Thinking about moving to Riyadh

not sure the position and the number of yrs experience u have, but 6-8K in riyadh with family looks a bit tight unless the Company is taking care of the accomodation and other general expenses.

Cost of houses have really gone up in RIYADH and the an average one bed room flat in an apartment can cost you arround 1500 - 2000 SAR per month, Take out 500 - 750 per transportation, other mislaneous expenses arround 2000-2500, u need atleast 5000 SAR per month per family  for a decent livelyhood.

on the dress code , here is some info from one of the external links from internet. 

"What to wear Laws in Saudi Arabia
When working in Saudi Arabia you have to dress respectfully, no vests or shorts in public as a man and women must wear an Abaya (Long black dress/cloak covering the entire body) at all times outside and cover their hair. Most foreign women do not cover their hair, however it is good practice to bring a headscarf at all times and if requested to cover your hair do so without argument!"

Go thru some of the older posts in this forum or Search for "Rules and regulations in KSA" in google, u will get 1000s of links from which u can get ur Queries answered. 

I will be an external auditor, at an entry level, since I have no experience in the field I thought that might be a fair salary. I know the the aim of most people who make the move to saudi is to save some money before they go back to their respected countries. However the reason I am coming to saudi is to gain a little bit of experience before I move to the UAE.

As for the dress code I was worried that women had to wear the niqab (face cover) my wife already wears the scarf so that is no problem.

Thank you for your help and advice I will keep it in mind while making my final decision.

Zizo87 wrote:

As for the dress code I was worried that women had to wear the niqab (face cover) my wife already wears the scarf so that is no problem.

Welcome to the community!

Don't worry only local women wear this. Expats wear scarf showing only their face.

So why not go to UAE directly, I worked there before and UAE is way different than KSA. But if you want to save money, KSA will be the way to go, since there are nothing to spend your money on, unlike UAE, wohoooo....cheers.

Good luck.

I would love to go directly to the UAE however most entry level positions are strictly reserved for UAE nationals therefor I will have to gain some experience in one of the other gulf countries before I move to the UAE

HI Zizo87 - welcome to the blog and soon to Riyadh.

UVN has said it all - I also think your salary is a little small, you may get a housing allowance with a salary like that for about SR15-18 per year of which you need to pay the year upfront. It is gonna take you a few months to save this amount.

Welcome Mr neighbor,since KPMG building is few blocks away in Malaz, its quite a relaxed company,the admin seems to be nice , a friend is working there,,,he package is not too high but at least ya would be working in nice atmosphere

Thanks for your input everyone. I am slightly worried about my salary now, having said that looking a the cost every1 put up for the essentials they tend to be in the 5k range, and that is including accommodation. If I negotiate 8k or even 7k why would that be too low?

My company offered to pay the money upfront for the accommodation, and they take a small amount from my salary on a monthly basis.

Are flights from Saudi to other guf countries expensive?

I am also interested in renting a small car. I would appreciate if you can suggest any good rental companies.

hi Zizoo,

It's a great opportunity, working at KPMG is a wonderful opportunity and will open a lot of doors for you and is a great learning experience,

Riyadh is very cheap to live in so think more in terms of your career now rather than money, after you have couple of years experience here you can easily move on anywhere.

Flights out of saudi, R quite cheap ie.choosing a cheap airlines etc but there is a good variety of cheap flights. If your company gonna pay accomodation up front, then you're sorted. Search this blog for accomodation.

Women dont need to cover their face. Not all westerners cover their hair, but its better to.

Why do you have to be so negative? You've clearly had a bad experience in Riyadh, why not offer some explanation?

I'm considering moving to Riyadh, many people have been pretty positive.

Do you life in a Western style compound? Perhaps it's easier to do those things there? Your concerns are what would put me off being there.