I'm sure there are a few on TexAgs that either are currently or have been expatriates in SA. The Kingdom has recently authorized some drastic new freedoms but I doubt it has all spread out as acceptable just yet.

In any case, who did you work for and what city/cities did you live in? On compound or off? Did you bring your family and if so, how did your wife and kids adjust?

I may be targeting a role in Yanbu this year and I'm wanting to hear the good/bad from Ags who have been in the Country.

Thought there would be a few former or current expats in the Middle East. Non Saudis welcome to reply!

I worked in Riyadh in 2010 before any reforms, but I didn't bring my wife.

What goes on in the compound is different than what goes on in the

outside world! I lived in a compound converted to a hotel. It was

good because I saved a lot of money. On the weekends, we went

to Oman or Dubai so we could enjoy a beer. It will be a large culture

shock for you for sure. If you are religious, no bibles or other religious

items are allowed.

There were several Aggies there with children and wives. In Riyadh,

the security was fine, and I didn't have any worries. Ramadan sucks

because you cannot eat or drink in public. It would be a good time for

you to take a vacation.

We're you with Parsons or big oil? I'm pursuing a Parsons gig right now in Yanbu.

Heard there's a Chili's in the SA military compound. That true?

FC12 said:

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We're you with Parsons or big oil? I'm pursuing a Parsons gig right now in Yanbu.

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I worked at a company called SABIC. They also have a distribution facility in Yanbu.

BlueDeviledAg said:

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Heard there's a Chili's in the SA military compound. That true?

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There was a TGIFridays in Riyadh, but I didn't see a Chili's.

I grew up in Saudi Arabia as a kid from ages 7 - 15.

Back in my era, school for expatriates only went up to 9th Grade so after that, you had to leave for boarding school which my mom was never going to let me do so, we moved to Waco.

We lived in a compound for about 18 months in Rahima. The rest of the time we lived in Al-Jubail, the eastern twin of Yanbu. I've been to lots of compounds and of course the mega-compounds run by Aramco in Ras Tanura and Dhahran.

In Al-Jubail, it was a master planned subdivision and we had Saudis as our next door neighbors. It was a very interesting experience growing up. We had a great community in Al-Jubail. I always got the feeling Yanbu was much smaller but, things could be different these days.

There are some really neat things to see in the western part of Saudi Arabia. The Nabatean Tombs at Madain Saleh, Taif (which sits at about 7,000 feet elevation), the old Hejaz railway and of course nothing can beat Snorkeling/Diving in the Red Sea.

Growing up there as a kid, we had soccer, baseball and swimming as our main sports. We had Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts. Some kids rode dirt bikes in the desert. Some of us had Saudi friends. It was very special.

Of course I'm amazed at all the freedoms and reforms that have been put into place these days. One thing I will say is that if you take your family there, their lives will be changed forever. Plan to stick with it for at least two years. Five years is probably more realistic. A big factor is what age your kids are and if you plan for them to go back to the US to finish High School, etc.

Anyway, you'll have the opportunity to see the world and meet some very interesting folks. I left in 1985 but, I've still got a few friends in The Kingdom. Over on the General Board, I know that Beerosch and AliasMan02 have lived/worked in Al-Jubail within the past 10 years.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Hollywood! My kids are 6,5 and 2. They all turn a year older Dec. -Feb....I'm 2 rounds deep into the interviews and have one more scheduled. Things are moving along rather quickly due to the immediate need of expatriate resources in Yanbu. If you haven't read up on what's going on there, take a look through initiative 2030 and the plan for building Yanbu into the word's largest industrial city.

Obviously, I'm anticipating a large monetary benefit from a move like this but cultural and travel are also high on my list of reasons. My wife is not nearly as adventurous which is why I think settling into a western compound would be ideal. But, hey, she is a beach person and we would be right on the Red Sea!

The initial contract is 2 years but I don't want to be job shopping again in 2 years. I would rather stay 3-5. As you could expect, the annual bonus grows drastically for every year you stay beyond your initial 2 yr. contract.

