Jessie

20th May 2018

Working in Saudi Arabia

Monthly Earnings 186,000

Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)

First a little background: Hello from the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia.

In July 2017, I submitted one of these surveys to Ajarn.com and at that time I was still living and working in Bangkok for around 55K baht per month.

I believe Phil thought: bloody hell this girl lives on 20K a month in Bangkok. Now it is almost a year later, I find myself finishing up my first academic year teaching in Saudi.

A lot has changed from my time in Thailand and while the numbers are positive...it wasn't by any means an easy ride out here. I have one full time job working for an all female vocational college. It is actually my second position in Saudi and I am very happy here especially after my first experience in an extremely unsupportive and toxic work environment.

Q2. How much money can you save each month?

Mostly things are covered by the company I work for. I only spend on average 11,000 baht per month and so I can save 175,000 baht each month. Moreover, I'm also still technically living off my savings in Thailand which at this rate could last me another 5 years out here. But I will likely just leave the money there and reinvest it this summer when I return for a visit. Now that's a huge increase from my 35K baht from last year, as in 5 times more savings!

Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?

The college provides housing for its employees. I have a one bedroom apartment with lots of natural light (a rare find in Saudi) and it is a cozy spot with which I am quite content at the moment. Best of all...no roommates.

Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?

Transportation

The college provides transportation to and from the school as well as several trips to various food shops. We are also given a small transportation stipend for any other Uber trips we may want to take. I am in a small town and so there really aren't that many places to go, nor is anything really far away. Once I went to Riyadh by train and back for 1500 baht but these adventures are infrequent.

Utility bills

The college covers these as well. I only pay for roaming internet on my phone which is about 1,000 baht each month.

Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping

Maybe 6.000 baht a month for supermarket shopping. There are restaurants here of course but I usually prefer to eat at home and here (unlike Thailand) it is the cheaper option.

Nightlife and drinking

Nope. Nada. Not here. The closest thing we have to nightlife is a good brisk walk around the block just for exercise.

Books, computers

Like most people these days, I tend to read on line and have just joined Scribd for 270baht per month. This should keep me swimming in literature out here in the desert for a long time to come.

Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?

Pretty good. I'd say Thailand was much more fun because of the freedom of movement and simply because there was so much more to do there. But Saudi has some undiscovered charms of its own and I am still into exploring it. All my needs are met and I have plenty of time to engage in activities that are meaningful to me such as writing, meditation and reading. So no complaints there as I remain cautiously optimistic about my future here.

People who choose to come to Saudi are generally an interesting bunch of folks. Sometimes though you meet some really strange ducks and that can have an impact on your standard of living. But if you are willing to look deeper, I think there are some gems to be found, all while striking it rich in an enjoyable career not normally touted as a cash cow. And yes, I have signed my contract for a second year with my current company.

Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?

I think the job itself is the best 'bargain' going. I get a real teachers salary with no tax and many of my costs are covered by the company I work for. I don't know anyone in Thailand or even Canada or elsewhere who has an opportunity to save as much as I can here. Plus I get two months off in the summer and more if I want to take unpaid leave. This leaves lots of time to travel. And there are long periods of lag time where the students are off; so teachers can prepare future lessons or work on their own projects. I really try to take advantage of this down time.

Food is still pretty cheap here. Not as cheap as Thailand but not as expensive as in Canada (my home country). Some things are taxed now but not outrageously so it isn't a big deal. Uber rides are also decently priced. What I do love is that more of my food favourites are accessible here. In Thailand it was always so hard to find Pringles Salt and Vinegar chips! But here I can get them easily. And best of all; they have hummus in a can here and it tastes just fine. As a major hummus lover this earns 5 stars.

Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?

To survive the desert; it really isn't about the money. The money is good but to survive you have to remain flexible and adaptable to changes and difficulties from unpredictable avenues. People are here to save and that is clearly the main motivation. Culturally it is also a rather unique opportunity.

Plenty of jobs out here can offer you 100,000 baht which is amazing money for Thailand but that alone isn't enough money to make up for all the sacrifices you will have to make to be here. It's also important that you have administrative support, amazing colleagues and attentive students.

Also a side note here: Some people have posted jobs in excess of 200,000 baht a month and while I am sure there are a few jobs like that here in Saudi for highly experience and specialized teachers; they are not the norm. The average is much closer to 120k baht a month. However, right time, right place and you can land a job for more than that.