TranscriptionBlog

This blog is a personal story of MJCTJ.  He is a bank executive in Saudi Arabia.

“…the quality of life in Saudi Arabia is what you make out of it;

it is within your control.” - MJCTJ 

Chronicle of a Saudi Expat

Kingdom Tower, Saudi Arabia

Who said Saudi Arabia is just a place to work?  Who said life in Saudi Arabia is boring?  A lot of people have this notion that Saudi Arabia is prison; well, they are grossly mistaken. 

Life in Saudi Arabia is what you make out of it.  In my eight months in this country, I have grown to appreciate its beauty and the kind of life that it offers.  I am not saying that it is better than my home country or vice versa. What I am saying is that it is not a place of fear nor it is where an interesting life ends for an expat as what is the general depiction from what we hear before setting foot on this land.  There are large malls everywhere, stylish coffee shops, interesting architectures, well-maintained recreational facilities just to name a few.  Most of Western and European food and retail chains sprout in every corner and restaurants speak of different cultures that you can have varying cuisines every day. Other cities are so accessible as well, with cheap air fares and well-maintained highways.   In my short stay here, I’ve been to key cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Khobar, all of them offer diverse fascinations so I can’t wait to see more of its cities like Taif, Abha and Yanbu.

 I agree that it indeed has its intricacies and obscurities, but what country doesn’t?  Yes, you will sometimes miss the booze, movie houses, the bars, the discos and even just the interaction with the opposite sex as is for singles like me.  But all these are just a matter of fitting your lifestyle with these restrictions and you’ll be surprised that it will even do you more good than bad – I am now healthier as ever and such clean living has given me more peace of mind.  And as to the religious police, you don’t have to fear them as long as you know what you can only do and conscious of your boundaries.

 Again, the quality of life in Saudi Arabia is what you make out of it; it is within your control. So in being here, one should not feel so far away from home.

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Contact Information:  Not available. 

Personal Background:  MJCTJ is a bank executive of one of the local banks in Saudi Arabia for the last eight months.  He writes diaries of his experiences during his free time (which is quite rare lately).