Monthly expenses in Riyadh

Hi,

We moved to riyadh in Nov 2009 from Manchester UK

Our accomodation, utilities and transport are covered similar to yourself.

The only other costs we occur are:-

Internet - 250 SAR per month
Phone    - home bill 30 SAR per month
         - mobile 50 SAR per month
Other    - 250 SAR per week

This is for two of us.

hey there

well , SaudiUK, it seems ur really lookin after ur cash
just kiddin

but, perhaps u wana mention few things and we might be able to tell u more about how much it will cost u here

I am mostly wondering about food costs but the info on internet and phone is helpful, so what can I expect to spend a month on food.  As I said I cook dinner at home most days on my assigment here in the UK, which is pretty expensive but nothing compared to eating out.  Lunches I usually grab out.

Any information would be helpful in my making of my decision.

Doug

I believe if you cook yourself you could easily eat well on a monthly stipend of around SR 1,500 (US$400) per month.

Thanks Music Man If that is the case it is surely MUCH more affordable than the UK.

certainly dsw, it IS much much more cheaper than living in the UK. I was there for a week from Mar 11-18 and I found the cost oif food was sky high. Just to give you an example, a Shawarma (Arabian Sandwich) cost Pound 4.75 (thats abt SR 25) while it only costs SR3 or max SR4 here. Eating out for three of us cost approx 50 pounds per meal tharts a whopping SR 300. We could easily have a similar meal here in Riyadh for a max SR 100.

it could be cheaper if musicman invite u daily for dinner,he is good cook,,,,, i know because he invites me for lunch every day.....
hey hey whats happening to my nose.....em I changing into Pinocchio ????

i will take you both toi lunch on a wednesday afternoon anytime you casn make yourselves free, ladies... wats yr preference, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Arabic, Sri Lankan?

We have a small group of three who usually do lunch on the last Wednesday of everyt month and enjoy a quiet afternoon of sharing and exchanging the months events and news.

What about the cost of non food items like

A pair of good shoes

A pair of trousers

A mens suit

petrol

any other examples you can think of would be great.

Cheers,

Doug

I eat lunch at work every day but cook most of my other meals and I eat well on $40US a week.  This includes a lot of fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, meat plus extras for the 'pantry' like pasta, canned beans, etc.

I also spend a bit more on some American items I particularly like, such as Ken's Caesar dressing, but this is included in the $40.

dswiatkowski wrote:

What about the cost of non food items like

A pair of good shoes

A pair of trousers

A mens suit

petrol

any other examples you can think of would be great.

Cheers,

Doug

Shoes - you get Aldo, Clarks and Hush Puppies in Riyadh - similar prices as the UK

Trousers & suits - I bring mine with from the UK. So cant say what prices are in Saudi. Most designers have outlets in Riyadh so if you needed to purchase suits or trousers it wont be an issue.

Petrol - I hope your joking its cheaper than water!!! Cost is insignificant.

musicman wrote:

i will take you both toi lunch on a wednesday afternoon anytime you casn make yourselves free, ladies... wats yr preference, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Arabic, Sri Lankan?

We have a small group of three who usually do lunch on the last Wednesday of everyt month and enjoy a quiet afternoon of sharing and exchanging the months events and news.

You r too sweet....i might get diabetic due to u

Thanks for all of the information and yes I know petrol is dirt cheap, just curious, my company is covering it anyway.

Cheers,

Doug

even if they dont cover its cheap enough to take bath with it daily..hehehehe:D

i hope ya wont follow my advice:P

...the bath is fine as long as he not lighting up a cigar in the process...

Answering his Q's, What about the cost of non food items like

A pair of good shoes - Varies from SR 40 upwards, skies the limit depedning on labels

A pair of trousers - SR 50 upwards - same as above

A mens suit - SR 250 up

petrol - Sr 0.45 for 91 and SR 0.60 for 95 per liter

WATER costs moire at SR 1 per liter

ARIEL Laundry Detergent - SR 50+ for the big pack

PEPSI/COKE - SR 1.5 per can

CHINESE DINNER, souyp/rice/noodles,meats/salad at a decent Restaurant - SR 50+

ZYou will havew to talk to the better half for Grocery prices. Thats not my league, anyways.

To get an idea of prices of various commodities try to visit this site

http://panda.com.sa/english/

its one of the biggest stores around the kingdom , it might help you access the prices around here.

This information is very very usefull to all coming expats in KSA. If we decide to select best contributor to this blog then for me MUSICMAN is the best among all
I like to say big THANK YOU to him

awwwwww thats so sweet of u Prasad.....
we just gotta do what we all gotta do....

and musicman, do u know wat u gotta do? u gotta invote me too from lunch!

ok shahab, anytime young man.
i dont normally eat lunch on weekdays but I can always bend the rules for a quick bite anytime at 1pm on any weekday.
give me a buzz

thanks a lot sir!!!

I have gone through all the posts and I appreciate "musicman" for being helpful to everyone.

Please see if you can help me out as well-
Company is offering 25k SAR a month. Leaving behind all the above said in the posts (for eg, food, transportation, shoes, petrol, suit etc), I am looking for a 2 bed room appartment on a rent basis in a good area with all the facilities like swimming pool, fitness center, grocery shop. How much does it cost?

City: RIYADH
Member in Family: Two

Thanks in advance.