Ksa vs. uae

Considering the cost of living in both cities, and lifestyle. It depends of what type of person are you. If you are more on to business and money then take that in KSA. But if you want a bit open with night life and flirting, take that with UEA.

Thank you i am not sure i can live without night life....

better offer from UAE

woopark wrote:

Hello guys

I got two offers. One is from a company in ksa. My basic salary from the ksa company is usd 15,000/month but no housing. The other one is from a company in uae.  My basic salary from the uae company is usd 8,500 /month but the uae firm is going to provide me free two bed apt.

Let's say all others are similar.

Then which one sound more attractive? I have never lived in the both countries. Nor did i in their neighbor countries. 

Any comment? Thank you in advance.

Cheers,

KSA

Agree with first poster.  It depends on your personal needs.  Beyond the higher salary, KSA offers something that is both hated and embraced and that is; savings potential.  Having less to do - you'll save a much larger %age of your hard-earned monies in Saudi.

Having said that, the UAE has a great energy to it and if nightlife is your thing, I'd say it will be an easy decision in the end.

All the best.

Thanks ReLLek

I also agree with you. I think I should be more serious in making my decision. I believe that money eventually tells me a lot. Thank you again.

참 잘 오셨습니다 

All the best in your decision.  Good that you have two solid options. 


Another consideration:

UAE = Green golf courses 
Saudi = Brown golf courses 

:p

Actually there are two green courses in Riyadh 

You've never lived in this area? Go to the UAE, do not pass Kho(bar), do not collect 200 SAR. For real; don't come here until you've experienced some ME culture, the arrivals lounge has a revolving door for good reason 

Hello Full Monty;

Thank you for your comments.  But could you be more specific?  I am wondering about why you are emphasizing ME culture.  Also, why are you mentioning 'do not collect 200SAR'?  Do U want to say that living at KSA is dangerous? 

Thank you again ~

Hello Full Monty;

Thank you for your comments.  But could you be more specific?  I am wondering about why you are emphasizing ME culture.  Also, why are you mentioning 'do not collect 200SAR'?  Do U want to say that living at KSA is dangerous? 

Thank you again ~

Hello javedakb

Thank U for you answer.  But, if you do not mind, could be more specific on why you think KSA is better than UAE.  I am also wondering about if dangerous things are abundant in KSA.  I am a little bit scared, which may stem from my ignorance on KSA. 

Thank you ~~

Let me clear it! KSA is not dangerous by any means.

Let me make it simpler for you:
- If you prefer social independence and night life then choose UAE.
- If you prefer the savings with limited social life then go for KSA.

The choice is yours.

HTH.

Khurram.

Saudi is.....'different.'  And therefore not so easy on first-timer ME expats.  Most people who adjust well to Saudi have had some experience either living in a challenging work environment (like Korea for Weseterners) or more simply a "softer" / "easier" ME destination like Oman or the UAE.

I believe the post in question is trying to say...."you've never been to the ME and you're going to begin with living and working in Saudi??"

A lot have done just that and "survived" and have even come to like it.

I work with several of them right now.

Thank you for your encouraging comments! 

I'm not in either countries right now.. but have been researching quite a bit for these 2 particular countries.

Let's start with the obvious.  KSA is paying $78,000 more per year.  For that money, you can live quite extravagantly.  2 bedroom villa in a very nice compound would be 1/3 of the cost.  So everything remaining the same, UAE deal would net you $50k less than KSA deal with housing deal included.  That remainder is enough for you to hire full time house maid and pay for all your living cost and whatever entertainment is available in KSA.  And you'd still have left over.  And that $8,500/month can go straight to your saving account.

Also, the living cost (food, fuel, utility, home services) is quite cheaper in KSA. 

At the end of the day, with UAE, you'd hardly save any money at the end of the contract vs with KSA you'd easily have saved 6 figure with 3 year contract.  Moneywise, there's no contest... KSA all the way.

As far as the lifestyle goes, I think it'd really depend on your age.  I've originated from Korea myself and I don't think KSA lifestyle would really impinge on my current lifestyle.  I don't drink, don't go clubbing, and having had spent first 12 years of my life in Korea in the 70's and 80's, I'm used to male dominated society.  It's hardly a culture shock.  Think of it as quite similar to Korea during Chosun era.  Korean women had to cover everything from head to toe except for the eyes when outside just like KSA women.  It may take some getting used to, but nothing close to culture shock for Koreans.  Just old world Korea that has niceties of modern day technology I'd say.

If you are young, that's going to be a bit different.  Korean culture has changed at a very rapid pace past couple of decades.  Judging from the amount of money offered, I'd think you wouldn't be that young though.  Anyway, I think your goal is important also.  If you want to experience foreign culture and nightlife is important, UAE may be a strong option.  If you want to save some money when you go back home, KSA is the only choice. 

Good luck... I haven't gotten to the offer stage.  I have an interview coming up in couple of weeks.  It'd be nice if I can meet some Koreans over there.

BTW, as far as security situation goes, I was worried about the same thing.  But both UAE and KSA had terror incidents; UAE more recent.  ReLLeK up there commented on percentage of the incidents vs population and he's right.  It's quite rare.  I think North Korean threat in Korea is more dangerous than terror threat.  In fact I think more Koreans died from skirmishes with North Korea than expats in KSA or UAE combined.

Hello Trailbalzingdoc

Your comments are simply wow. I mean it is very analytic for very foreigner like me. I am still deciding, but by chance  if I go over there, we can have some koreans over.  Thank you a lot. And good luck to you~~

^ ^   good stuff trailblazer.

