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Had a role shoved under my nose 2 days ago. Nothing strenuous about it. Unsurprisingly it’s for a considerably large oil firm. Perm or contract. Usual bens/relocation package etc. Salary based on various factors and won’t become clear for a while.
Still, looking at Saudi threads here from the last 3 yrs or so it appears all of you lot would rather set up shop in N Korea. I assume that’s still the case?
Well, I don’t think I would.
Rachel
I wont set foot there again. Theyd have to pay me a ridiculous amount of money to consider it.
Horrible place.
No aesthetic, medieval society.
I would, but the money would have to be absolutely ridiculous. I mean, stick it out for five years and never work again. (I'm in my early 40's for reference)
It's a nope from me *
*Work in oil have done ad-hoc in many parts of middle East - poke that. - from someone who is currently working based in West Africa.
Nope.
never been there or wanted to go there or been offered a job there but it depends what is important to you.
If it's loads of cash (compared to say whatever one is currently paid) then i could see the attraction.
No chance!
APF
Interesting. I've been offered a job in UAE but with customers in Saudi, Nigeria and Angola (as well as the rest of the Middle East and South Africa.
I used to go to Kuwait every month and liked it there but am a bit put off about Saudi because of the funny stories from the other expats in knew in Kuwait about Saudi e.g. "my mate thought he'd make more money by not going through one of the big consultancies. How we laughed when the religious police arrested him for talking to a female work colleague outside of work and threw him in jail. It took him 3 days to get himself released! Ho, ho, ho".
I've visited for up to a week.
I wouldn't live there unless it was enough to take a lifestyle job after a year. It depends what your priorities are.
NOpe - nurses get thrown of balconies there
Keep selling it to me peeps!
This is exactly what I expected to hear. Naturally the money is the main motivator, but I feel like I'd be selling my soul from the moment I step off the plane.
...I feel like I’d be selling my soul from the moment I step off the plane.
It's ok to sell your soul. Just get a good price so you can buy it back later.
An ex submariner friend of mine managed just under a year there before comming home. 6 months in a tin can under the sea, no problem, 10 months there broke him. It was worse than anything he had ever had to deal with.
Plus its only going to get worse out there as the money isn’t as good as it once was.
Nope
We had family there - one of the sheikh's had invested money in the business (no loans allowed), then the sheikh decided the business was really profitable.
In less than a fortnight they went from growing business (growing grass that can be watered with sal****er) to leaving the country with basically the clothes they stood in - they left car at airport with keys in as they could not sell it quick enough for example.
I mean, stick it out for five years and never work again.
Has anyone actually ever managed that?
Nope - been there a few times - life’s too short to put up with the conditions.
Correct ..I wouldn't ..
nope, not even if I needed the cash. Same goes for any dictatorship run country.
nope, not even if I needed the cash. Same goes for any dictatorship run country.
This for me too. Just wouldn’t sit right
Well that’ll be that then
I know people who worked there in the 80s and they lived like kings. Didn’t complain about much TBH. Blinkered by the money I suspect.
Ta for th reinforcement.
I was there in the 80s. It was OK for a while but boring. Things were different then. Given the current political climate I don't think I would go.
As an IT consultant I get pimped out to all sorts of customers. I usually don't give a fig who I work with, we sell our software to government departments, large enterprises , banks and the military. I've only ever turned down one gig. That was in Saudi, for the Saudi Prison Service. That was my ethical line, right there.
Has anyone actually ever managed that?
Folk in their early to mid sixties?
To the OP, no, never.
A guy I worked with went there with Aramco for silly money. There was also some kind of tax free bonus payment of around £500k if he stayed there for 5 years. I think it was 14 months before he was back in the UK.
I live in the neighbouring sandpit, have been to KSA for work in the past but I wouldn't move there & not allowed to travel there anyway at the moment.
Not for all the tea in China.
My Dad lives and works in Bahrain, I was 80% of the way though going there too.
I don’t know what Saudi money is like, but even in Bahrain it’s not footballer money really and most people at least increase their lifestyle a decent bit - no one lives like a monk for x years and retires, not really.
My Dad won’t set foot in Saudi, he’s driven half way along the causeway for a look and come back.
Even if you can see past the state of the place, think about who you’re going to be working with, socialising with, living next door to? The exact type of person who, knows all of the above and still decides to work there.
The oil price is on the rise again now and so these sorts of opportunities are going to becoming available again, but it won’t last - don’t forget that one dick has caused it - Trump pulling out of the Iran deal, and every economist in the US knows a $100 oil price sends the US into a recession, he will end it before that happens - re-election starts next year and I don’t remember the last leader who survived a large scale recession.
"There was also some kind of tax free bonus payment of around £500k if he stayed there for 5 years. I think it was 14 months before he was back in the UK."
I know someone who went out as well with same rumour. He lasted 2 years and really doesn't talk about it.
5 years a long time, I will work in quite a few conditions, cold or muddy, hot, bad food and accomidation. all for the right price, but Sudi would be as close to prison as I would fancy! 5 years. Not unless it was on some sort of 4 week on 2 off type deal but hten you wouldn't get the tax free bit.
I'd rather ride a fat bike, dressed as Binners.
I’d rather ride a fat bike, dressed as Binners
So - if I work in Saudi would it mean being paid to be away from my children?
Where do I sign up?
Actually, I'd rather ride a fatbike with skinwall tyres, dressed as Binners....
Throwing challenges at the internet there nobeer?
Challenging Flashys GIF library....
If you bring medication with you, carry a doctor’s prescription.
Importing pork products is forbidden.
The possession of pornographic material, or of illustrations of scantily dressed people, especially women, is prohibited.
Electronic devices may be screened by customs officials on arrival and departure.
The punishment for smuggling drugs includes the death penalty.
Photographing government buildings, military installations, and palaces is not allowed. You should avoid photographing local people. Binoculars should not be brought into Saudi Arabia and may be confiscated at the port of entry.
It’s illegal to hold 2 passports in Saudi Arabia. Second passports will be confiscated by the immigration authorities if they’re discovered.
You should carry a photocopy of your passport for identification. Make sure you have included emergency contact details.
They had me at Pork
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/saudi-arabia/local-laws-and-customs
Hitler was evil.
Skinwalls are awesome.
Evil and awesome don't mix.
Flashy we have some things we need to talk about, Dictators generally manage to look good, they always had the best uniforms. Skinwalls well let's be honest it's like you painted your rubber pink
I used to work in the defence sector and know plenty of people who have worked there. You have a real paradox between the ex-patriots who have become 'institutionalised' and have a taste for hooch, those there on the short-term to earn a bit of dosh. The security situation is a bit grim - many incidents go unreported in the western press to appease the Saudi government.
Have done and probably will be there again shortly. Its palatable to me as i stay in an expat camp it has everything on site, I have ventured and traveled to other cities as work required. My parents lived there in the 80's and its a lot better today than it was then. However I dont think the money is there like it used to be and they now tax the expats on there earnings think its about 8%. The big bonus's have gone and the cost of living is going up.