Talking About The Elephant In The Room – What ARE You Doing In Saudi Arabia?!
It’s not surprising that there is general consternation about our current location within our circles.
Riyadh? Saudi Arabia?!
The Middle East? The Arab world?!
It’s interesting that what most people know about a country is what they read or hear about in the media, understandably.
Most of us don’t have a limitless budget to travel the world and discover all about the countries for ourselves.
For example, Kenya is generally synonymous with animals, a friendly African people not unlike the people of Wakanda… just kidding! Sun, Sea, Sand, and Safari…. and lots more; the list is endless.
Australia is often synonymous with, well, kangaroos, warm laid-back people, a country/continent that is far from everything but offers a relaxed lifestyle, and apparently dangerous animals and/or reptiles everywhere that can kill you (not reality)! And again lots more.
Saudi Arabia is renowned for its intense heat (the misconception being that the heat prevails 365 days of the year – it doesn’t), the vast desert, strict conservative Arab nation, and oil, lots and lots of oil. But so much more is on offer.
In the case of Saudi Arabia, there is a persistent negative narrative that is widely shared in the media, more so than positive narratives, that we found contradictory to the reality when we got here.
But wait, I’m jumping the gun.
LET ME START WITH HOW WE EVEN GOT HERE…
As shared in previous posts, we moved to Australia in 2017 and got our Australian citizenship in 2022. We currently hold dual citizenship from Kenya and Australia as a result.
Having been rejected from an opportunity in the Middle East back in 2015 because of our then singular citizenship (Kenya), we decided to seek opportunity in the Middle East in 2022 with our new nationality (Australia).
One of the reasons we reconsidered the Middle East was its proximity to Kenya compared to Australia, and Kenya is where all our family is.
We haven’t seen nor spent any time with them since 2017 so we had a huge incentive to explore our options of getting closer to them.
LET’S EXPLORE THE OPTIONS THEN.
Dubai, UAE? Yes!
Doha, Qatar? 2nd time lucky?!
Manama, Bahrain? Hmmm, maybe.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia? Ummm….
It never came up on our options! To be fair, neither did Kuwait, which is also in the Middle East, so……
Anyway, the hesitation with Riyadh was because we were not exposed to much about the country. And what we were exposed to was hardly positive as mentioned, especially in very recent times, so I understand reactions about where we live (or were going to live before we moved).
In as much as we didn’t know a whole lot about the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) when the opportunity did come up to move, we were willing to do so.
We had the right mindset.
It helped that the move was not forced upon us, for example by a Company move that transferred Alex to this region for his profession, in a sort of take-it-or-leave-it scenario.
The choice to move was voluntary and was based on the fantastic job opportunity and excellent family package that Alex was offered by a very impressive Saudi company.
We didn’t see a reason NOT to take it up, so here we are.
SO, WHAT’S IT REEALLLY LIKE LIVING IN SAUDI ARABIA?
As I’m writing this, the kids and I have been in Riyadh, the capital city, since mid-September, just about 3 months.
We love it here!
Lucky for us, we arrived when the intense 50-degree centigrade heat was tapering off. Alex on the other hand arrived in June, at the peak of Saudi summer. Not pleasant. At all!
Quality of life is generally high, for professional expatriates and for locals, the Saudis.
The locals, the Saudis that we’ve encountered, are courteous, friendly, helpful, and a very gracious people. The negativity in the western media that primarily focuses on one topic a great majority of the time (human rights) is such a disservice to this country and its people!
In my view, there isn’t a country in the world that does not have its negatives, including on human rights.
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”– John 8:7 comes to mind.
The Bible
DO YOU LIVE IN THE DESERT?
Nope.
We live on a beautiful compound, a gated community with a cluster of residential villas, Vives II Compound.
Compound living is best suited for expatriates because it is less conservative, and we pretty much live like we would in our countries of origin.
The community here has a huge array of other expatriates of various nationalities. Sort of a residential United Nations.
When most of us meet for the first time and are making introductions, invariably one will share their name and automatically where one is from and in most cases originally from, because for lots of expatriates, this is the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th country of residence.
The transient nature of expatriation.
