Expat blog gatherings in Riyadh

sounds great!

but my future Riyadh comrades, have this in 3 months time!!!

Well, where can men and women meet together, without running afoul of the Metawa.

iamthere wrote:

Well, where can men and women meet together, without running afoul of the Metawa.

mmmmmmmmm...
Outside Saudi Arabia?! Outside GCC?! for sure, there will be no Mutawa! hahaha

Yes!  Let's all meet .. in Paris!

why dont we meet in the Desert !!

For me, I won 4×4 GMC 8100

It is nice to have some barbecue under moon light yummy!

I propose to set up a real and official club ... any consulate will be delighted to welcome us

I nominate Riduan for president. Please make sure the consulate allolws men and women to mix. Suggestions that you might find useful. 1. Not all ex-pats get paid a Saudi-Aramco salary. So keep event costs low. Other ex-pat groups in the area not limited to a certain nationality are: USERA, American Community of Riyadh and American Business Group of Riyadh. Can anybody expand on this list?

Pésidence No, no thank you .. We need ideas first..it' s not time to act now...

i think in compound its ok

We need access to a compound. Also for ideas check out the following threads;

The wandering me club
Go Karting
July 4th bowling party
Friday afternoon game day.

riduan wrote:

any consulate will be delighted to welcome us

I like your optimistic attitude!

I think a tieup with a compound or an Embassy will be a good idea! So where do you think we take the first step?

First, determine the objectives of our meetings .. just entertainment? Just for the lonely or extend to the whole comunity .. families , children and mothers.
I think we need to aim high ... the major objective is to create an environment of balanced social life of our small comunity .. Families and lonely ...
  I have seen mothers and children also on this site who have such worries as we have..
What do you think about this ?

I agree with Riduan, We need to create a wholistic friendly environment where we can meet each other as we meet our friends, family and well wishers.

I think we should include families, children, singles and make each one responsible for their action.

We should built this community on mutual trust and respect for each other.

We need a time, date and place for a first meeting. Any place that allows men and women to mingle together.

Esteraha's would accomodate both male and female, mostly costs about SR 600 above. It has pools for the kids. Food is a problem because it has to be prepared by the group.

dynamo1131 wrote:

Esteraha's would accomodate both male and female, mostly costs about SR 600 above. It has pools for the kids. Food is a problem because it has to be prepared by the group.

yeah both male and female that are couple.

I suggest the first meeting be at the Diplomatic Quarter in a coffee shop. Men and women are allowed to mix there without running afoul of the mettawa. We don't have to worry about shelling out 600 Rs and no one showing up.

It's a nice idea but who will take care of Metwas. I doubt combined gathering is possible. We all will land up in jail, having a good gathering Expat.com jail party... hahahha..

About the compounds, I heard that Metwas are entering to catch public at the compounds also. whenever they hear about compound parties.

But i really liked the idea. Expat.com Club... Keep it Up

They don't enter the compounds. They wait outside to catch you drinking. I haven't had a problem mixing with families, etc n certain designated areas. it only becomes a problem when saudis are involved.

count me in!

Is access to the DQ open to everyone?  I have had a couple friends over in the past, but not a group, hence why I ask......

E

Hi All,
Isthiraha / Villa in the remote area will be Ok for this kind of meeting...
There are many programs on going nowadays...So no problem over there.
Count me as well for this gathering..

Great ideas to be acknowledged and appreciated and implemented..

Have a Great Day

Well there are a couple of options, from personal experience where mingling won't bother.

1. Five star restaurants at hotels like Intercontinental, Khozama, Faisaliah, Four Seasons etc. are good spots (Mutawwa-free)

2. Compounds Restaurants, where compound residents can register the visitors & there are some compounds that are a bit lenient at Gates and you can enter to use their services (pm for names)

3. Recreation centers like UBC or Khozama Bowling, Golf Courses, Reem Racing etc. 


But apart from all these, we guyz can atleast have meet-ups regularly at coffee shops etc. if interested. I am always up for events, so if anyone interested can arrange

I think it is time to pull the trigger so to speak. We decide on a day and a place to meet. I am proposing Wednesday evening the 18th or Thursday afternoon the 19th. I rpopose on of the hotels on Olaya Street.  Maybe the Holiday Inn coffee shop. I am hoping we can avoid spending 200 Riyals to get people together.

