Moving to Yanbu in the next 2 months.. Advise needed pls

Hi Hawke_David,

I have created a new topic as from your post on the Iraq forum.

I suggest you check out the Useful Information and Links about Saudi Arabia .

Feel free to ask questions and also to go through the discussion in the forum .

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

Hi David
Did you move to Yanbu?
I may have a similar opportunity - good move or not ?

Hawke_David wrote:

Hi Saudi Colleagues and Friends,

I would like to know more about the place I will be potentially moving to Yanbu in the next 2 months with Parsons, my wife and son(13) and daughter (5) will be coming in about 3-4 months time. Please could you advise me on what its like living there. What's there to do for a family, sport, banking, entertainment, weekend trips. etc. any info would be great.

Thank you,
David H.

It is not a lively city like Jeddah, but you could get by. Locals are less familiar with foreigners than in major cities so I would expect curious looks from time to time. People there, however, are very nice and friendly once they see good manner and law-abiding behavior.

1- For family:
*- Staying/ Taking a walk in the beach (in Yanbu the City and in the Royal Commision), walking in Malls (mainly Al-Dana mall in RC and City Plaza [I believe] in YC). There is also a decent bookstore in Yanbu called Jarir.

*- Dining in restaurants

a- in RC:(Al-Ostorah, Al-Baik, Al-Tazej, Kudo's, McDonalds, Movenpick Hotel Buffet, Pizza Hut, Hummus Reefi, etc.) or ordering food from Domino's Pizza or picking up food from SubWay.
b- in YC: Holliday Inn Hotel Buffet, Radisson Saas/Blu Hotel Buffet, KFC, or ordering food from Dominos Pizza and Kudo's, or even eating at local restaurants. I have not tried them though.

I will be honest and tell you there are not many things to do with your family outdoor in Yanbu. I wish you came to Jeddah, and I would tell you 12 times more things to do there. BTW, Jeddah is 200 miles away from Yanbu city.

2- Sports:
There is a sport club in YC called Al-Majd. It is an average/large athelitic structure containing some common sport grounds and activities. I do not know, however, if there is a section for ladies. I would expect 99% no difficulty in getting your little daughter in with you while training, as for this age no one seems to really care.

There are some tennis courts adjacent to the beach in YC as well.

There are some tennis, football/soccer and basketball playgrounds in RC in almost every district, as well as public playgrounds.

There is a card membership called Delta with witch you could attend almost all, if not all, the gyms in the RC and someones in YC with no fees for memebrs. Some decent companies provide that for employees there.

You could always play baseball, handball, or even  ball-passing with yout kids in public grounds.

Yanbu is surprisingly good in terms of athelitic equipments and facitilies for a city of this size.

A good sportsgood store is called Al-Faleh Sports to buy other athelic equipment like jumping ropes, bodybuilding excericizing tools and other tools like darts and clothes like jerseys, etc.


Banking: there are lots of banks in Saudi Arabia. It is one thing that you will not get lost trying to find, in almost every street there is a bank. They are good at international transfers. They are open for international tradings as well, but I do not use them for trades. Online facilities are also pleasant and mostly sufficient.

Entertainment: in addition to what I have mentioned earlier, I would say most entertainment would be indoors (Yoga, DeckCards, Console games, TV, Internet, Cellphones and Music). May be you could socialize with other expatriates living there, as it might be more convenient for you. You could also drive to resorts up the north side, 6-8 miles north, called Sharm-Yanbu. You could organize with travel agency for visits to Madayin Saleh (Nabateaan sights), could go to Ummlug beach and of course you could always visit Jeddah! Yanbu also is very famous for diving, males only. I believe you need a license for that. but the sea creatures there amongst the most spectacular, bizzare and beautiful in the world, guaranteed. This activity is, however, only allowed for men. I don't like that, but laws are laws.




Anyhow, enjoy your stay and remember driving there is not very convenient as there are no much services on highways as well as some recklessness in drivings by some people. Once you get to Jeddah, you will have lots of fun. I think that should be the weekend destinition for fun.

Welcome to Saudi Arabia and Reagrds,

Oops, I did not see the date of the thread, my apologies!

I think this should be helpful to those coming to Yanbu.

Regards to all,

Deyaa1989 wrote:

Oops, I did not see the date of the thread, my apologies!

I think this should be helpful to those coming to Yanbu.

Regards to all,

This will be VERY useful to others, Deyaa   Thanks!

Deyaa -

Thank you. 

Yes arrived in Jeddah & Yanbu a few weeks ago. Good advise.  Much appreciated.

See you around town.

