Detailed Info on Cost of Living in Riyadh

Hi ravibagri and welcome on Expat-blog!

Your topic has been moved on the Riyadh forum.

Good luck
Christine

The salary seems to be too low.  In my humble opinion, with your educational background and experience, you are better off staying in India.

ravibagri wrote:

Members of the Forum,

Please assist in info on cost of living for Indian Family (Veg) of 5 (Me, My Wife, My Mother and 2 Children) in Riyadh.

[Moderated: please avoid quoting long posts.]

RaviJi,
welcome on Expat-blog!!!!!

There were multiple threads on this RENTING topic in the past in this forum, someof them are listed below and not sure they answers ur particular Qs, but can help u to get a basic understandign about the housing and Cost of living.......

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=53045https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=52636https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7325https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15988https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=55142

On housing, I recently saw an excellent article by one of our senior expat as folows
https://www.expat.com/en/guide/middle-e … ngdom.html

You can always goto https://www.expat.com/en/classifieds/mi … ation.html for accomodation classifieds in RIYAD. Most people benefitted from this classified and the easiest way would be to contact them directly and discuss the requirements and finalyze the Contracts with them

There is another blog with a list of the compounds in Riyadh along with contact information
https://www.expat.com/en/guide/middle-e … iyadh.html


Finally, you can get arround in this site for such discussions, articles and you definitely find enough information that can help you.

Happy hunting and welcome again on Expat-blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

as a general rule, it is said that u can come to SA from the subcontinent if u r atleast getting twice the salary that u were getting back home, plus all the following things as well, i.e., company paid accomodation with utilities, children education and health cover. if ur contract is missing any of the above then it is not wise to shift to SA.

That should about cover it all.
I should say after the replies "Thats a wrap!"

the answers should be done by now, but anything else? post, and expect replies!

Friends,

Thanks for all the info. The bank is Samba Financial and they have offered Sal of SAR 20K p.m. apart from performance bonus as I would be in Sales.

The other benefits apart from the same is Medicals.

I thought to give a try and see how's world in KSA. If I do not like or not been able to survive (i mean save good money as the different between KSA and India is tax which is at a whopping @30% with no benefits(, then i will go back or look other better opportunities as one of you has stated that I am being underpaid, given my experience and expertise. According to my understanding, i will be able to save around SAR 16,000 p.m. or USD 4500 p.m. as i will be staying alone in the first year and then will think of bringing my family.

Please guide whether my thought seems justified.

saradhiji,

Thanks for the links on cost of living, but can anyone send an updated info on the same, as they are 2 - 3 years old, when recession was at its peak and cost of living decreased in KSA inspite of the fact that Global Recession did not hit KSA.

So please do answer my queries above for an updated info as this assist me in understanding the savings..

Ravi

I understand your stress. We all have been through the same position trying to work out the Cost of Living math from thousand of miles away.

Its quite simple to understand though. This offered salary is close to average, nothings spectacular. With 8 years of experience and a CPA, you should be offered close to 30. To put things in perspective, I work for a Bank and am a CFA charterholder and a CPA candidate. So you can assume I know what I am talking about. You should, however, strongly consider this offer if it can result in more saving compared to India and the role seems promising (again on a relative basis). Generally speaking, growth prospects for financial planning professionals is good. One thing that would buzz me out is this: what is a CPA doing in Banking sales?

You will not be able to save half of your salary unless you compromise your lifestyle. Don't research compounds, it should be out of your league based on this salary. A decent 3 BR apt near to your Bank will cost you 30K per month. that's 2.5K/month. Car lease is available after providing 3 months bank statement. Initially you can rent a car for SR 40-60 per day and later on, a Prado lease will be around SR 2600 /mth (with 10% down payment). These are the two major expenses. Grocery, utilities will not be more than 2.5-3K /month. An Indian school like Yara or Middle east will be cheap (around 500sr for a primary class).You shouldn't be skeptical about your nationality or religion. There are many Asian kids studying in reputed schools like BIS, AIS-R and Multinational where the fee can range from 2k-4K per month for a primary kid. There is an inertia that you have to overcome though, by being more interested and proactive in seeking admissions to these schools. You might get a response that they are accepting certain passport holders but it shouldn't derail you from trying to apply again as I have heard of similar cases in the past.

Eating out on weekends is a popular activity and can cost between SR 20-200 per head depending on your lifestyle. An average for me and wife is SR 120-130 for a boutique meal per week.

All in, you will be spending close to 12K per month based on an average perimeter.

If the 20K per month offer includes housing and transportation, then its only worth SR 14K per month basic (approx). If you can negotiate the package to SR 25K its worth it. SAMBA can afford to pay unless they are hiring through a third party HR contractor which means the middle man is keeping about 20%. I worked for SAMBA for 20 years from 1979-99 in technology.

Answering your question on compounds

Western 3 bed - SAR230K/annum minimum
Non-western(crap)3 bed - SAR150k/annum

These are indicators and you will find lower and higher prices.

Ravi,
To be frank with you, for a kind of experience you had and the field you r getting into, I wouldnt be tempted to accept the present offer of 20K if you r planning to bring in your family OF 5 as i know you will get the similar offer in India.

Have not seen you telling if 20K is inclusive or exclusive of Accomodation, transportation and Medical insurance. as u see the expenses up, the main expensive things in KSAa are Accomodation, transportation, if you can negotiate a bit, atleast all inclusive package of 25K or ask for other benefits like accomodation, transportation on top of 20K.

the _blade and MM covered most of the stuff, so Let US know if you require any specific information, GLAD TO SHARE.