City Comparison

Hi,

Question. Are you really from Tegucigalpa?  cool. Never met a Honduran here before.

Riyadh is a very hustling bustling city with congested traffic and pollution. Its in the central region of Saudi and surrounded by nothing but desert. The traffic sense and horrible there. Because there is a huge expat community you may find more schools in RUH than in DMM however the quality may just be the same.

Compared to RUH, DMM is much more calm. It is much greener and has sea on one side. Bahrain's not for once a while weekend travel. And there's plenty of places that you could drive to. The schools are okay too only that the waiting list is long.

I prefer living in DMM and this is just my personal choice.

live.ali wrote:

Hi,

Question. Are you really from Tegucigalpa?  cool. Never met a Honduran here before.

Riyadh is a very hustling bustling city with congested traffic and pollution. Its in the central region of Saudi and surrounded by nothing but desert. The traffic sense and horrible there. Because there is a huge expat community you may find more schools in RUH than in DMM however the quality may just be the same.

Compared to RUH, DMM is much more calm. It is much greener and has sea on one side. Bahrain's not for once a while weekend travel. And there's plenty of places that you could drive to. The schools are okay too only that the waiting list is long.

I prefer living in DMM and this is just my personal choice.

Hello

Thank you for your reply, and yes I am from Honduras and actually still in Tegucigalpa.

I was thinking the same as you, Dammam has more points in favor in everything you mentioned, but besides that, how is the cost of living in Dammam? More expensive or cheaper tha Riyadh? Housing, schools, food, entertainment, culture is strict as Riyadh?

Are you living in Dammam?

Kind Regards,

We have been to Dammam several times and my husband and I both liked to live there. But sadly, our places of work are situated in Riyadh so as much as we want to relocate, we cannot.

Riyadh is more cosmopolitan than Dammam. There are more modern buildings and amenities. BUT, nothing beats Dammam's (and Al Khobar's) location. Nothing beats spending weekends on the seaside, just relaxing and watching the sunset. I think that's the main advantage of Dammam over Riyadh.

As for expat schools, I think there are more schools here in Riyadh.

Hola,

For the cost of living, few years back this could have been a valid point if you are trying to compare the three main cities in Saudi Arabia  Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam ( when we say Dammam we usually mean the three attached cities of Dammam, Khober and Dharan). Accommodation ( not in a compound)being  the main comparing factor , they are more or less are all the same now.

For other items  like Electricity, Tel, food…. The prices are fixed for all.

Not sure about School fees comparison between the two.

All on all, no real differences on the cost of living, it's not like the difference between London and Cardiff for example.

You will not find many South Americans living in Saudi Arabia, but for sure you can find more Spanish speakers in Riyadh in comparison to Dammam due to the number of embassies and companies headquarters.I personally know only two Brazilians and one Venezuelan In Khobar

Actually, renting a decent apartment in Riyadh is expensive than renting one in Khobar/Dammam. There's a huge difference. I am talking of the apartments outside compounds.

I will not use the word “Huge”, “ some difference” is  more like it. It's not like 20 in Riyadh 10 in Dammam. It's more of 12 in Riyadh 10 in Dammam.

ahmadaq wrote:

Hola,

For the cost of living, few years back this could have been a valid point if you are trying to compare the three main cities in Saudi Arabia  Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam ( when we say Dammam we usually mean the three attached cities of Dammam, Khober and Dharan). Accommodation ( not in a compound)being  the main comparing factor , they are more or less are all the same now.

For other items  like Electricity, Tel, food…. The prices are fixed for all.

Not sure about School fees comparison between the two.

All on all, no real differences on the cost of living, it's not like the difference between London and Cardiff for example.

You will not find many South Americans living in Saudi Arabia, but for sure you can find more Spanish speakers in Riyadh in comparison to Dammam due to the number of embassies and companies headquarters.I personally know only two Brazilians and one Venezuelan In Khobar

Dear friend,

In your personal opinion, which is better city to live with my family? I know I am not free to choose since it depends of my new job, but if the company gives me the option to choose between Riyadh and Dammam?

Kind Regards,

Dammam

Dammam.

Dammam! That makes 3 votes for Dammam

Riyadh

Khobar is better then dammam but in both the places humidity kills me even in some time i cant breath outside.
Riyadh climate is good. you have variety of choices to go like malls, family parks etc. etc.

Since damam and khobar are a very small towns thus you have very limited spot to visit
BUT if you like more outings with family then Riyadh has everything you need on daily basis for small trips.

Dammam is only 400 km away from Riyadh, you can avail beach luxery every month.
And if you really like beach then Jubail is faaaaar better then Dammam and Khobar.

Humidity in Dammam... Sizzling heat in Riyadh 

Bro-AM wrote:

Khobar is better then dammam but in both the places humidity kills me even in some time i cant breath outside.
Riyadh climate is good. you have variety of choices to go like malls, family parks etc. etc.

Since damam and khobar are a very small towns thus you have very limited spot to visit
BUT if you like more outings with family then Riyadh has everything you need on daily basis for small trips.