Thx,again

David

Ex-Pat-Yanbu-Adventure wrote:

Deyaa -

Thank you. 

Yes arrived in Jeddah & Yanbu a few weeks ago. Good advise.  Much appreciated.

See you around town.

Thx,again

David

You are welcome.
Please feel free to PM me with questions or say hi anytime

Possibly in the same situation myself: Offered a Safety job in Yanbu and considering taking my wife nad infant son with me..... Concerns:

Safety of my wife & Son?

Entertainment... what is my wife going to do besides drive me crazier?

How is it to work for Parsons/RC? How much OT?

Turn over rate of Expats?

Best & worst thing about living there?

Thanks in advance everyone for your help!!

RichfFNG at aYhoo

richfng wrote:

Possibly in the same situation myself: Offered a Safety job in Yanbu and considering taking my wife nad infant son with me..... Concerns:

Safety of my wife & Son?

Entertainment... what is my wife going to do besides drive me crazier?

How is it to work for Parsons/RC? How much OT?

Turn over rate of Expats?

Best & worst thing about living there?

Thanks in advance everyone for your help!!

RichfFNG at aYhoo

Yanbu is moderately safe, not as safe as Jeddah. People here, in Yanbu city, tend to be poorer, so they might steal cars once in a while. However, apply common sense precautions you use in your homeland here. Police patrolling is available and is very tight at night in RC Yanbu (drug and prostitution control). If there is one thing I find tolerable in Saudi Arabia, it is safety. Cities are very safe, RC is safer than Yanbu city, with hand count precautions.

1- I would not let my car engine switch on with keys in the car and door open while buying something.
2- Do not leave items unattended while doing excercises in a bench, I know some people do! Although I remember having my glasses fallen by my car without me noticing. I returned three hours after the incident (since I enterd my apartment) to look for it and found it there.
3- Avoid unnecessary contact with teenagers, as some of which tend to suffer from drug abuse.
4- Mentality here is still not fully adjusted to a modern socity. Things, however, are getting way better by the month, I say.

Yes it is safe for your son and wife. One thing I see there is kids playing at evenings/nights (soccer, running, and walking). I am sure if it is not safe, their parents would not allow them play outside at evenings/nights.

To women, when my mom was here, she used to walk by herself to bring something from grocery stores in evenings. I have seen lots of women walk by themselves.

I purposefully focused on safety to give you in-field view of what it is like there.

I have lived in 5 cities, and travelled to 9 other, around the world, and I found that Jeddah, SA, to be the safet city, by far, in my opinion, until now.




For entertainment, please look up the beginning of this post... no comment.


I don't know Parsons, sorry I cannot be of much help here.

Turnover rate of expat. If you meant those leaving by the time they find out the situation here, I say not little. I should not provide inaccurate values to you.


Good things about Yanbu RC:
*- Availability of services (Four Supermarkets, One *Hyper* Market and tens of grocery stores here and there), (There are five gas station I go to for fuel in RC),(Hair Salons and a stationary exist almost in every district), (Banks [9 branches]and Telecommunication Service provide exist [5 Branches] )

*- Convenience of driving there. Roads are not crowded like Jeddah.


*- Safety, Saudi Arabia is very safe, compared to some other countries I know

*- Existing of pharmacies and hospitals at 1 AM at night!

Bad things about Yanbu RC:

*- Network Coverage for Internet connection is paleolithic; actually it is like Europe 2000's, quite terrible compared to the three major cities in the kingdom.

*- Mentality of some people here, in terms of liberty, is cumbersome, but that is not exclusive to Yanbu. You will see that during the close up of stores 25 min before prayer time and opening 20 minutes after its finish (totalling to 4-5 hours close up per day in 16 hours operation of shops majority). Add that to returning from your job at 3-5 PM. It is not acceptable for my standards.

*- Prices in the RC is notably more expensive than the city. For saving savvy persons, like some of my friends, take-outs from low end restaurants on less than 5 SAR is not normal. Average 15-35 SAR per meal per person. Some people might not be able to afford that, especially large families not having kitchens or preferring to eat from outside. In Yanbu city, it is much more affordable to people, even more affordable than Jeddah. The reason is that the RC sets very high standards in terms of hygine and services, in addition to the high renting prices, of food services. It is not a point of disappointment to me, as I tend to avoid these restaurants, anyway; it is, however, to some people.



You are welcome.

I seriously want to say 'thank you' for your comments!

Deeya... it was a nice overview about the city. I feel good after reading it. thanks a lot.

I am Subhas from India and staying in Yanbu for some work.

