My expenses in KSA (7 / 7) - Offer evaluation

When evaluating an offer you need to take care about the following points:

Abbreviation	Description
S	Basic salary, most of offer attributes depends on this.
A	Accommodation, usually it is in number of months of the basic salary, most of companies offer 3 basic salary, sometimes paid monthly, sometimes paid every 6 months.
B	Bonus, usually it is in number or portion of the basic salary, depends on company, job nature, and in some cases there is a minimum bonus specified in offer.
T	Transportation, it is different from company to another, and job nature, and in some cases on ob grade.
-	Non interest loans, some companies offer in some situations, like first coming to KSA, buying a car, considered a great added advantage but very hard to be added in monthly computation as you will pay again the money, you won't gain it.
-	Medical Insurance, as mentioned before never accept an offer without medical insurance covering you & your family.
R	Annual raise, usually percentage of basic salary, paid annually or every two years, and sometimes based on negotiations.

Advices:
1- Don't accept lump sum monthly salary, as any bonus or incentive is factor of this figure, and a common trick to minimize basic salary as possible.
2- You MUST know what will be your degree & its benefits, and the higher degree and what is the difference.
3- Make sure everything is written not verbal, this is the second most tricky thing, you will find people working on same position in same company with different benefits because someone thought he will get them by default while this was not the case.
4- Try to have accommodation paid every 6 months to match your payment for your flat.
5- Ask for initial free accommodation in hotel or furnished flats for at least 14 days to 1 months.

To unify the monthly offer across if you are receiving multiple, use this formula to compute unified monthly salary = ((12 * S) + A + B + T) / 12

Example:
If you have offer with basic salary as 10000 SAR, 3 months accommodation, 1 month guaranteed bonus, no transportation = ((12 * 10000) + (3 * 10000) + (1 * 10000) + 0) / 12 = 13333 SAR / month

From previous posts in this blog, you can compute your monthly saving after computing your expenses and subtracting from above monthly salary.

Most readers want quick ranges of expenses rather than reading all posts, below table provide this information based on moderate lifestyle from my point of view, good flat already furnished, and moderate international schools distributed over 12 months of the year:

Family	Monthly expenses in SAR
Single	5000 - 8000
Newly married without children	7000 - 11000
Married with 2 children before school	9000 - 15000
Married with 2 children in school	11000 - 18000
Married with 3 children in school	16000 - 22000

I prefer that everyone read previous posts as there are opportunities for saving, like singles can live in shared flats saving too much, cook your own food instead of delivery, ... etc

My expenses in KSA (6 / 7) - School

Some job offers, cover part of school fees and for a limited number of children. Some associations as Egyptians care association in Riyadh can offer discount in some schools.
There are several types of schools in Saudi Arabia for expatriates:
1- National private schools:Low cost compared to other schools, unfortunately I do not have more information.
2- International schools:Medium cost somewhat between 10,000 to 30,000 per year. Mostly American curriculum some CITA accredited, following some schools and the comments from some friends:

• Al Oruba International School: Most teachers are Egyptians, U.S. subjects, many praised the teaching and especially in the primary stage, the new building for the school is so beautiful, it has one problem that the school fence is just 100 meters from high-pressure electricity wires.

• Learning Oasis School: U.S. subjects, very good in kindergarten.

• Dina International French School: Excellent choice for Tunisian and the Arab Maghreb countries, a lot of friends praised the school.

• British Islamic Al Alamaeen School: British curriculum except science is from U.S., teachers possess British or U.S. citizenship, religion is as Saudi curriculum, school buildings on a small area and pay expenses in two installments only and the second installment in November. There is Montessori curriculum for those interested in that.

• Manarat Al Riyadh: U.S. subjects, schools over a wide area.

• Al Rowad International School: U.S. approach, most of the teachers are Jordanians, great teaching in religion memorization and etiquette, I did not like the quality of teaching in the kindergarten.

• Al Faris International School: U.S. approach.

3 - Schools teach abroad curriculum and teachers from abroad:High costs between 25,000 to 70,000 per year. Example British International School in Riyadh and the certificate shall be on the English curriculum as taught in England.

My expenses in KSA ( 5 / 7 ) - Plane tickets & visa

Make sure your offer cover annual plane tickets & VISA for you & your family, usually 1 plane ticket (go-return) for each is offered.

My expenses in KSA (4 / 7) - Medical expenses

Do not agree to any contract of employment without health insurance for you and the family as the cost of treatment (Doctor fees and drugs) are very high. The following are some examples:

1 - Analysis in Borg Lab in Saudi Arabia costs SR 150 and I have repeated same test in Egypt at the same lab for 19 riyals.
 
2 - A children consultant in Saudi Arabia costs 100 - 150 SAR, while in Egypt for around 32 SAR.

3 - Giving birth in Saudi Arabia in a respectable hospital costs between 6000 - 10000 riyals, while in Egypt, for around 1250 to 2190 SAR.

