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Raul739
Joined: 10 Feb 2016
Posts: 21
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 Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 1:24 pm Post subject: Good apartment website for Riyadh |
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| What are some good sites to look at for apartment renting in Riyadh? |
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Raul739
Joined: 10 Feb 2016
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 1:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Also which neighborhoods are good for expats? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 1:41 pm Post subject: Re: Good apartment website for Riyadh |
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| Raul739 wrote: |
| What are some good sites to look at for apartment renting in Riyadh? |
It's pointless to check out apartments while still outside KSA. Wait until you get there. Besides, if you're going there as a single guy, you're limited to "bachelor" housing anyway, |
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Al-Ikwan
Joined: 07 Jun 2016
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:02 am Post subject: |
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I agree with NS, once you're actually in KSA you will be able to go apartment hunting. Just to get an idea of whats around you can use websites such as expatriates and check their classified section. I myself am staying at the company provided accommodation for the time being until I find mynway around here and then I may look for an apartment for myself god willing.
https://www.expatriates.com/classifieds/riy/hs/ |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:25 am Post subject: |
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| I suspect many teachers in Riyadh use their monthly housing allowance to stay in serviced apartments. |
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Al-Ikwan
Joined: 07 Jun 2016
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, if you think about it. The company provide housing and transport (to
and from work onlyfor men) at a cost of 4,000 SAR, for that kind of money you can get some really nice olaces around here and get yourself a decent rental too. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Any company that leaves a foreigner newly arrived in Riyadh and with no Arabic skills or cultural savvy, to look for an apartment is not worth working for. |
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hash
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 456
Location: Wadi Jinn
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
---->Any company that leaves a foreigner newly arrived in Riyadh and with no Arabic skills or cultural savvy, to look for an apartment is not worth working for. |
It also shows the utter contempt most employers in KSA have for their ESL personnel......plus it shows the low status ESL teachers hold within a company/institution.
I guarantee that employees who "really count" are taken by the hand the moment they emerge from the airplane and are whisked away to their awaiting residences all stocked and prepared for the employees' arrival. (That's the treatment ANY westerner used to receive upon arrival in KSA, myself included).
During the last 10 years or so, I've noticed this downward spiral in status of ESL teachers in KSA. It's been quite embarrassing to watch. From a respected professional to the level of a household servant. From the moment the teacher applies until he finishes his contract.
What's even more absurd is that it seems no one is listening or cares. This is about the 5th time I've raised this issue.......and people just keep coming in droves like lambs to slaughter.....pathetic. Then they wonder why "things" go wrong for them in KSA. Nothing more humiliating than watching your countrymen crawl. |
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Lord T
Joined: 07 Jul 2015
Posts: 285
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 9:03 am Post subject: |
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scot47/hash- I agree with everything you say, but we have to put this into context:
When you went to Saudi it was to make a tidy sum to set you up for life in your respective homelands. These days people are going simply to earn enough to pay off student loans or save for a deposit on a house.
They are lambs to the slaughter, desperate people who will continue to
do desperate things- all we can do is post. |
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Lord T
Joined: 07 Jul 2015
Posts: 285
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 12:49 pm Post subject: |
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These days people are going simply to earn enough to pay off student loans or save for a deposit on a house.
I should have added that they have to go to Saudi to do this because of the scarcity of well-paid, secure work in their home countries. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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The labour market changes quite quickly.40 years ago there was effective demand for teachers to go and work in post-colonial Africa. As a result I spetd some years teaching in Zambia and then in Nigeria.
There are very few jobs in Africa for outsiders now - unless you count those strange deals where YOU pay THEM to work.
Things are changing in KSA too. The end is nigh.
Last edited by scot47 on Sat Jul 23, 2016 7:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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sheikh radlinrol
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 1222
Location: Spain
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Raul739 wrote: |
| Also which neighborhoods are good for expats? |
Raul, if you go to Saudi demand that your employer find you accommodation on a compound. |
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Travels
Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 19
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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I'm currently looking for jobs in Saudi as well and am considering a job in Jeddah where I would have to sort out my own accommodation. I'm a female and my partner is not joining me in KSA.