Plenty of Koreans around these parts...both in the medical and engineering field.  Just finished a glorious lunch of bulgogi and kimchi jiggae in jeddah (near US consulate) after picking up three tubs of kimchi for home at one of the Asian shops downtown.  still can't find a solid ginseng carrier, tho

best of luck with your interview!

Hello Rellek

I am kind impressed by you Rellek, who is looking for kimchi but also ginseng carrier 

hey man, I got the gochujang and the dweynjang.....I need to round it off. 

many koreans work in KSA.

I wonder if anyone has checked out "NAVER" to see if there are discussions about KSA and UAE ?

I usually do not use Naver.com.  Also i checked both ksa vs. Uae and 사우디 아랍에미리트연합 in naver.com.  The only thing that i can find is about soccer club competition between clubs from the both countries.  But again i am not a big fan of naver so that i might miss information on ksa vs uae.

I don't hate naver.com but i strongly believe that they are very biased. I understand that since naver.com's business model is different from google, naver  behavior might be it. But it is very funny to me that they themselves believe that they have better search engin than google.

Go straight to UAE bro.... KSA is the worst combination of ignorance and arrogance you could find anywhere in the world. They have money but a completely ultra third-world mentality. Haven't lived in the UAE but from brief visits and colleagues who have, it is much, much better.

Hi thanks for your comments.  I will also consider that. Thank you again.

Depends on what you want as an Expat .

Saudi
High saving on Rental , cost of living, free parking, almost no taxes or extra payments , zero level of customer service ,
You have limited freedom as you cannot drink , dance , do clubbing, no cinemas. Ladies require to be wearing black covering in the public domain. Publc transport on taxi. You can get an big apartment in  SAR 15,000-20,000. Arabic is mostly spoken. Less safe than Dubai. No chritsmas, new year celebrations. shops close down during prayer break. Sluggish and introvert society. 

Dubai
Cost of living is high, food cost comparable, hidden taxes,excellent customer service, western environment, public transport , metro, buses, taxi.  English is widely spoken all over. Less saving as you have unlimited entertainment - drinks, clubs, world class gardens,zoos, museums, Christmas, new year, like any other western country. shops never close during prayer break. Petrol is 3 to 4 times costlier than Saudi. World class malls, entertainment and sale all over. Utilities costlier than Saudi. You will save much less in Dubai.

Wow that is great comparison!  Thank you~~but i would like to ask what does that mean by "ksa is less safe than uae"?  Is that because of terrorism or some other social issues? Thank you again.

KSA is more a police state , where you cannot risk travelling without your employment ID / Passport. There are barriers and check posts at city borders and of course the fear which you mentioned. Not only that incidents of day light robbery and laptop/ mobile phone snatching is quite prevalent as usually they take foreigners/ expats for granted and never budge. So you have to be extra cautious even while travelling in taxi driven by a local driver , carrying laptop and phones. Dealing with Police because of communication issues is pathetic and also in any government departments. At some places sign boards on shops is only in Arabic.

Women in Saudi do not move alone as it is looked down as bad on them.

UAE no issues at all. Also women are looked with relatively more respect here than in Saudi.

take ksa offer, as uae will be very expensive. even if the company is providing you the apartment.  this is my personal experience.  i have spend 13 years in that country,  you will cry, if you take uae job.  i have seen artificial boom and rescision and collaps of uae in 2009,  the bankers are predicitng the same in 2016. i have no personal issue, i have never taken any loan or credit crad in uae, but i have seen helpless people, first banks will provide you with all the facilities and when you are used to it, and any point of time if you loose your job for 1 or 2 months due to any reason, the banks will make you die in the uae.  now i am back in saudi arabia.

I agree. UAE is more of a bubble which comes and goes and comes and ... But as I mentioned in my first post it all depends what you are expecting as an Expat : more  money with no much social life (KSA) ? less  money with high social  life (UAE) . Job insecurity persists in both the countries and UAE is more competitive  . I also lived in Dubai for 14 years and now since 6 years in KSA.

I will suggest you to join KSA OPTION.

You can manage all the other things if you have money in your hand.

woopark wrote:

Hello Full Monty;

Thank you for your comments.  But could you be more specific?  I am wondering about why you are emphasizing ME culture.  Also, why are you mentioning 'do not collect 200SAR'?  Do U want to say that living at KSA is dangerous? 

Thank you again ~

Hi Woopark,

It was a cultural thing, referencing the board game of Monopoly. Ignore it.

You said "i am not sure i can live without night life" and I thought you should ease yourself into a ME lifestyle before going full-on, hyper-restrictive Saudi. It's true many have their first taste of ME life in the KSA (I did), and some adapt easily. But many do not.

It is safe here, apart from on the roads where appalling driving is a constant issue. If you're from Korea you'll probably be used to lots of nighttime activities being available, just recognise you can't do any of them here except shopping and drinking coffee. In public, at least. I think first-timers to the region should always be encouraged to try a less restrictive country first - nothing against you, it's just I think newbies shouldn't be placed in positions where experience really counts. I've met many people overseas who've had a bad experience on their first try and gone back home for good, not realising that they just had bad luck and the next gig could've been much better.

It's up to you, but you won't find you can have your wishes or beliefs reinforced by everyone on here. The KSA is a tough nut to crack, but then again so is the UAE. If anything, maybe doing research on the individual companies might help you make up your mind. Good luck.

Thank you Full Monty for your kind and honest answers !

choosing KSA is a better option. because we expats go abroad to save money!!. saving potential is more in KSA.