Dammam is only 400 km away from Riyadh, you can avail beach luxery every month.
And if you really like beach then Jubail is faaaaar better then Dammam and Khobar.

Thank you for your feedback, how far in Jubail from Riyadh? Can my wife go to beach in KSA? Will she has to wear the abaya there too?

Kind Regards,

live.ali wrote:

Dammam! That makes 3 votes for Dammam

  yes that is a good advantage for Dammam.

But I think Bro-AM has a valid point too, don't you think that too?

Kind regards,

rdmedranoo wrote:

Bro-AM wrote:

Khobar is better then dammam but in both the places humidity kills me even in some time i cant breath outside.
Riyadh climate is good. you have variety of choices to go like malls, family parks etc. etc.

Since damam and khobar are a very small towns thus you have very limited spot to visit
BUT if you like more outings with family then Riyadh has everything you need on daily basis for small trips.

Dammam is only 400 km away from Riyadh, you can avail beach luxery every month.
And if you really like beach then Jubail is faaaaar better then Dammam and Khobar.

Thank you for your feedback, how far in Jubail from Riyadh? Can my wife go to beach in KSA? Will she has to wear the abaya there too?

Kind Regards,

Jubail is around 476 Km to Riyad and 76 km damma.
ofcourse she can visit but Abaya is a must everywhere in KSA, however you will find some people wearing substitute to Abaya at certain places. I m riyadh and tonight i m leaving for khobar and on saturday i'll be Jubail, i'll update my experiance on other topic "visiting Saudi places"

ahmadaq wrote:

Humidity in Dammam... Sizzling heat in Riyadh 

  No air to breath in Dammam / khobar
  no matter how hot, there s atlest wind in riyadh to breath

Bro-AM wrote:

rdmedranoo wrote:

Bro-AM wrote:

Khobar is better then dammam but in both the places humidity kills me even in some time i cant breath outside.
Riyadh climate is good. you have variety of choices to go like malls, family parks etc. etc.

Since damam and khobar are a very small towns thus you have very limited spot to visit
BUT if you like more outings with family then Riyadh has everything you need on daily basis for small trips.

Dammam is only 400 km away from Riyadh, you can avail beach luxery every month.
And if you really like beach then Jubail is faaaaar better then Dammam and Khobar.

Thank you for your feedback, how far in Jubail from Riyadh? Can my wife go to beach in KSA? Will she has to wear the abaya there too?

Kind Regards,

Jubail is around 476 Km to Riyad and 76 km damma.
ofcourse she can visit but Abaya is a must everywhere in KSA, however you will find some people wearing substitute to Abaya at certain places. I m riyadh and tonight i m leaving for khobar and on saturday i'll be Jubail, i'll update my experiance on other topic "visiting Saudi places"

476kms is really far from Riyadh, how many hours of driving is that in KSA? Is it safe to drive during the night in KSA roads? But can she go and swim at the ocean? i imagine she can't take off the abaya under no circumstances, even if she wants to swim at the ocean

What are other visit places outside of Riyadh? Where I can take my family?

I like long drive thus for me its nothing. roads are maintained.
To let her swim in the ocean u need to travel 1000KM (dubai) 
You can take your family everywhere in Saudi its safe. do one thing, once you arrive stay in touch.

Women can't swim in public places in in Saudi Arabia, but they can do so in private beaches.

Roads are totally safe from Bandits, day and night, but not safe from reckless drivers.

I enjoy your discussion. It is becoming pretty clear to me as I wiill move to Khobar.
I m trying now to register to school my kids. Has anybody been experienced to the procedure ???

ahmadaq wrote:

Women can't swim in public places in in Saudi Arabia, but they can do so in private beaches.

Roads are totally safe from Bandits, day and night, but not safe from reckless drivers.

It is so good to know is so safe in KSA, I honestly just worry now about some articles I read about women being rape without the opportunity of report that to the authorities.

Where can I find those private beaches? I guess is better flying to Dubai than driving    but I'm allow to leave KSA and go to Dubai when ever I want with my family?

Kind regards,

Bro-AM wrote:

I like long drive thus for me its nothing. roads are maintained.
To let her swim in the ocean u need to travel 1000KM (dubai) 
You can take your family everywhere in Saudi its safe. do one thing, once you arrive stay in touch.

Thank you for your feedback, I'll let you know once I arrive to KSA.

By mistake I mentioned in other reply of what you mentioned about Dubai, how much is the cost of moving by air or driving from Riyadh to Dubai?

Kind Regards,

Bro-AM wrote:

I like long drive thus for me its nothing. roads are maintained.
To let her swim in the ocean u need to travel 1000KM (dubai) 
You can take your family everywhere in Saudi its safe. do one thing, once you arrive stay in touch.

Speaking of safety, I've been reading some news and internet articles about ISIS trying to attack and take control of KSA, even some attacks to expats in KSA. That make me worried about my family safety and my own safety.

Is that true, is KSA now having problem with terrorist inside the Kingdom? Is King Abdullah's death (peace upon him) made KSA vulnerable to that type of threats?

Kind Regards,