Myths about KSA No. 1 - Its a horrible place to live

When I told people that I was going to live and work in Saudi Arabia the general reaction was one of shock and amazement.

“Why the hell do you want to move there?”, “You know you will be blown up by Al Qaeda don’t you?” were questions I heard many times. In fact one of the few people I can remember being positive about it was a lady who remarked “you’ll love Saudi Arabia, Dubai is a great city.” Hmmm…. Well, it’s the thought that counts I suppose.

I came here with an open mind and over the last month the country has really grown on me. Don’t get me wrong, there are things here I really dislike (just as there are things in the UK I really dislike) but Saudi does have its own appeal.

If you’re English and are pondering a possible move to Saudi Arabia, consider a few English things that Saudi lacks:

1. A high crime rate - I’ll discuss this in a future posting.

2. High teenage pregnancy rate - and all the associated social problems.

3. Drunken brawls - I do miss having a bottle of wine with my meal at a restaurant but I don’t miss all the people who cannot handle their alcohol. Why do so many Brits love to fight when they’re drunk? That said, you can see plenty of drunk Saudis on a Thursday night in Manama city, Bahrain. Just head for Diggers bar!

4. Sober brawls – Hell, why do so many Brits just love to fight, full stop??

5. The Jeremy Kyle show – nuff said! I'd rather watch one of those Muttawa (Religious Police) looking TV shows they show here in KSA, where an angry Saudi guy sits in a chair and talks loudly at you. I don’t know what he’s saying but at least he’s not patronising some poor “happy shopper” from a council estate about the parentage of her baby.

6. Political correctness - Jeremy Clarkson has been criticised in the UK for calling a car a bit "Ginger beer" (that’s rhyming slang for “queer” by the way.) I agree we should sometimes be sensitive, but can’t we laugh at ourselves a bit too? I thought us Brits were supposed to have a sense of humour and irony?

7. The “Nanny state” – In the KSA you are not immersed in a society where everything is someone’s fault. for example In the UK if you fell over in the street and broke your leg, an ambulance would rush to the scene, treat you for free and then you would sue the council for not maintaining the pavement properly despite the fact you were blind drunk and arsing around at the time. Here in the KSA, you have to make your own way to hospital, pay for your treatment and get laughed at like you are an idiot (and probably slapped about a bit too..) if you try and hold the public authorities to blame. As a consequence, people here take responsibility for their own lives and their decisions and consequently society is the better for it. Its very refreshing not to be wrapped in cotton wool all the time.

8. Road rage - I cannot believe that I haven't seen any road rage yet, especially in view of how badly they drive here. If you took ten typical Saudi drivers and put them on the M25 around London during rush hour you’d be visiting most of them in hospital that same evening. Here in the KSA its actually considered a sign of weekness to get wound up and angry.

9. High petrol prices – I saw yesterday that petrol is now more than £1.20 a litre in the UK. (85p of which goes straight to Gordon Brown by the way) This means that the average family car which takes 50 litres will now cost you £60.00 to fill up. I’m not sure how to break this to you, but here 50 litres will cost you only £2.50…. and that includes the tip for the attendant. Sorry, you can swear at me later!

So if you are considering coming out here be warned that it’s not like home and you will find many things that you dislike and make you angry, but rest assured that there is also plenty here to appreciate.