Myths About KSA No. 5 - All Saudis are Rich and Drive New Cars.

As ever the media has a lot to answer for.

The only Saudi images I ever saw in the West were of rich people and palatial settings. All I was told is that vast amounts of oil money flood into the country, there is no tax here and women are oppressed.
It reminds me of how amused I was when I saw England portrayed in the USA as an idyllic green land of historic buildings, quaint people playing cricket and cucumber sandwiches at high tea. (Good work, tourism board!)

Obviously rich Saudis and historic English buildings exist (hell, even the cucumber sandwiches exist) but they’re not an accurate representation of the whole. So you’ll have to forgive the Westerner who assumes from afar that all Saudis are wealthy. It’s stupid of course, but assumptions often are when they’re based on bad information.

There is plenty of hardship here in Riyadh. I frequently see people begging by the side of the road. Our cultures may have their differences but from what I’ve seen I’d estimate that the Saudis give money to beggars about as frequently as the English. Still, nothing wrong with being a tightarse, eh?

Its also important to remeber that the vast majority of the people living in this coutry are not Saudis. The poor workers from Bangladesh and the Phillopines have to work 12 hour days 6 days a week to earn just US$ 60 a month.

I cannot remember if I read this on an informational Web site or in the Lonely Planet: “Second-hand cars are expensive in Saudi Arabia because Saudis like to buy a new car at least once every two years.” I am not sure I even understand the logic.

Anyway, having had so many near crashes with hunks of rust swerving across the road at a high velocity (old Toyota Cressida, anyone?) I can safely dismiss this as a myth.

In fact, even though cars are very cheap here, you don’t see many prestige cars. I estimate that over 90% of the cars are Japaneese or American (specifically Toyota and GM). I see the occasional BMW but never any Merc's, Porshes, Bentlys, Rollers etc. I suppose this is becasue people are reluctant to spend money on a nice car that gets scratched and dented moments after being driven out of the showroom.