What will be cost of living in Alkhobar . Salary SR20000 per month. What will be the potential savings.?

Question

An North Indian got job in Alhobar

Answer 1

What I would suggest to you is to get online and do a realty rental search for the area that you will be moving too. The amounts listed by another person earlier were not exactly clear. 35000 to 100000 is not in US dollars it is in Saudi Riyals in which $1 US dollar is equal to 3.75 Saudi Riyals. You will divide 35000 by 3.75 and then by 12 months and it will be around $777.78 US dollars per month. The 100000 by 3.75 and then by 12 months and it will be around $2,222.22 per month. The compound homes are very nice and spacious. Even the lower priced ones are nice. The cost of living is extremely low in Saudi Arabia. Utilities are very low about 1/5 of what you pay in the US. We have Dollar stores in the US and Saudi Arabias similar stores only cost about 33 cents for items. Food is also extremely cheap! American fast food resturaunts are equivelant to what you pay in the US but if you have a taste for the local foods and resturaunts you get much better prices. You can get great deals on clothes too! American clothes (also sold there) are expensive but clothes from the region are fairly inexpensive. Be sure and read up on the culture and the way of life over there. It will be somewhat of a change when you go over there. Saudi Arabia has a lot to offer. It is a beautiful country, beautiful culture, and wonderful people. There are many things to do over there.

You can live very comfortably AND save a very nice sum on SR10,500 per month. I know a few Westerners from the UK who earn less than that and they still save a fair amount.

I am guessing you are from Kerala, because every other Indian I meet in Khobar seems to be from there! So you certainly won't get lonely. I plan to go to Kerala soon myself because everyone tells me it's beautiful. Anyway, back to your questions. Obviously the cost of living in Khobar depends on two main factors: how comfortably you want to live, and your skin colour.

If you choose a very modest room, prepare your own food and limit the amount of consumer goods you buy, I would expect to be able to live on as little as SR1,000 a month. If you are Indian, then you could live on half of that.

Ex-pats from the USA, Europe or anyone who is white will pay more when they shop in small, independent shops and for things like apartments. Indians, Philippinos, Chinese and other Asians all pay less. So you are in a very good position because you are earning a Westerners wage but you will be paying Indian prices!

This doesn't apply everywhere though. Supermarkets are the same wherever you come from, as are the big "High Street" shops you find in the shopping malls. The best way to save money is to always shop where there are ex-pats in control, because they are more willing to bargain with you and make a deal, especially if you are Indian. (I don't want to sound racist about this - I am just telling you the way things work out here.)

There are plenty of Indian-run places where you can find basic needs very cheaply. Here is a list of basic items and what they cost. Remember that these are "white" prices and you can expect to pay less for some of the items (all prices are in Saudi Riyals, which is fixed to the dollar at SR3.750=$1)

Basic 2-bed flat (unfurnished): 500 - 1,500

Car rental per month (very basic model): 1,000

Litre of petrol 91 octane: 0.450

Litre of petrol 95 octane: 0.600

Packet of cigarettes (Marlboro): 5.50

Pint of milk: 3

Green curry and rice in Thai restaurant: 15

Arab News (English lang. newspaper): 2

Basic Shirts from market: 10

Basic Trousers from market: 15

I don't know about phoning India, but I am sure it is easy because of the large number of Indians who are here.

It looks like you have an excellent opportunity before you here and my advice, if you are having doubts, would be to proceed, but with caution. If everything works out well, you will have a great time, meet lots of lovely people and make a lot of money.

A word of warning, however, Raja, before you make a commitment. Saudi agencies are not the most trustworthy and many of them treat their employees poorly. This is especially true of workers from Asia. It seems that there is a scandal reported every day in the local press regarding ex-pat workers being abused or mistreated by unscrupulous agencies. So be very careful. Make sure you examine the contract you are offered very carefully and seek professional advice if you have any doubts about anything. Make sure that EVERYTHING is written into your contract and NEVER rely on promises or verbal assurances, no matter how well you think you know the other person.

I hope that you enjoy your time while living there.  Good luck