Julien created Expat blog 7 seven years ago. He writes: "It is a unique platform about all the expatriates’ blogs all over the world. Expatriates’ blogs are indeed a great way to get information about real life in a foreign country. As the years went by, new features have been added to the website such as a forum, guides, albums, a business directory. Expat blog has now more than 420 000 members and 1.8 million visitors per month. There are 206 countries and 400 big cities all over the world. 11 156 members are registered on the Saudi Arabia forum. The new features are aimed at helping people in their job and accommodation search in Saudi Arabia, two essential steps when expatriating."
In the housing section, ads are available by kind of accommodation, whether you are looking for or offering an accommodation. http://www.expat-blog.com/en/housing/middle-east/saudi-arabia/
Issues when trying to find a place include location, status, price, and facilities.
Riyadh is expanding daily; the roads are under constant repair, and building sites (and rubble heaps) are everywhere. Thus, its a good idea to be located as close as you can to your workplace. The weather is unbearably hot, and so don't try to walk 1.5 KM to work in June or July. Don't even think about biking to work. This city has the fewest bikes of any place I have ever seen. Cars and trucks have been known to run off, and even run over, cyclists on the shoulders. Thus, taxi-ing or carpooling is the best way to go, IMO.
Riyadh has an very unfamiliar approach to categorizing apartment types: family, and single. Most units are oriented to families, so if you want to get a bigger place, you might have to, ah, stretch the truth so that you and your buddies can get a villa (an aprtment with 3 or more bedrooms) together and save money. When I first arrived, it was quite frustrating when house hunting: place after place asked me about my wife and family, and so I had to say that she was coming (when she was not). Single units can be grouped together, and thus can at times resemble a ghetto. The only place where this is not as evident is compound life. I have not yet been on a compound, but they tend to have more facilities available, and a more Western-style approach to lifestyle. They are gated communities, with passport control and armed guards. One has to be aware, however, that there are compounds for westerners, as well as compounds for those of middle-eastern origin, and this difference would create tangible constraints on lifestyle.
Prices can vary alot. The closer you are downtown, the more expensive apartments become. You should be able to find reasonable rates in the 1500 to 2500 SAR per month zone. be warned: landlords here often expect 6 months prepaid rents, with 3 month increments after that. There is no refund, so if your job status changes, you will be out-of-pocket unless you can find someone to sublet. Compounds are often paid for by the employer, and thus can run 60,000+SAR per year = 5000 per month. This is well beyond the means of most expat teachers (at least, more than I would be willing to pay), but sometimes you can luck out and find something in a more reasonable range.
Finally, another frustrating oddity are the facilities. Saudi construction efforts are often half-complete: live wires will hang down from ceilings uncapped, gaps in bricks and tile will be uncemented, windows will have gaps as well, doors and floors will indicate a lack of grading evident in the sand that can blow in when the winds are high (I tape my windows to try and mitigate this). As well, tenants are expected to provide the entirety of finishing pieces to the unit: we had to buy the kitchen cabinets and sink, the fridge and stove, and air conditioners; luckily the light fixtures were already provided. Furniture was ours, no question. Hotel units are furnished, but tend to be old and rather dirty, as well as of questionable functionality; compounds generally, I have heard, have no issues like this.
So, for us to get housing, took a lot of logistics and planning, especially since there was a group of us. we looked at 5 or 6 places, negotiated and negotiated, and when we finally got a place, we needed someone with an iqama to sign for it, and then the whole issue of acquiring "stuff" for our place began. But that is another blog.
You can post or discover job opportunities in Saudi Arabia, per type of job (more than 100 jobs and fields), create your CV and find a job! http://www.expat-blog.com/en/jobs/middle-east/saudi-arabia/
and this will be dealt with in the next posting.
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