<p>In KSA, would he be living at an expat compound?</p>
<p>Yes, he would.</p>
<p>There are a lot of internationals in Saudi Arabia, and many of them aren’t Muslim. They aren’t targeted or anything. I’ve never heard of an incident like that. Indigenous Saudis themselves might lean against American policies, etc., but it’s not like they are ready to kill Americans or publicly humiliate them. Surprisingly, there isn’t a high crime rate, just recklessness and corruption. Saudi Arabia does tend to be more conservative than Qatar and the UAE, but it’s not much different.</p>
<p>And expat life is very nice. They provide almost everything for free for expats in the compounds.
[YouTube</a> - Living and working in Saudi Arabia - Compound Life](<a href=“Living and working in Saudi Arabia - Compound Life - YouTube”>Living and working in Saudi Arabia - Compound Life - YouTube)</p>
<p>I know of people who live in Saudi. But they live in what I guess we can call the “projects” of that country. Even then, the standard of living is very high. And women; I’m not sure if it’s law, but they would have to wear a scarf and some conservative, “non-revealing,” clothing at the very least. I mean you don’t want to stick out b/c you might be shunned. Over there it’s considered promiscuous/rebellious if you don’t. Also, just as an fyi, women cannot drive and aren’t allowed to go outside without a male relative.</p>
<p>Just beware of certain laws. It’s not like they are completely unreasonable and hard to keep track of. Just be ethical. For example, stealing is a crime, just like it is in America, but in Saudi Arabia, your hands will get cut off. Of course, there are exceptions, and you can be exonerated if it was done for food, if the person forgives you, etc. But I’m not a Saudi law expert, and neither are many of the citizens of KSA.</p>
<p>I guess this example can relate to of a Muslim moving down to conservative Texas. And from what I’ve heard from Muslim acquaintances, it’s not that bad.</p>
<p>Thankyou borkborkbork, Your post was interesting please feel free to write more. My son received an info package but I was surprised to see that it did not include much regarding the cultural differences and how one might be treated if the cultural norms are forgotten. How do most ex pats dress in both Qatar and Saudi? He also noticed that beaches are not considered to be very good and if one would like to go swimming than you would need to join a club. The information he received did not mention cost of club membership for an ex pat to swim in a bathing suit. I would appreciate any kind of info you have about actual day to day life for a 22 year old in this region.</p>
<p>Expat compounds tend to be much more liberal than other parts of KSA. Still, it’s not like their rules don’t apply at compounds. At the same time, they try to accommodate expats as much as they can to make them feel at home.</p>
<p>I don’t know too much about the beaches, swimming, etc.
However, I think this forum (about expats moving to Saudi Arabia) would be more helpful:
<a href=“Saudi Arabia Expat Forum for Digital Nomads & Expats Living in Saudi Arabia| Expat Exchange”>Saudi Arabia Expat Forum for Digital Nomads & Expats Living in Saudi Arabia| Expat Exchange;
<p>Saudi Arabia is generally a very safe place, as robberies, etc. have terrible consequences. For example, if you drop jewelery, money, etc. on the streets, there is a high chance that it will still stay on the ground when you come back. </p>
<p>Driving in expat compounds is also safe, but this isn’t the case everywhere in KSA. Nobody obeys traffic rules outside, and they drive at VERY high speeds. Nevertheless, people do this on a daily basis, and there isn’t a high chance of getting killed to be worried about. Just be careful, because a lot of roads are like highwaya.</p>
<p>As for the clothing, men can wear whatever style of clothing they want to. I don’t know if they’ll let you wear shorts above your knees, but below the knees is fine. They don’t look too highly on tight, short, or sleeveless clothing for men. A lot of Saudis wear “Western” clothing, but many wear traditional clothes.</p>
<p>I actually don’t know how life would be for a 22 year-old. Most of the expats I’ve known moved in with their families. That may be a potential drawback. </p>
<p>I know that companies like ARAMCO offer recreational activities. That being said, where is he moving to? In Dhahran, the town has a significant international population (many of them are Indian, non-Saudi Arabs, and Pacific Islanders, but there is a noticeable Western population from North America, Australia, South Africa, and Europe).</p>
<p>I guess my question is whether living in an expat compound will be exciting enough for your adventurous son, although I appreciate it’s probably more than exciting enough for his mom!</p>
<p>Your thread reminded me of my friend who went to that area for a marketing co-op experience back when we were in college. He is now a VERY high level executive in the digital media industry … I think risk takers are the ones who find the most success in life.</p>
<p>borkborkbork…We still don’t have an exact location and his time will probably be split between Saudi and Qatar or he will be located in one place and need to travel to the other. The details are still unknown. He has received some company info on both and it appears that Saudi may be more challenging than Qatar although Saudi seems to have a bigger ex pat population and therefore a bigger network of Americans and Europeans. Is my thinking correct?</p>
<p>SoccerGirl…That is what I have asked him but at this age and time this is a huge adventure for him especially since he has not had the opportunity to travel to regions that are so unlike our own. As far as my level of excitement is concerned…I always assumed he would be doing this type of work but I did’nt think he would be doing it right after college. I am happy for him but it is more excitement than I needed. </p>
<p>Kelsmom…Thanks for sharing that. I think it will be a great launch for him and I look forward to seeing how and where it all goes. He was always the kid who took risks and never settled for the ordinary. I always assumed he had a touch of ADHD and he would say he had a touch of NSII (never say it’s impossible).</p>
<p>Qatar is A LOT more liberal than KSA. With regards to the amount of expats, KSA probably has more. They almost have “expat towns” in their own communities. I read somewhere that there was 100,000 Westerners in KSA and a significant South Korean population. I’m not sure about Qatar’s exact demographics, but it shouldn’t be too different than KSA. It probably doesn’t have the same amount of expatriates, but I don’t know the percentage. All countries with the exception of Iran (and also Iraq, nowadays) in the Persian Gulf have a large expatriate population because of the petrochemical industry.</p>