Job Discussion Forums

2buckets · Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Middle East

There was never a shortage of women in Jeddah when I was there. You just had to go over to the "girl ghetto" with a company bus on Wednesday night and easily fill it with nurses and air hostesses who signed out for the weekend. Then we all enjoyed the 5 S's that Saudi is famous for: sun, sand, surf, sid, and s*x.

DirtGuy · Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 529

BBBB and sharter:

I find your comments about co-workers echo those of others on ME forums and I'm confused as to what you mean. I have not seen similar comments on forums dealing with other parts of the world. Could you guys help me out and explain what you mean? Is there something about the ME that brings out such people or is it a byproduct of living in a compound? Or what?

Thanks.

DirtGuy

Badar Bin Bada Boom · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 8:22 am Post subject:

We mean that Saudi Arabia as a nation and culture has a very poor reputation around the world and thus it tends to attract a lot of nuts and losers, the bottom of the barrel. I certainly don't see any star professors saying "You know what? Let's go teach, do research and gain some professional development in Saudi Arabia!"

Not all of us are insane, of course, but about 10-20%. My work place is not bad at all because we have about 10 native speakers and we try to be careful and hire people who are not antagonistic to everyone. We know from experience that such people are destructive to morale. Even if no one takes them seriously, they cause a lot of bad feelings. This is very common and is probably the rule rather than the exception in the Tragic Kingdom.

Worst places that I personally know about--Raytheon and Vinnell. Best places I know about--where I work now, which I can't divulge, and possibly the Inst. of Public Admin. I worked at their Jeddah branch once, and Johnslat really enjoyed his 19 years at the main Riyadh branch.

Badar Bin Bada Boom · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 8:23 am Post subject:

McBrainiac · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Somewhere warm

I'd have to say that I agree with you, Bader. The overwhelming majority of the people that you will meet will be fine. I have made lots of wonderful friends during several years there with good employers.

On average, however, you will find more wack jobs and weirdos per capita than you would working a normal job in your own country. This minority of people can make life quite unpleasant at times. It's when you see people start bouncing off walls and you realize how many weeks/months it is until your next vacation that you might ask yourself whether or not it is worth it.

johnslat · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 2:13 pm Post subject:

Dear Bader Bin Badar Boom.

" . . . and Johnslat really enjoyed his 19 years at the main Riyadh branch."

Slight correction - my first four years (1980- - 1984) were spent at the Jeddah branch of the IPA; the other fifteen (with breaks) were at the Riyadh headquarters.

But the rest of your statement is quite correct.

Regards,
John

BretHarte · Joined: 17 Aug 2011 Posts: 94

It's Scary! · Joined: 17 Apr 2011 Posts: 823

Agreed! ...to the above post.

It's a Mad, MAd, MAD, MAD, MAD world, I tells ya!

Middle East Beast · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 836 Location: Up a tree

One too many MADS there, lad! Laughing

MEB

bulgogiboy · Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 803

The main expenditure for me was when I left Saudi on breaks. I spent money like water, to compensate for the spartan lifestyle I'd been forced to lead while working in KSA.

There's no easy way to avoid this, as the alternative is spending all your holidays in Saudi. You don't want this.

bulgogiboy · Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 803

Bebsi · Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 958

there are three ways to do it in Saudi:

1. Go to Bahrain every weekend, stay two nights in a 5-star hotel, have a REALLY good time in 'exclusive' cocktail bars; buy a nice, expensive car, and every vacation you get, hop on a plane to somewhere really nice & exotic; buy a houseful of hi-tech gadgetry, a few designer outfits etc etc. You will save nothing, and probably waste a few years.

2. Go to the other extreme, and join the elite 500-Club, details of which will be revealed by a search on this forum. You will retire financially rich but psychologically, socially and emotionally impoverished!

3. Take the middle-ground, and have a pleasant life while saving a decent whack at the same time. Get a used car, develop a small social circle, eat out in cheap Turkish restaurants, go to Bahrain (if geographically possible) once a month, and find somewhere low-cost-but-pleasant to spend your vacations. A decent TV/home-entertainment system, reasonably fast i-net, a selection of books (or a Kindle) and a decent Orbit subscription, and you're set up.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:00 pm Post subject:

Dear Bebsi,

Like your post - I agree completely. Number 3 was my choice - except I didn't get a TV. I preferred to read - and later, in the mid-90s, to surf the Net.

Regards,
John

Badar Bin Bada Boom · Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 7:32 pm Post subject:

To each his/her own. To me, reading and TV/movies are not mutually exclusive. Not by a long shot. Hey--weren't you a Sopranos fan too?? WDF?! Fuhgeddaboudit.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:19 pm Post subject:

Dear Badar Bin Bada Boom,

Sheikh N Bake was the BIG Sopranos fan - I've seen reruns only since I returned to the States.

I wasn't being "elitist" by posting about no TV - I watch it here at home. But I got out of the habit over there, especially since, for so much of my time there, there was no satellite TV. Actually, in the late 90s, early 2000s, I used to go to a colleague's apartment to watch the NFL games, but other than that, I stuck to reading and the Net (from the mid-90s onward.)

Regards,
John