Are You New
This is for those that have completed the Survival Guide with distinction ie they have a residency permit in their passport. 'Mabruk' as they say here - that's 'congratulations' if it isn't immediately obvious, which to some I suppose it might not be. In fact, this may be the first time you've been congratulated, as friends and family that have no knowledge of Saudi Arabia, other than what they have read in Western papers, may feel you have lost your marbles. You haven't. You are merely exercising your right to explore the world and if you are just starting out on the expat trail, welcome to what can be a wonderful life. If you are already a seasoned plodder, your time here will be another goodie to build up your ‘experiences’ tally.
Your
First Few Days
You need to find supermarkets,
doctors, dentists, schools and, well, shops.
Do they even have them here? My
first suggestion is that you get yourself a map.
The pullout map in the back of Jeddah Today should do the job but if you fancy
something a bit more detailed then you need the Jeddah Tourist Map.
Difficult to get hold of, of course, if you don't know your way around,
but stop at any large supermarket that you pass and it should be able to sell
you one.
Getting your bearings can take
longer in Jeddah than in other cities for no easily definable reason.
It could be that the assumption that north is inland, sends one's
internal compass awry. The lack
of a consistent set of street names may also hinder progress - Palestine
Street is also signposted Felesteen and Tahlia Street's correct name is Prince
Muhammed bin Abdul Aziz Street while Prince Fahd Street is also known as
Sitteen Street - three examples of many instances.
For women, not being able to
drive may make it more difficult to commit the layout of the city to memory,
but with the map and the addresses in the White Pages at the back of Jeddah
Today, both
drivers and non-drivers should be zipping around the place in no time.
In alphabetical order then,
here are the most important things for you to know how to find, and things you
need to know:
Dentists
Dentists are in that
unenviable position of not being entirely trusted.
The sound of a drill accompanied by a pair of eyes peering maniacally,
sorry, intently over a mask is unnerving wouldn't you say?
And is any patient ever wholly convinced that what the dentist is doing
is actually necessary? Naturally, if they relieve immense pain without causing any,
they are heroes and recommended to everybody.
So, find a recommended hero. If
you can't do that, make an appointment with one you like the name of (see
under Medical Services
in Jeddah Today), go for a checkup and see how you like him/her.
Be aware that many of the hospitals also have in-house dental clinics
so perhaps check out one while you're checking out the other - see the Hospital
Guide.
Doctors
There is a prevalence for
cutting out the middleman (in Britain, the GP) and self-referring to a
specialist - there is one for every hour of every day of the week here, but
there are GPs as well. Word of
mouth recommendations are usually the best, but bear in mind that a
hypochondriac's favourite doc may be one that has a tendency to over-prescribe
so use your judgement. Some
compounds are affiliated with a particular hospital eg Arabian Homes and Lotus
IV with Ghassan N Pharoan (GNP). Try
to get a recommendation but failing that take a tour of some of the bigger
private hospitals, including Erfan and
Bagedo, Soliman Fakeeh, Saudi-German,
New Jeddah Clinic, Dr
Baksh and GNP to see which you are most comfortable with.
See the Hospital Guide
for
more information.
Although it will soon be law
in Saudi Arabia
that all employers must provide health insurance for their staff, as yet there
is no such legislation and only Saudi nationals are eligible for free
treatment. Hospital care is
expensive - SR10,000 to SR20,000 for a broken leg or ribs, up to SR50,000 for
a heart attack. Most companies
have some sort of cover for their staff and in some cases dependents as part
of the remuneration package. If
there is no formal plan then it may well be in the company's interests to talk
to one of the health insurers now operating in the Kingdom such as BUPA,
Mednet or NCCI. It is also
possible to arrange corporate cover with one of the leading hospitals.
If no company scheme is in
place then the options for an individual are: a contract with a local
hospital; an international health plan such as BUPA
or PPP; or cover through a local insurer.
It is best to stick to companies affiliated with well-known
international insurance operations - and always be careful to check the limits
of the plan or policy and any of those tricky little exclusions.
Embassies
and Consulates
It is highly advisable that
you register with your Consulate in Jeddah, or your Embassy in Riyadh, if your
country is not represented here. Assistance,
should you need it, can be offered more easily and, occasionally, they like to
entertain their countries' nationals, so they need to know you are in the
Kingdom. Telephone and fax
numbers for all Embassies and Consulates can be found in the General
Information section.
Insurance
Health Insurance has been
mentioned above and you will probably already have made arrangements for any
property and possessions left at home while you are away.
Now that you are here you need to consider Car and Contents Insurance.
Car Insurance
There is no legal requirement
to insure a car in Saudi Arabia and as a result it is estimated that only 20%
of the cars on the road are insured.
You would be well advised to take out insurance on your vehicle if you
own it, or confirm that your company has insured you if you are driving a
company vehicle.
If you are involved in an
accident:
-
do not move your car
until the police arrive
-
do not leave the scene
-
remain calm
When
the traffic policeman arrives at the scene of the accident, he will assess the
situation and apportion blame, either at the scene or after all parties
involved have transferred to the nearest police station.
Blame is either 100% one party's fault or divided 50/50 or an uneven
percentage depending on the circumstances.
As the blame is apportioned, so will the persons or insurers have to
pay. Each driver involved in the
accident will receive a special form from the policeman - without this,
insurance cannot be claimed and repairs cannot be carried out.
