PNU Housing

Shared housing is fine. Simple and safe, not much to do, but they look fine. You will most likely have a roommate. There is plenty of room for the both of you.

It takes 20-40 minutes to get to  your job from housing because you will walk and then take a metro and then walk some more to your building. You may have to transfer from one metro train to another, depending on where you are based. Walking in 115 degree weather with the glaring sun is kind of hard, but a fact of life. Bring sunscreen!

Yes, bring sunscreen and make sure to use it! We were just talking about how we all look so much older since we came and that's because we leave our sunscreen in our suitcases. Expect wrinkles and the respect that comes with it! 

PNU housing is five star! The flat is modern, beautifully appointed and spacious. 
However, it is not safe. Security and PNU have copies of the keys and your items go missing. I was robbed and getting compensation apears to be doubtful even though PNU has acknowledged the robbery occurred. Also, PNU is located near the airport so going into town costs about 100sar round trip... Which adds up fast.

Teacher Teacher Teacher wrote:

PNU housing is five star! The flat is modern, beautifully appointed and spacious. 
However, it is not safe. Security and PNU have copies of the keys and your items go missing. I was robbed and getting compensation apears to be doubtful even though PNU has acknowledged the robbery occurred. Also, PNU is located near the airport so going into town costs about 100sar round trip... Which adds up fast.

They must have moved to the new campus then.

Hello
i would like to know, if they employ you on family contract, do you automatically get family accommodation? I will really appreciate any responses. I am planning to move there with my 6 month old son. Does anyone have young children and lives in the university premises?

PNU housing is not 5-star but ti's fine.  However, it gets very lonely because you are far from everyone and everything. Men are not allowed in the buildings and security is extremely tight. Be prepared to pay out every month in taxi fares and also to deal with the hassles of taxis coming in. They have all kinds of policies regarding taxis, for example the white taxis need a special written notice from you and this must be done for every new white taxi that comes in to get you. Taxis overcharge because of all the hassles and one can't blame them. There are no restaurants nearby, so if  you haven't cooked, you will pay 60-100 riyals round trip in taxi fare before you've eaten anything. 

The other thing you must worry about is maintenance. There are quite a few buildings and not enough workers so maintenance is a problem. My water tap breaks about every 4 months as does my gas line. Heat and AC need to be manually turned on and they take their time doing this. Last year we waited a month for the heat and the AC.

Yes, yes I agree with all your points. I mean 5 star in that the apartments are well appointed as in tastefully decorated and spacious.   However, after the robbery, I no longer feel safe because PNU is only concerned in my signing a nondisclosure instead of fixing the problem that allowed the 'inside job' to occur.    So.... One could argue a five star place should be a safe place and not have internal security breaches.

Anyways, what does it matter what kind of housing we have? We have no health insurance from PNU because they make us go to government clinics and won't pay for insurance. 5-star housing and slum health care! Interesting combination, that.

Wish we could sell the furniture and use it to pay for health care!

deocome wrote:

The other thing you must worry about is maintenance. There are quite a few buildings and not enough workers so maintenance is a problem. My water tap breaks about every 4 months as does my gas line. Heat and AC need to be manually turned on and they take their time doing this. Last year we waited a month for the heat and the AC.

Tell me about it! Today is our 6th day with NO HOT WATER! And it's still winter so the water is very cold. My daughter's hair looks like straw today. Everyone's been calling and calling, but they can't be bothered to come until they're good and ready. Honestly, I'm just about ready to rent a hotel room so I can have a real bath!