Job Discussion Forums

dutchguy1000 · Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 8

Dear People,

I have a job offer in Jeddah and I would like to find out what kind of life I can expect there.

I have experience with Jordan, so I wonder if it is possible to compare the two countries.

Greetz,

Joery

Cleopatra · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:27 am Post subject:

Another of those posts that is so vague it's impossible to answer in any informative way.

Is it possible to compare KSA and Jordan? Well, yes, but then it's possible to compare KSA and Brazil too. But unless you give us some specifics on where you expect to be working, and the type of package they are offering, as well as what your own expectations are from both your professional and social life, it is impossible for us to give you much help.

dutchguy1000 · Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 8

shadowfax · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:55 am Post subject:

I have never worked in Jordan but have several Jordanian colleagues and a friend who worked in Jordan for the British Council.
Certainly public observance and the expectations of religious conformity would be far less rigid in Jordan than Saudi. And my friend enjoyed Jordan much more than Kuwait, for example, partly because he thought the more diversified economy produced a more stimulating culture. Of course, if you need money (and to do some time in lieu of future purgatories!) rather than stimulation, Saudi's the place rather than Jordan!

Cleopatra · Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:56 am Post subject:

You say you have "experienceW in Jordan, yet you seem remarkably ignorant about the most influential country in the Middle East....

No, of course the religion is not "about the same strict" as in KSA.

And no, you won't be able to get a drink anywhere. Legally, that is.

dutchguy1000 · Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 8

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I would say that the obvious answer is that living in Jordan is more similar to living in Indonesia than living in Jordan is similar to living in Saudi. I went from Egypt to Oman... and they were completely different beyond the obvious shared language and religion. (and Oman is very different from Saudi or even the Emirates...) I also find your seeming lack of knowledge of the basics of Saudi Arabia to be strangely odd from someone who has lived in and visited Muslim countries. I suggest that you read around on this board to see what people have to say about their lives in Saudi.

Obviously Saudi is the most conservative of the Muslim countries and unless your wife is Muslim, she will most likely be unhappy living there.... She would be very isolated from her culture especially if her English skills are weak.

The easy answers to your questions are that you would have to make your own booze if your lifestyle requires a drink... the cost of living is high, but salaries usually match the costs as long as one has a professional position. But take care in choosing your employer.

VS

Cleopatra · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:50 am Post subject:

Obviously I don't know your wife, and therefore have no idea of her personality or priorities. But I don't neccessarily agree with VS that she wold be unhappy in KSA. There are fairly large Indonesian communities in the major cities in KSA, so she would not have to lack for the company of her co-nationals.

The_Prodiigy · Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 252

dutchguy1000.

All alcohol is forbidden. Famous brands of beers are sold in bottles and cans at Safeway but are alcohol-free. If you wanted to drink real beer you would have to rebrew it. The consequences are severe if discovered.

Everything in stricly segregated - as a married man with a wife you would be obliged to sit in a separate section of the restaurant or coffee shop.

Women are not allowed to drive nor take a taxi. On the streets and in other public places all women are obliged to wear black. It's all the rage in shops and bazaars.

Muslims are required to attend mosque at every prayer time and the religious police strictly reinforce this - it would be unwise to be wandering in public during these times. Don't wear any neckchains or bracelets yourself.

There are no cinemas, theatres, galleries or other forms of public entertainment.

The driving is atrocious.

Cleopatra · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:14 am Post subject:

The_Prodiigy · Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 252

BS as you should well know.

Occasionally I did see a female loitering in the hope of secretly getting in a cab. On occasion they will risk it.

A man and woman are not allowed in the same space unless married or cannot be married because of family connections. (brother/sister).

hotncold · Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 7

women do get into taxis in Jeddah, and nobody pushes people into mosques. the hayat (the less virulent version of the mutawwa') have given up on satellite dishes and it's garbage to assert that all segregation is horrible - visit the malls, and see the way that saudi men dash after girls in cars or drool when they meet girls at the completely unpoliced Prince Sultan mall... and you won't go back, unless you're the kind of loser that enjoys that.

personally, i think women deserve respect, and whether muslim or not, people should behave with dignity and respect for each other as human beings. I have my own deep issues with the saudi abuse of the religion of Islam, but I don't have to make up stories, there are far far too many real abuses, such as what happens to Bengali labourers, Indonesian maids, the pathetic condition of the schools, the disregard for laws and human rights...

if you want to continue, please do.

dutchguy1000 · Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 8

dutchguy1000 · Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 8

wow.... to be honest.... if i read all this, I start to wonder why people "if they are not strickt muslim" would want to live in KSA... (what ever that means by the way)

I'm muslim..... I'm married with my wife from Aceh, and she is muslim too... but what I've learned so far is that there are many different of severities of bieng muslim.
Here in Indonesia, you very rarerly see women dressed completely covered...
but I know that many are "real" muslims.....
What ever that means by the way.....

Cleopatra · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 4:35 pm Post subject: