| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Umm 'Abdil-Wahhaab
Joined: 23 Jun 2009
Posts: 54
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:58 pm Post subject: Furnished Accomodations vs Find Your Own Housing |
 |
|
When I lived in Riyadh in 2006, my husband and I really struggled with having to completely furnish an empty apartment and have no desire to accept a future offer that doesnt provide furnished accomodations. From finding a place while paying hotel fees, getting a place with no AC holes in the wall, buying expensive ACs for every room, buying EVERYTHING from pencils to dressers, to waiting 3 months for a phone and internet......... after visiting a friend who lived on a compound with everything they needed (even a dryer!) we really thought that surely is the way to go.
Well after reading some of these posts it sounds like not all of the compounds are as nice as the one I visited. Some even say really horrible things about them.
So which is better, furnished accomodations or housing allowance to find your own place?
I know it depends, but what have you guys experienced? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| So which is better, furnished accomodations or housing allowance to find your own place? |
I don't think there's one answer. Much depends on how much money you have to spend, how much your housing allowance is, and your priorities regarding accommodation. Compound housing costs twice or three times more than comparably-sized housing elsewhere, so if you're not going to use the sporting facilities and don't feel the need to be in an 'expat' environment, there would be little point in paying so much more to live on compound.
Is there no 'happy medium' between fully furnished compound housing and an empty shell elsewhere? Perhaps you could find a place that's not brand new, and come to some arrangement with the previous tenent or landlord, whereby they might leave at least some fittings in the apartment? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Umm 'Abdil-Wahhaab
Joined: 23 Jun 2009
Posts: 54
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Thanks Cleopatra. I guess I was thinking of the furnished accomodations that are included in some contracts (free) instead of getting a separate housing allowance to find your own place... not necessarily paying to live in a compound. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:10 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Sure - but my point is that even if you do get a housing allowance, it may be possible to find a furnished or semi-furnished (whatever that means!) place outside of a compound. I know that most apartments in Saudi cities come unfurnished, but you may be able to get something different if you have some time to look around. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:43 pm Post subject: Re: Furnished Accomodations vs Find Your Own Housing |
|
|
| Umm 'Abdil-Wahhaab wrote: |
| So which is better, furnished accomodations or housing allowance to find your own place? |
I'd say that the obvious answer is that furnished is better, but as you say it depends... mostly on the employer. 
But that said... you've done it once, the hardest way, so the second time you could likely avoid the worst of the hassles.
VS |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Umm 'Abdil-Wahhaab
Joined: 23 Jun 2009
Posts: 54
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
semi-furnished, lol, that must mean that it actually has kitchen counters and you dont have to install your own!
Point taken though, perhaps there is a happy medium.
I was hoping to tap into the compound horror stories that seem to be out there. The one I saw was really quite nice. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