So, what's the plan now? Holiday Inn coffee shop is a good place to meet...

I will do some research on whuch of the three holiday inns on the same block will allow men and women to mix together and we can start talking. Since I am going home permenantly, we need another chairperson for the meeting. I don't mind pictching in.

One of the best options is to meet at the DQ's coffee shop.   I have been there before with a group and the only cost is for a cup of coffee.

kalex wrote:

One of the best options is to meet at the DQ's coffee shop.   I have been there before with a group and the only cost is for a cup of coffee.

I was there once and we were harrassed by mutawa.  That's not to say it will happen every time but just to let you know that you're still taking a chance if it's mixed company (we thought the DQ was off-limits to the 'm' but it's not).

Alliecat wrote:

kalex wrote:

One of the best options is to meet at the DQ's coffee shop.   I have been there before with a group and the only cost is for a cup of coffee.

I was there once and we were harrassed by mutawa.  That's not to say it will happen every time but just to let you know that you're still taking a chance if it's mixed company (we thought the DQ was off-limits to the 'm' but it's not).

Oh Really? I've been there a few times but no one bothered. Good to know anyways.

TheLegendLeads wrote:

Alliecat wrote:

kalex wrote:

One of the best options is to meet at the DQ's coffee shop.   I have been there before with a group and the only cost is for a cup of coffee.

I was there once and we were harrassed by mutawa.  That's not to say it will happen every time but just to let you know that you're still taking a chance if it's mixed company (we thought the DQ was off-limits to the 'm' but it's not).

Oh Really? I've been there a few times but no one bothered. Good to know anyways.

I've been there before and never saw them, as well.. but on one occasion ...

So just to give all of you the heads-up  

I guess we think the DQ is off-bounds because of the embassies and the embassies ARE off-bounds, but not the rest of the place.

Prince Zeyad has changed the law about single men not being able to go to amusement parks, museums etc. on certain days. I am trying to find the news article about it. That is why there is no divider in marina mall for families and bachelors. Also, as my students explained it, the women can approach, but you can't approach them.

iamthere wrote:

Prince Zeyad has changed the law about single men not being able to go to amusement parks, museums etc. on certain days. I am trying to find the news article about it. That is why there is no divider in marina mall for families and bachelors. Also, as my students explained it, the women can approach, but you can't approach them.

This is my CNN and BBC !!!

dont worrry about matwas .. just arrange it at any home ,,, my home is always open for u guys,

desertlifestyle wrote:

dont worrry about matwas .. just arrange it at any home ,,, my home is always open for u guys,

Thanks for offering us a place 400km away. Why don't you gather Al-Khobar EBians there?

iamthere wrote:

Prince Zeyad has changed the law about single men not being able to go to amusement parks, museums etc. on certain days. I am trying to find the news article about it. That is why there is no divider in marina mall for families and bachelors. Also, as my students explained it, the women can approach, but you can't approach them.

who is Prince Zeyad? I don't think there is any official with this name [Never heard] That must be about Prince Sattam (the governor of Riyadh), he's the one who have been advising on showing leniency on such rules.

Check out: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=152390

Note: ArabNews.com recently redesigned their website and all links mentioned in the above post have got invalid.

iamthere wrote:

Also, as my students explained it, the women can approach, but you can't approach them.

Aaaahhhhh:nothappy:
So we are like a palay at the middle of the farm waiting for a bird to fetch us...

iam in riyad now n living in compound

Welcome paradigm!!! Hope you enjoy your stay in riyadh!!!