 20 Mbps/S Internet connection

Foreign restaurants (e.g. Chilli's, AppleBees, TGIF, RubyTuesday, SteakHouse, etc.) are more expensive than local restaurants, and are as expensive as in the U.S.

Expect to pay 40 SAR/person in an average local restaurant and 90-150 SAR in a western restaurant (McDonalds not included )


_____

Copyrights and Intellectual properties are not handled as strictly as it is in the U.S.A.

Just an advice:

People in Saudi Arabia are very different in between. majority are very nice, supporting and welcoming, few are competitive and rude. Watch out for reckless drivers, they are in bundle here, unfortunately, for that traffic violations are not very strict.
I wouldn't start driving immediately there.

It is somehow boring, little bit hot, but very secure in here.

After one month, you will know if you love it or absolutely hate it in here.

Welcome aboard!

@ahmadaq Well, thanks a lot.

For detail information, I am into Mobile Application Development who got sound knowledge about software development and experience of 4 years as an programmer. Certainly, a good leading qualities and a team player. So, I think this offer is definitely on the low side for me.

Please let me know your review as well as.

Hi All,


            Sorry for being in late reply as was't some medical conditions. But Thanks for the support and the timely information provided to me. It has really helped me in realizing the situation and think more about the offer.

           Anyhow, at the end, I was not convinced with the offer that was offered to me. As even I had some words with my colleagues who are already in Gulf Countries. So, overall the offer was average, but not so much excited as it should be. Even I tried to have words with my employer to increase the wages and included the Medical & insurance other than CTC.

        Also, if anybody can help me to get good offers even in their firms for the same profile OR if there are any blog/website there such requirement as posted (NaukriGulf). So, I can also become an expat soon. Since I didn't find the way to know the more requirements in any of the Gulf Countries.


Thanks,

MobileHunk wrote:

Also, if anybody can help me to get good offers even in their firms for the same profile OR if there are any blog/website there such requirement as posted (NaukriGulf). So, I can also become an expat soon. Since I didn't find the way to know the more requirements in any of the Gulf Countries.
Thanks,

This article will definitely help:
https://www.expat.com/en/guide/middle-e … -east.html

All the Best!

Without housing being provided, I wouldn't advise you to come at all.

For one person on this salary, I think you'll be just alright.  But one thing you should compare:  Your pay would be equal to about 140K rupees per month in India.

Your expenses except housing will not be horrible.  Except for extra shopping you can probably save 6,000 riyals, around 104,000 Indian rupees per month, if you try and your housing is given.

If you cannot get a better package than this in India, then it is alright.  You should consider your longer terms plan as well. How long would you like to live like this as a single person?  And if you know x certain number of years, then will you be able to reintegrate back somewhere with your career ahead from whatever experience you'd gain here?  This is also worth something.  Would you have an equal or better opportunity in India for your longer term career?  You have to balance that as well.