My expenses in KSA (3 / 7) - Transportation

In a famous saying in Saudi Arabia that gasoline is cheaper than water :) price of a liter of petrol 91 octane is 45 halalas, and gasoline 95 octane is 60 halalas, while the price of a liter of water more than 1 Saudi Riyal and so I will focus in the article on the car rather than gasoline expenses.

1 - Taxi 
Good option if you are in the first visit to Saudi Arabia, but it's expensive on the long run, the cost depends on how far away the home of the workplace.



2 - Car rental 
Good option only in the first few months, but it's expensive in the long run, can rent daily or monthly. Usually monthly rent small car (Toyota Yaris - Chevrolet Aveo - Hyundai Accent - Kia Rio) in the range 1700 - 1900 Saudi Riyal.Sample of leasing offices Budget - Avis, but their prices higher rates than the rest of the companies.Tip: Before renting a car, ask your workplace if there were offers from car rental companies, and when you rent a car make sure by asking the seller that the car is fully insured in order to be safe if an accident happens, God forbid.

3 - Buy used car 
Most expatriates prefer this option because used cars available continuously throughout the year at prices much lower than the new, an example most cars less priced from 40% to 50% after using only 3 years (the car is a consumer good in Saudi Arabia and is not a commodity durable as it is the case in some countries), this link contains some car prices collected in the year 2011.Tips when buying a used car:
    a- Start by selecting the make and model of car you want to buy and range of the Year.
    b- Know the price range of the car to be purchased either by asking expert or follow up their prices through newspapers ads or websites as waseet - expatriates - mstaml.
    c- Search for the car in the above-mentioned sites and ask the seller to see it.
    d- When you try the car and you are satisfied, ask to have it examined at a specialized center, usually there is a lot next to the car market, must check the status of the motor, car suspension, paint, condition of air bags, car internals, and car tires.


4 - Buy a new car
Some expatriates do not prefer to buy a used car and prefer to buy a new car and are usually a lease-purchase system because the car will be owned by you at the end and the amount of monthly installment less than the car rental. Tip: Try to purchase before the coming of the new model a month or two where there will be good discounts.General advice when buying a car, whether used or new to be Japanese (Toyota - Nissan - Honda) or U.S. (Ford - Chevrolet - GMC) and avoid European where resale value of the Japanese better than the U.S. and the U.S. is far better than the European.

My expenses in KSA (1 / 7 ) - Accomodation

You can classify accommodation options as follows:

Type	Description	Cost in thousands of Saudi Riyals	Advantages	Disadvantages
Empty apartment	An apartment in a building usually with kitchen and can be with air conditioners or not		Cheaper in the long run, the apartment can be arranged on your own taste to feel that you are in your home, more suitable for families and not for singles	Requires a lot of time in the beginning to furnish the apartment, while at the beginning of your work you will need more time to prove yourself at your work, usually there are no means to entertain games or swimming pool, pay rent year or half year in advance
	Room and lounge	18 - 22
	Two rooms and lounge	22 - 28
	Three rooms, lounge, and two bathrooms	28 - 38
Furnished flat in building	Furnished flats but without facilities, usually found as Studio, One room + lounge, two rooms + lounge, or three rooms + lounge.	24 - 40	No headache in furnishing, Easy to move from place to another, suitable for bachelor	Usually don't have facilities as swimming pool, GYM, …, also not rarely to find
Furnished suites	It is something more like hotel than furnished flat, but also have kitchen, usually found as Studio, One room + lounge, Two rooms + lounge.	28 - 60	Usually you will find some facilities as swimming pool or GYM, usually have room service 2 to 3 times per week for cleaning, usually have some facilities as small super market inside for drinks and quick snacks, suitable for bachelors	Not suitable for families as usually very small, expensive, not suitable for long time planning
Apartment in compound	Several building surrounded with security usually found as studio, One room + lounge, Two rooms + lounge.	38 - 100	Suitable for families, especially it will be chance for wives to have some life to know each other while men in work, also children have opportunity to play safely inside the compound. Have multiple facilities as GYM, Tennis, Squash, Super market, Bookstore	Usually located on border of the city, so long way to work, expensive

You need to take the following into consideration before choosing your option:

1- How big is the flat and to how many years this will suite your needs, i.e. a flat of 1 room & living is perfect for a newly married couple for about 2 years, then most probably you will need to move to another flat.

2- How old is the building itself, the newer the expensive with more facilities. above prices for building between 4 - 7 years old.

3- If there is an elevator or not, although most buildings in Riyadh are just 2 or 3 floors, but elevator will make it easy for you especially if you have pregnant wife, or you have baby and you need to make it easy when you use the stroller.

4- The location of the flat to your work, and how the district is good and healthy for your family, the better the expensive.

5- Advice if you have family and your salary is good enough better to try compound at the beginning to make your family happy.

6- If there is garage or not, really big advantage as you will find your car standing away from sun which is a very big advantage in KSA.

The prices I provided is based on Riyadh as a city, and the year 2012, and assuming you are targeting moderate life style.