I was just searching on some stuff for Yanbu and found this PDF.
https://www.rcjy.gov.sa/en-US/Yanbu/Investment/Documents/GUIDE%20OF%20YANBU%2015MAY2014.pdf

It looks like things have only gotten better since I left. I would love to go back.

I wish you and your family well.

Also, a friend of mine just finished making a film on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Apparently it got good reviews at Cannes. Here are a couple of clips.

Diving in the Red Sea


Film Trailer for Joud (includes a shot of a Nabatean Tomb)


Another good modern film to watch is Wadjda

Does the compound have one of the beaches where SA dress rules for women don't apply? Based on a report from a friend of mine who traveled to SA with her husband 5 years ago, there were only a few beaches in SA where she could go without an abaya or "burquini". They usually left SA on vacation to go the beach.

tamc91 said:

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Does the compound have one of the beaches wear SA dress rules for women don't apply? Based on a report from a friend of mine who traveled to SA with her husband 5 years ago, there were only a few beaches in SA where she could go without an abaya? They usually left SA on vacation to go the beach.

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Better to go to Oman, Dubai, or Bahrain. The rules are a bit more liberal.

The compound, The Cove, does have it's own beach and private lagoon. SA is where the opening is so not much I can do to change that. However, it all should work out well. Just waiting on that paper offer so I can review with a CPA.

FC12 said:

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The compound, The Cove, does have it's own beach and private lagoon. SA is where the opening is so not much I can do to change that. However, it all should work out well. Just waiting on that paper offer so I can review with a CPA.

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Remember, you are taxed on your worldwide income. For me, this means dual taxation to a certain extent.

I didn't pay any taxes in SA. Will you're contract be an American contract or a local SA contract?

I will be paid via Saudi currency from the Int. corporation. From my limited understanding, this will allow the first $100k to be income tax free on the US side although I'm a Texas resident currently so there isn't income tax anyway. I still believe I'm required to pay FICA and SS as typical. However, in SA, there isn't income tax or other major taxation. Regardless, I definitely need a CPA to help because the offer will included housing coverage, medical insurance and school all paid for.

FC12 said:

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I will be paid via Saudi currency from the Int. corporation. From my limited understanding, this will allow the first $100k to be income tax free on the US side although I'm a Texas resident currently so there isn't income tax anyway. I still believe I'm required to pay FICA and SS as typical. However, in SA, there isn't income tax or other major taxation. Regardless, I definitely need a CPA to help because the offer will included housing coverage, medical insurance and school all paid for.

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You can use the foreign income exclusion to exclude up to $102,100 for 2017. Any amount above this

threshhold is taxable at the federal level. Any retirement received from a foreign entity will also be taxable

if it does not meet the requirements for a 401K. Your housing and school, if paid by the company, may

be taxable. Ask a CPA that has experience in international returns.

tamc91 said:

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Does the compound have one of the beaches where SA dress rules for women don't apply? Based on a report from a friend of mine who traveled to SA with her husband 5 years ago, there were only a few beaches in SA where she could go without an abaya or "burquini". They usually left SA on vacation to go the beach.

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In my neighborhood (not in a compound in Al-Jubail), they had 3 separate beaches - Men's, Women's and Family.

As kids, we used to always go into the Family beach so we could swim with girls. But that was a different era and nobody was monitoring the beaches too much. Plus they were really new then.

Spent 2.5 years in Jubail and it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. My wife came with me. It was challenging, for sure, but the expat life is all about shared experiences with your fellow expats and lots of interesting travel. Compound life is also great for young kids when Mom is staying home.

Driving is by far the worst and most stressful thing about Saudi. It's unspeakably bad and often terrifying. Distance from home is also rough to deal with and we did get homesick.

The Saudis, themselves, are great people. I mean... TERRIBLE workers... but a lot of fun to be around and very hospitable. Very curious about Americans and Christians and our whole culture. I made some really good Saudi friends. Went to several homes, met a couple of their wives, and they all met my wife.

Amenities aren't the same as in the States, but even in my time got better and better. You have no idea how awesome Chili's or Taco Bell are until they put one in that's driveable for an easy dinner outing. You never quite get used to things closing at ever-varying times for prayer, but you manage.