I would prefer to be on a compound around other westerners (arranged by the uni) but if the offer is right, I'll take it. My question is: can I arrange to live in a nice compound somewhere myself or is it too expensive? Or are they owned by the university? Not sure how it works.
Thanks. |
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hash
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 456
Location: Wadi Jinn
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Travels wrote: |
I'm currently looking for jobs in Saudi as well and am considering a job in Jeddah where I would have to sort out my own accommodation....... I'm a female........... My question is: can I arrange to live in a nice compound somewhere myself or is it too expensive? Or are they owned by the university? Not sure how it works.
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1 - No one is "sure how it works" because there are all kinds of different arrangements. You have to be very specific beginning with telling this board WHICH uni you're talking about. Chances are a female currently working at the uni you're interested in will see your posting here and tell you exactly what you'll be getting. (Don't keep things "secret" if you want valuable information. If you do, it means you're asking people to "guess" for you instead of offering real information).
2 - I don't know what you mean (and I'm sure you don't know either) by the phrase (sort out my own accommodation). If it means what I think it means - dumping you in downtown Jeddah in horrific weather, without a halalah of Arabic, dressed in totally inappropriate clothing and so on - and expect you to "FIND" your own apt., I would try for a job in China......or Mexico.
As a couple of posters have already mentioned, ANY employer that expects their new employees to "find" their own accommodations in KSA or any Arab country, especially females, is an employer that couldn't give a hoot as to your well-being, safety and success at your job. All they want is a body in front of a classroom to be regarded with the same importance as a rubbish bin ("waste basket" for Americans) in a corner of the classroom. This is how they regard you now and how they will always regard and treat you, period.
There's a lot more I could say, but I'll leave that for later. Good luck. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 12:24 am Post subject: |
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| Travels wrote: |
I'm currently looking for jobs in Saudi as well and am considering a job in Jeddah where I would have to sort out my own accommodation. I'm a female and my partner is not joining me in KSA.
I would prefer to be on a compound around other westerners (arranged by the uni) but if the offer is right, I'll take it. My question is: can I arrange to live in a nice compound somewhere myself or is it too expensive? Or are they owned by the university? Not sure how it works. |
Each employer is different in terms of housing, so read job ads carefully. But in general, female teachers employed by contracting companies are put into employer-designated housing, which is usually a serviced apartment building with single/non-shared units. (Contracting companies rarely offer a housing allowance to single expat women.)
Compound housing is uber expensive, starting from 35,000+ SAR per month for a low-end studio unit, and there are usually waiting lists. (Google compound Saudi.) Some universities have either on-campus or established housing for faculty, but there is no one-size-fits-all situation. For example, teachers hired via various contracting companies for Princess Noura University very likely still live on campus in villas in a compound-like environment (i.e., with amenities). However, they're sharing the common spaces (kitchen, living room, and possibly bathrooms) with several roommates. Universities that hire directly and have on-campus, compound-like faculty housing usually accommodate teachers in non-shared situations. However, not every university has on-campus housing nor provides specific housing.
Anyway, there's no hard rule in terms of the type and/or quality of housing for female teachers. If the job ad is unclear about accommodations, get clarification during your interview (or ask here). But if you're overly anxious about finding your own housing with a housing allowance, only focus on employers that provide an apartment unit.
My two halalahs... I don't see the housing allowance situation as the sole indicator or predictor that the employer doesn't give a hoot about faculty. If I'd painted my particular situation with such a broad brush and subsequently, passed on the opportunity, I would have missed out on a positive teaching and collaborative experience that also greatly added to my professional development.
By being transparent and up front that a stipend is provided in lieu of employer-provided accommodation, the employer (direct hire or private company) expects the job seeker to make an informed, adult decision based on his/her personal expectations and life experiences. In other words, no one is forced to sign on to a job that has working/living aspects or requirements they personally find daunting or abhorrent. |
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