In our case, we came directly from Australia and originally from Kenya. I have a friend who is originally from the UK but came from Dubai and was previously in Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
Another one is originally from Brazil but lived in London at some point. Yet another one is from Spain and was previously in Morocco and is of mixed Iranian heritage!
Global citizenship.
Brazil, Kenya, Australia and Morocco – in Saudi Arabia
IS THE THREAT OF TERRORISTS CONSTANT?
No! Far from it.
Terrorism is a threat all over the world; it is not exclusive to the Middle East!
Saudi Arabia is as safe a country as Australia is, in our experience.
The best part for us is actually the safe environment! We feel safe.
On our compound, and most compounds, the entry gate is manned by a security team and intimidating concrete barriers erected for the residents’ safety. The security control all entries based on prior clearance from the residents.
Don’t just rock up at the gate and expect to be allowed in.
The caution I gather is from past security incidences but any present day potential threats to expatriates are treated with the highest priority in prevention.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
All the kids in the compound roam everywhere on their bikes or scooters, running around unsupervised by their parents or caregivers. We have NEVER lived in a space where our kids have the freedom or independence to roam about without fearing for their safety and security.
This is so refreshing and liberating!
A big part to this lifestyle, where we’re not fixated about their safety, is due to the low crime rate. Crime is pretty much non-existent on residential compounds.
You do not want to be committing a crime in the Kingdom of SA (or any other country of course!) because going against the law is especially punitive.
I don’t know too much detail to be honest but if one day a guy missing a hand is sitting next to you, you might observe this and rush to the conclusion that he might have carried out a crime that he bears the repercussions for – #jus’sayin!
My kids have made friends uninhibited and are always out playing on the compound facilities – basketball courts, soccer/football courts, tennis courts, playgrounds, indoor game rooms or pool areas.
Having settled quite quickly, they are all very happy – what more could their Mum ask for?
DO YOU HAVE TO WEAR THE “BLACK THINGY” LIKE THE SAUDI WOMEN?
The ‘black thingy’ is called an abaya.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked that!
No, expatriate ladies do not have to wear the black robe a vast majority of Saudi women wear.
For that matter, it is not mandatory anymore for the Saudi ladies themselves to wear the black abaya either as it was compulsory about 5 years ago.
However, most women have maintained wearing it as a matter of personal choice, family tradition or possibly a family expectations. The society is very patriarchal.
I do not have to wear the headscarf either. Especially as I’m not Muslim but also because it is no longer mandatory for women to do so.
The only requirement is to dress decently meaning no shorts, short skirts, tight pants, tight leggings or skintight/loose dresses that display bare skin such as bare shoulders.
Basically, revealing clothes are frowned upon!
I can live with that. Not a deal breaker!
In practice, when I’m in doubt about my attire for example when wearing form fitting jeans, I wear a colorful open kimono-style on top of the potentially offending clothes, to be respectful of the people and their culture.
There were sweeping changes that were implemented by decree by the current de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (popularly known as MBS).
I’ll avoid giving into a historical account of how comparatively strict Saudi Arabia was before recent times, only because it isn’t relevant to my family and I, having arrived in 2022 and found things changed and changing quite fast, for the better.
CAN YOU PRACTICE YOUR CHRISTIAN FAITH?
Yes and no!
Yes, we can do as we wish on the residential compound, such as gather with other Christians and have Church.
No, we cannot openly display our Christian faith in public outside the compound as it is contrary to the Islam faith.
There are no Christian churches in Saudi Arabia. This may change in the future, bearing in mind the existence of Churches and other religious beliefs in other parts of the Arab world, such as the UAE.
As mentioned, Saudi Arabia is changing very fast because of the huge tourism and other infrastructural developments that are part of the Crown Prince’s mind-boggling Vision 2030.
The country is opening and is likely do so much more in the future.
Photo credit: vision2030.gov.sa
CONCLUSION
There is so much more to say about Saudi Arabia and I will as our stay lengthens.
Suffice to say we are quite happy and excited to be at the forefront of witnessing these turn around changes in the country.
Our family is immeasurably blessed to be able to experience the diversity of cultures, cuisine, nationalities and meet interesting people from all walks and stages of life.
We are making the most of these God-given opportunities that open our minds, diversify our experiences, and create amazing opportunities now and in the future.
Leave a comment or question – the one thing you know or would like to know about Saudi Arabia.
