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Mr Brown
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 26
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 Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Cleopatra"]
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| Anyway, my point is that the dichotomy between Riyadh, the (supposedly) dour mutawwa-city, and Jeddah, the (supposedly) free-wheelin' beach town, isn't as sharp as many people think, and that there are many advantages to living in the capital. |
What would those advantages be, Cleo?
By the way, I've spent the last hour reading some of your many, many level-headed and informative posts. Thanks! |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Cleopatra wrote: |
Can I ask when you last visited Riyadh?
Yes, you may...
Your information appears to be at least a decade out of date.
No, it is not... Neither does my heart bleed...
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NCTBA |
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Mr Brown
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Never Ceased To Be Amazed wrote: |
| No, it is not... Neither does my heart bleed... |
No, your bleeding seems to be coming from somewhere further south. |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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| What would those advantages be, Cleo? |
Riyadh is the capital and the country's 'showpiece', as well as being the richest city in the Kingdom. That means the city is fairly well-maintained and there are plenty of shopping centres and other facilities, as befits a capital city of over 4 million people. Much of Riyadh is only a few decades old, so the infrastructure is modern and relatively efficient - certainly when compared to the third-world infrastructure found in much of Jeddahl. The embassies are also in Riyadh, and if you can get 'plugged in' (not always easy, admittedly) you can have a decent social life.
On the downside, it's true that Riyadh can be a dour, soulless place with a deeply conservative population. But, like I say, I do think it gets a bad press and I really don't think Jeddah is the liberal paradise which those who spend a weekend in one its beach resorts seem to think it is. Both cities have their good and bad points but IMHO they're really not as different from each other as is often made out - which is why I think anyone trying to choose between job offers should base their decision much more on the job itself rather than on whether it's in Jeddah or Riyadh.
| Quote: |
| By the way, I've spent the last hour reading some of your many, many level-headed and informative posts. Thanks! |
Afwan! |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Mr Brown wrote: |
No, your bleeding seems to be coming from somewhere further south. |
I'm pleased that you've raised the level of discourse...and my congratulations on getting a thread "John Locked" in record speed... 
NCTBA |
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Mr Brown
Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Never Ceased To Be Amazed wrote: |
| I'm pleased that you've raised the level of discourse...and my congratulations on getting a thread "John Locked" in record speed... |
Thank you. Couldn't have done it without you. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:21 am Post subject: |
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As far as knowledge of life in Saudi for the last 5-10 years, I would listen to Cleo... not NCTBA.
And for knowledge of the Emirates during the same time period, I would listen to NCTBA, not Cleo...
VS |
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:13 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
As far as knowledge of life in Saudi for the last 5-10 years, I would listen to Cleo... not NCTBA.
And for knowledge of the Emirates during the same time period, I would listen to NCTBA, not Cleo...
VS |
I wouldn't listen to me on ANY topic. God knows the voices in my head don't...why should anyone else?
Too for school...
NCTBA |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| The Nilotic Monarch is right. THE most important factor is the employer. Location is secondary. |
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lizziebennet
Joined: 24 May 2009
Posts: 355
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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I have only been in Riyadh twice so I honestly don't know Riyadh.
My best friend grew up in Riyadh and tells me how different it is too Jeddah.
Saudi's on the beaches say the same thing...
One Saudi woman from Jeddah said this about Riyadh:'Been there once and never again'.
Perhaps she doesn't know Riyadh but she does not feel as free there as she does in Jeddah.
In about 2 months I will be living there and I will be able to see if the two cities are
as different as the Saudis I have met make them out to be. |
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lizziebennet
Joined: 24 May 2009
Posts: 355
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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Of course I think that the actual job is more important hence the reason for my move to Riyadh.
But, if both jobs were the same I'd choose Jeddah at this point.
I will leave room to change my mind after I have lived in Riyadh for a few months tho.
Out of interest where did you decide to work? |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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One Saudi woman from Jeddah said this about Riyadh:'Been there once and never again'.
Perhaps she doesn't know Riyadh but she does not feel as free there as she does in Jeddah. |
In my experience Saudis greatly exagerate the differences between Riyadh and Jeddah. They eagerly talk about how much more 'free' Jeddah is, but when I ask them what precisely it is that they can do in Jeddah that they can't do in Riyadh, they are stuck for an answer. They can go to the beach of course (at least those beaches that permit Saudis - many do not), and women can smoke shishas in a restaurant, but these strike me as being fairly trivial differences in the overall scheme of things.
On a day to day basis, I really do not think there is much or anything you can do in Jeddah that you cannot do in Riyadh, nor do I even think the ambience is that much more 'free' - at least outside the rarified ambience of the expensive beach hotels. |
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lazycomputerkids
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 360
Location: Tabuk
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| Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Cleopatra wrote: |
| ...fairly trivial differences in the overall scheme of things. |
The examples cited are convenient to an anemic conclusion. Fairly? Overall? What progressive attitudes (tolerances, really) there are in Saudi Arabia are stirred in Jeddah. Its coast brings to it what Riyadh ignores with its own, purchased glory.
Repeatedly, the advice from veterans of Saudi Arabia to other women is get out of Saudi Arabia. I think it reflects personal experiences which are valid and "true". But the post poorly supports a conclusion that Jeddah and Riyadh are without significant difference and I disagree.
Would Jeddah be a 'blast' despite a lousy job?
No. I agree with this aspect of the discussion, but not the aforementioned.
But what do I know?
I work in Tabuk. You know, somehow too backwards to matter?
The advice and shared experiences of teachers who have worked in Saudi Arabia is of great value and often possessed with a quality of deprecation.
A quality of, "What a waste." |
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UmmeZahrah
Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:13 am Post subject: rankings :) |
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| I wonder how Yanbu ranks? Have anyone ever worked there? |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:32 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| But the post poorly supports a conclusion that Jeddah and Riyadh are without significant difference and I disagree. |
I wouldn't say the cities are 'without significant difference' - Riyadh is much cleaner, more modern and easier to live in than Jeddah.
But when you're in the mood for writing a coherent post, perhaps you might like to support your own conclusion by telling us precisely what, on an everyday basis, an expat teacher living in Jeddah can do which he/she could not do in Riyadh. |
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