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yeehii
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 30
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 Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 7:03 pm Post subject: Which city has the best quality of life in Saudi Arabia? |
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I am completely unfamilar with the KSA, and would like to get an idea of the character of the different places there.
Capital cities are usually the most fun, don't you think? There is usually a lot happening in them, but what do you think about other locations there?  |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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| yeehii wrote: |
| I am completely unfamilar with the KSA, |
Never have I seen an introductory sentence so totally proven by that following. I fear that the sound you hear in the distance is the Saudi hands guffawing.  Few places as fun and happening as the capital Riyadh?
I don't mean to be rude, but are you serious? Please tell me you meant that as a joke...
Assuming that you are serious about knowing the 'character' of different cities, I think you need to tell us how you define this and what you are looking for. What is it that defines 'fun and happening' for you?
VS |
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yeehii
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the interest in this thread 
Lets do an analogy with the USA.
Geography
Makes a difference. freezing Alaska, baking Nevada. That has an impact on what you can get up to.
The sea makes a difference, too. Warm gulf, cold atlantic... Retirees in Florida where its warm,...
Capital
DC, loads of secretaries to support the diplomats, high ration of females to males... Lots of politicos... NYC, financial capital, attracts different sorts. Intellectual capital in Boston etc... Hollywood for movies...
Then there is the E/W coast cultural divide, and the cultural "hole" in the middle.
Types of industry, eg oil in texas, high tech in silicon valley, and avocado burgers in Eugene...all attracting different people.
FOod: cajun in New Orleans, Tex-Mex in California, Grits in Tenessee
MUsic: Blues in Chicago, Jazz in New ORleans,
Fashion: bikini culture in South beach Miami, Aloha shirts in Hawaii,
Pace of Life: nyc fast, hawaii slow...
Race: Native americans here, HAwaiians there, Latinos there...
That sort of thing.
Perhaps the differences are more marked in the USA because it is so large, but maybe you can detect some subtleties...
Please let me know, everyone! |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| Assuming that you are serious about knowing the 'character' of different cities, I think you need to tell us how you define this and what you are looking for. What is it that defines 'fun and happening' for you?VS |
I think yeehii was right when he used the word 'character' to describe a city or a country?
A city without a 'character' is like a city without a 'soul'
"Practically speaking, a City of Character is one in which the elected officials, community leaders, and citizens-at-large recognize the importance of good character. Everyone works together to ensure that families are strong, homes and streets are safe, education is effective, business is productive, neighbors care about one another, and citizens are free to make wise choices for their lives and families. In a City of Character, undisciplined living is socially unacceptable, and an emphasis is placed upon an individual's responsibility for his or her words, actions and attitudes. Most importantly, a City of Character has leaders who are models of the character they advocate for its citizens."
http://www.bayawancity.gov.ph/Character%20City/CharacterCity.htm
If Yeehii meant by a 'character' of a city the above definition, then he knows what he is talking about! |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Well lets reply :)
Geography
Baking in Riyadh, stewing in Jeddah
The sea makes a difference, too.You can go to the beach in winter at night in both places
Capital
Riyadh: lots of financial people with beards in thobs and ghutra Damman: lots of oil industry people with beards in thobs and ghutra. Male-Female ratio irrelevant.
Then there is the E/W coast cultural divide, and the cultural "hole" in the middle.Saudi culture has been well divided, many times.
Types of industry, eg oil in ....... :)
Food: chicken
Music: forbidden
Fashion: white thobs to the ankles on the coast; a couple of centimetres higher in Buraidah.
Pace of Life: Measurements still being taken..
Race: Saudis, Philipinos and Indians here, there and everywhere. |
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yeehii
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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No music?
Do you think it would be a good idea to bring an electronic keyboard, since it seems unlikely that there will be a music shop with that sort of thing? |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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| yeehii wrote: |
No music?
Do you think it would be a good idea to bring an electronic keyboard, since it seems unlikely that there will be a music shop with that sort of thing? |
Did you not read Stephen's post just above yours? He mentioned "Indians" in his final line. Where there are Indians there are always keyboards.