One thing we had in Jubail that you won't have in Yanbu is a relatively easy drive to Bahrain for weekend trips. You'll have to rely more on flying, but Saudia flies everywhere and is actually a decent airline. Your main hub will be Jeddah, which is a good thing because the Riyadh airport is a nightmare.

In short, you should do it. Everyone should live overseas if they can manage it. Feel free to PM me if you have questions. My wife would also be happy to speak to yours with some tips and to answer questions. I have good friends who had small kids there as well, and could connect you.

FC12 said:

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I will be paid via Saudi currency from the Int. corporation. From my limited understanding, this will allow the first $100k to be income tax free on the US side although I'm a Texas resident currently so there isn't income tax anyway. I still believe I'm required to pay FICA and SS as typical. However, in SA, there isn't income tax or other major taxation. Regardless, I definitely need a CPA to help because the offer will included housing coverage, medical insurance and school all paid for.

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They are paying some local taxes these days, as some laws have recently changed. DEFINITELY get a CPA.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Also, a friend of mine just finished making a film on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Apparently it got good reviews at Cannes. Here are a couple of clips.

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I'm going to watch both of those if I can kind the full film. Thanks!

Great post, thank you. Are you in the DFW area by chance? If this whole things goes further, I will definitely contact you as I know my wife has many questions. Even though women can now drive over there, I can promise you she will not be driving!!

My office counterparts should all be western expatriates which should be good. We'll be there on the engineering side to build the city up, basically. However, I expect to run into many areas of not seeing eye-to-eye with local labor on how things should actually be constructed, etc.

Apparently, SA is on some sort of holiday right now which has slowed the process a bit...

FC12 said:

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Apparently, SA is on some sort of holiday right now which has slowed the process a bit...

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Yeah, some sort of holiday... you're going to have fun learning about Islam.
I mean that in the kindest way possible.

I'm glad to hear my old hometown is still holding up.
I still remember when we got our first fast food restaurant about a year after they got one in Al-Khobar.

Hardee's

FC12 said:

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Great post, thank you. Are you in the DFW area by chance? If this whole things goes further, I will definitely contact you as I know my wife has many questions. Even though women can now drive over there, I can promise you she will not be driving!!

My office counterparts should all be western expatriates which should be good. We'll be there on the engineering side to build the city up, basically. However, I expect to run into many areas of not seeing eye-to-eye with local labor on how things should actually be constructed, etc.

Apparently, SA is on some sort of holiday right now which has slowed the process a bit...

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I'm in Houston these days. Please do feel free to drop me a line here or at aliasman02 at gmail

To be fair, Ramadan is over...I just didn't know they had a Holiday for "Ramadan is over"...

FC12 said:

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To be fair, Ramadan is over...I just didn't know they had a Holiday for "Ramadan is over"...

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I really have nothing to add to the thread, but I had to laugh about the differences in religious holidays.

My old company had operations in Israel. Now mind you a lot of Israelis are not Jewish, but their entire holiday calendar is based on Jewish holidays. Just like the Islamic world none of these really align with Christian or US holidays.

Due to holidays beginning at sundown and such many holidays that were 2 days would stretch to 3. Also their weekend was Friday-Saturday as their holy day is Saturday, not Sunday and technically begins sundown the day before. Anyhow our holidays never matched, so it always seemed like they had a holiday.

It was very interesting working with a different culture although I wasn't an expat, but I knew several. Always just have to remind yourself they are not American, they have a different culture and they have different expectations. Would love to be an Expat but the only place they ever wanted me to go was in West Africa which wasn't happening. Maybe one day.

I've never lived over there but I work for Aramco in Houston and been there a half a dozen times or so. I'm happy to answer any questions I can - PM me if you want.

I received a contingent offer based on full approval by the Royal Commission. There are going to be some negotiations but it's a very good starting offer. The biggest hurdle is there are so many things to take into account regarding compensation, allowances, taxes, travel, education costs...I want to make sure I know 100% what my income and taxes will be before signing.

Congratulations!

What an amazing time to be in The Kingdom. They're coming out with movie theaters, letting women drive. It will be very interesting to see what things look like 5 years from now. You'll be there to witness it all unfold.