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It's Scary!
Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 823
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 Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:19 am Post subject: |
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| lapd08 wrote: |
I too heard positive things about living in Saudi Arabia and know of many people in different professions who live there for years. I was hoping to do so myself, but as you point out people were there with their families fare differently, and almost all of the people I know personally who stayed there for a long period of time were living on compounds. (I am talking about Westerners here).
Unfortunately, the posters here are single teachers who are rarely housed on compounds or receive decent housing. |
I had a decent experience in the time that my wife and I spent in Saudi. I was fortunate...I smartened up quick, spent one year living on the economy before I hooked up with the military and spent the rest of my time on decent to fabulous compounds. She had a driver assigned to her so she could go out with "the girls" to window shop and gossip.
As an English teacher teaching various branches of the military, our villas were supplied and, in fact, the last one that we lived on in Riyadh we a "turn-key" affair and had eight bathrooms...although admittedly, one was in the maid's quarters and another one in the driver's quarters.
Most of the moaning that you hear here nowadays are by those, some who went even after being warned of what fate awaited them, who are sent there by recruiters and agents which didn't exist when I was there.
It's a difficult, but doable life if you can get there w/o a recruiter and WITH an Iqama! |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:16 am Post subject: |
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| lapd08 wrote: |
| I too heard positive things about living in Saudi Arabia and know of many people in different professions who live there for years. |
Just curious, but how many of those people were teachers... teachers with limited credentials and experience. The people that I know who have liked their stint there the most were normally married professionals, usually NOT in education. The happier teachers mostly had MAs, years of experience, and were direct hire with the top employers. (not shady recruiters that house their teachers in shared hovels, moving them to different locations around the country with no notice, using illegal visas)
VS |
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sharter
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 878
Location: All over the place
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:24 am Post subject: yeah |
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I think there's a good point in what's been said. Having a wife and kids with you and decent housing with the pool etc makes for a pretty normal life, even in the Kingdom.
The best jobs I've had have been direct hire positions. The recruiters often, not always, look for the bottom line. Cheap housing, mean ticketing, average salaries. They also hire and fire willy-nilly and are known for not vetting applicants properly.
Personally, I can put up with average accommodation but I have zero tolerance for nutters; TEFL has lots of them! |
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lapd08
Joined: 12 May 2008
Posts: 82
Location: New York
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:35 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks to It's Scary, veiledsentiments and Sharter. Please listen up everyone as their words are the absolute truth. If you don't fit the profile they describe, Saudi Arabia is just not going to work for you. |
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JerkyBoy
Joined: 12 Jan 2012
Posts: 485
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| lapd08 wrote: |
| Please listen up everyone as their words are the absolute truth. If you don't fit the profile they describe, Saudi Arabia is just not going to work for you. |
They don't appear to be describing a profile. It sounds more like a set of working conditions to me.
Please clarify.
Ta. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:53 pm Post subject: |
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| JerkyBoy wrote: |
| They don't appear to be describing a profile. It sounds more like a set of working conditions to me. |
Doesn't being married, with good credentials... preferably not in education, constitute a "profile"? 
VS |
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lapd08
Joined: 12 May 2008
Posts: 82
Location: New York
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Agree. This should make it clear: The profile of a successful expat in KSA is someone with professional credentials (preferably other than teaching) who has his family with him (females not allowed to bring over children). If teaching, they should have proper certification and a Master's, with several years teaching experience --preferably in Gulf states or at least Middle East. Also, they should be employed directly by a school or university and have a proper visa (iqama = permanent working/residential visa). I personally think the best case scenario is to be employed by a multinational or government concern. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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Dear lapd08,
Hey, I resent being "professionally profiled" 
However, that profile:
"If teaching, they should have proper certification and a Master's, with several years teaching experience --preferably in Gulf states or at least Middle East. Also, they should be employed directly by a school or university and have a proper visa (iqama = permanent working/residential visa).
does fit me very well. As for family, well, off and on - I went through two wives in my nineteen years there (not continuous years, mind you - I took breaks in a vain attempt to preserve my sanity.)
And on the whole, I enjoyed my time there: good housing, good colleagues, and good bosses. I also enjoyed the tax-free salary, and the opportunity to visit just about every place on this planet that I'd ever wanted to see. |
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