Furthermore, when I typed "electronic keyboard Riyadh" into Google, what do you think was the first link returned? An excerpt:
...If you visit the musical-instrument stores in the kingdom�s big cities, it�s easy to believe that young people are interested in both traditional and modern music. In the afternoons, the tiny shops in the instruments suq in Riyadh�s al-Hilla district are busy with customers. A university student and a couple of his friends test an electronic keyboard in one store. In other shops, employees and customers try out �uds and violins, their melodies spilling out and mixing together in the passageway that winds through the market. Business is good, the shopkeepers report. �Uds and guitars, both acoustic and electric, hang in the windows. Mountains of large frame drums are stacked to the ceilings.... |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| The status of music in the Kingdom is interesting. The 'shebab' have it blasting out of their cars at full blast, you can buy CDs and cassettes anywhere, TV shows Arabic pop idol, and you can buy musical instruments, but try and organize a concert of medieval madrigals or play a ten second excerpt in class before the next section of the tape, and see the ruckus that ensues! |
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yeehii
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 4:55 am Post subject: |
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Hi, Henry_Cowell!
Thank you for your tip about using Google. When I search Google, it often refers me to this forum on Dave's ESL Cafe.
I think that by posting here, we are providing the content for which Google searches.
I wonder whether people here prefer doing their electronics shopping in the KSA or elsewhere? |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| you can buy CDs and cassettes anywhere |
At least if you're male. Although it's becoming more and more unusual, there are still a few music outlets that ban entry to women. And yes,the status of music is highly ambiguous in the Kingdom. Most Saudis love music and dancing, but at least in Riyadh you'll almost never hear so much as a piece of piped muzak in the lifts or supermarkets - no bad thing I suppose. And some of the new hypermarkets have closed down their 'entertainment' sections, presumably under pressure from the local muttaween.
| Quote: |
| .You can go to the beach in winter at night in both places |
Go to the beach in Riyadh???
But back to the OP. It's almost universally accepted, by both Saudis and expats, that Jeddah is the most 'fun' - and certainly the most 'liberal' - Saudi city in which to live. Obviously, both terms have to be understood in the Saudi context - we're not talking Paris here. As the capital and by far the largest city, Riyadh has some obvious advantages, but I'd still say, that given the choice, most expats would opt to live in Jeddah rather than any other Saudi city.
BTW if you're looking for a city with a high 'ration' of females to males, go elsewhere. The expat population here is overwhelmingly male, certainly as far as unmarried employed people go. And I suppose it goes without saying - though you never know - that the local women are entirely off limits. |
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Van Norden
Joined: 23 Oct 2004
Posts: 409
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 5:42 am Post subject: |
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| yeehii wrote: |
Thank you for your tip about using Google. When I search Google, it often refers me to this forum on Dave's ESL Cafe. 
I think that by posting here, we are providing the content for which Google searches. |
Good point. I have no problem with newbies coming here asking 'naive' questions. This google/search 'fetish' suggests we're overburdened here with too many posts and too much 'work.' I don't think this is the case. |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 6:19 am Post subject: |
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But will Dave ever become a verb?
When looking for information I Dave it Hmmmm? |
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guty
Joined: 10 Apr 2003
Posts: 365
Location: on holiday
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 7:17 am Post subject: |
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Best city in Saudi? Khobar.
Why?
Its the nearest to Bahrain.
Best cultural invention in KSA?
The multi visa. |
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KSA-UK
Joined: 03 May 2005
Posts: 31
Location: Sandy Arabia
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 8:11 am Post subject: |
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male female ratio:
Saudis have two or sometimes three wives...(it could go up to four!)
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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| yeehii wrote: |
| When I search Google, it often refers me to this forum on Dave's ESL Cafe. |
You searched Google for "electronic keyboards" in "Saudi Arabia" and got only Dave's ESL Cafe? You're not a googler then.
But you're definitely a troll.  |
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