If
you are involved in an accident in which another person is injured, be aware
that you may have to wait in jail while fault is decided. Blood money for injuries caused can be as high as SR100,000
but this can be covered by insurance. Ensure
that you carry company contact numbers at all times so that you can
inform your sponsor and employer should the worst happen.
Contents
Insurance
If you live in furnished accommodation, confirm with your landlord or compound owner whether the contents of the villa or apartment where you live are covered - it should be made clear in your lease. If the company provides the furniture, then check with them. Your personal effects are your responsibility and you should insure them as you would anywhere else in the world.
Schools
There are numerous schools in Jeddah for expatriate children, including American, Bangladeshi, British, French, German, Indian, Italian, Pakistani and Philipino - an English-speaking curriculum is followed at the British International School (known as The Continental School), Jeddah Prep and Grammar School, the Saudi Arabian International School (American), the Bangladesh School and the Indian School. All have modern campuses with good facilities and offer education from nursery age to 16, in the case of Jeddah Prep and, recently, 18 at the Continental School. All expatriate education is private and can cost up to SR27,500 per annum.
Contact Details:
British International School +966 2 699 0019
Jeddah Prep and Grammar School +966 2 654 2354
Shopping
Centres
These are covered in much
greater detail in the relevant section, but rest assured - you can get pretty
much everything here - and a whole
pile of stuff you haven't thought of as well.
Supermarkets
There are numerous
supermarkets of varying standards - the big ones include Al
Raya, Azizia Panda, Bin Dawood,
Danube, Marhaba, Sarawat, Sawary, Star and Watani. Virtually all
of the larger supermarkets are open 24 hours a day, excluding prayer time and
are very well-stocked with little unavailable except perhaps for the
ready-meal lines you may be used to. Prices
are two-tiered - imported vegetables can be as much as four times the local
equivalent but, on the whole, the difference is only the same as premium and
own brands at home. You'll find
that people have their shop preferences just as they do elsewhere.
As yet only one, Sawary, operates a loyalty scheme, which offers 5%
discount.
For
the Trailing Spouse …
What follows are the two
things that women may find the most difficult to adjust to. I apologise for assuming that the trailing spouse is a
female, but in this part of the world, it is highly likely!
The
Abaya
Technically, you don't have to
wear this all-covering garment, as it is only followers of Islam that are
bound by its rules. However, as a
mark of respect to your host country it is only courteous to follow local
customs. At the risk of sounding
pompous, if you were visiting a friend's house you would not go out of your
way to offend them while you were in their company, would you?
Don't even start with the 'my friend lets me do what I like …' - go
and stay with them if covering up seems too much.
But we're forgetting the good points - you're rushing out the door but
mortified as the baby has plastered porridge all over your shoulders, there
are cat hairs all over your black trousers and your pre-schooler thought he'd
wipe his painty hands on your t-shirt as it was easier than washing them.
No time to change - no need to change. Your
abaya covers everything, as it should! You
can buy them pretty much everywhere - the cheapest anyone that I know has paid
for one is SR40 - but it only lasted a year.
A word of advice - buy one that either has poppers down the front, or
has a velcro fastening on one shoulder. The
long, flowing, unsecured ones can feel very elegant but are a nuisance to keep
closed. Why not splash out and
have a 'serviceable' one for the day and a floaty-light one for evening!
Take the offer of the 'free' headscarf and keep it in your bag (they
fold up very neatly) as occasionally you will be asked to cover your head.
Driving
You can't. And after a week here you won't want to - unless you're the
sort of thrill-seeker girl whose adrenaline merely flickers on a
roller-coaster, thinks stock car racing (driving, not watching) is only as
exciting as a pedal car, and that you'd do a much
better job than Michael Schumacher if only you had the chance.
Instead, wallow in the luxury of never having to find a parking space
and relish the opportunities for back-seat driving, without ever being on the
receiving end. You can also close your eyes as a passenger, should you feel
the urge, without the risk of an accident.
If you live on one of the larger compounds then there will probably be cars and drivers that you can book for when you need them, or shopping buses running on a schedule to alternating destinations . If you are living in a private villa you can experiment with street limousines until you find one you like and trust - many of these guys have pagers and concentrate on servicing a small client list. Or employ a driver. This may be provided as a 'perk' through your husband's employer or you can hire on demand or full-time. (See 'Automobile Rental' in the White Pages of Jeddah Today)
*
* * * * * *
So - these are the basics to
guide you through your first few days and weeks in Jeddah - before you move
onto the big stuff like exploring locally as well as the wide blue yonder.
In the meantime, be prepared for the city to exceed many of your
expectations yet fall short of others; for huge waves of homesickness yet a
giddy sense of freedom; most of all, give it time to feel like home.
Most expats long to go back to their 'mother countries' at some point
but are then pleasantly surprised when their adopted home has a stronger pull
at the end of that first holiday.
So many times you will hear the expression that life is what you make it, and that was never more applicable than to the life of an expat in Saudi Arabia. For those unable or unwilling to adapt, it can be difficult. Even those who admit a fondness for the place would agree that there are days when they want to pack it all in and go. But these feelings affect every human being at some point or other in their lives, wherever they may be. Here you can look at the blue sky, the swimming pool, think of the long lazy Friday afternoons at the beach … the feelings will pass!
If you have any further questions about life in Jeddah as a wife and mother, please feel free to email.