Please let me know if there are some meetups or gatherings you guys have planned. I would love to be a part of you guys.

regards,
Subhas.
k.subhas@gmail.com

My apologies for not Thanking You sooner.

Been in RC Yanbu for over a month and am actually enjoying myself. YES it is a different culture, country and customs... but for the most part people have been nice, helpful and friendly.

RC is more like back in the US... Old City Yanbu is a more traditional city here. Takes a while to learn how to drive here, just need to be cautious. In general most things are very reasonably priced, great variety of food and part of the fun is exploring and learning.

Richfng -

Hi David here.  Your colleagues in Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah. ( aka Yanbu-RC, or Yanbu-Industrial).  I have taken the jump to KSA, and living in Yanbu (New City) for + 8 months and have a great Team of Friends (colleagues), & growing by the week.  We will be having a Super Bowl Bar-B-Que for the Big Game (Yes, showing my US stripes & NFL disposition).

Saudi is Great for us . We have craved out many fun adventures in Yanbu to slam into face first including;  Scuba in Sharm, Golf in desert with Camels, locals Hookah Lounge, Jeddah wk-end road trips, Radwa Mountain rock climbs, shopping/negotiations in Souk in Olde City, Dana Mall food court for BR ice cream, oriental rug shopping, and camel rides.  My Yanbu cell # if helpful 054 530 0707. Free feel to contact us if you are athletic, feeling adventureous, well rested, and eating your Wheaties.  Glad to expand my quality friends with your inclusion.  Gotta run. 
Respectfully,

DMH

hi there first of all thanks all for such descriptive comments .I am coming to Yanbu in few week my company is not offering me company car, I would liket to know how do i buy / rent / lease the car !!!

I am coming here on Business visa and than I have to apply for Iqama (work visa) do you know how long does it take to get the Iqama so I go back to UK and bring my family here...

Dr. Schon - You will need a car here. Few things are even walkable.  Groceries you will need a vehicle.  Driving is an adventure.

Budget Rental cars is an company here in Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah. =   250 to 500 SAR a day.

I could go on but some item best if discussed in proper context & area.

My Yanbu cell # if helpful 054 530 0707. Free feel to contact us if you are athletic, feeling adventureous, well rested, and eating your Wheaties.  Glad to expand my quality friends with your inclusion.  Gotta run.

D.M. H

Deyaa

I have been offered a position with YASREF and should be heading to Yanbu soon. I am trying familiarize myself with the city and culture there. I came across your post and caused me some concern. You briefly mention teens in Yanbu should be avoided because many suffer from drug abuse. That is a concern for me as I plan to have my family eventually move there with me and my daughter is a teen. Is drug abuse rampid amongst teens in Yanbu? I should be staying in the Arabian Homes complex, are there several teens there that she may socialize with? Is there anyway that my wife and daughter can begin socializing with others in Yanbu? We all understand that this will be a life changing experience and ultimately will be what we make it to be. But is this worth risking any harm coming to my daughter?

I apologize for relying late, as I've just seen the messages; I will answer what I could remember, and please forgive me if I forgot to answer some questions:

David, you are welcome.

Subhas, once you get to your job, socializing will become very easy here. I assume you already have created a good social circle, if not, text me on PM and I will try to assist you here.

Galvj3, drug is a problem arose from deficiency of awareness and not properly utilizing the energy of youths in constructive way to oneself in finding activities they like doing, creating opportunities for them.

Do not expect your daughter to socialize with local guys. The society does not publically allow intergender friendship at that age. Also, I would not worry much as people here mind their own businesses, mostly, and police is doing an impressive job controlling drug supply. Things have been getting better in the last last. At school, most students are children of employees at RC and they are mostly englightened. The locals I meant with drug abuse is mostly from the city Yanbu Al-Bahr. I hope I am not generalizing here.

helloo.....hw is YASREF AND YAMBU...I HAVE BEEN OFFERED A POSITION IN YASREF..???

Hi guys,can u help me to find room for rent in yanbu,im in riyadh now,and i will be there before the september ends..i urgently needed it.can  anyone suggest affordable rooms in yanbu.thanks a lot

Hi guys. I'm moving to yanbu as sinayah with my family soon. My son who is 15 is the most worried. First of all how is the environment there and any activities for kids. Also how is the Internet like there that's what he is most worried about.
Thanks

U don't  have to worry huzigais....Yanbu industrial  city is one of the best and cleanest cities in Saudi Arabia especially  for foreigners from Europe  and north America.

Yanbu industrial  city  has a good internet  with good prices.. i mean mine is fast and unlimited downland for ab 50$ monthly. Also, they have good international  schools which he will find poeple from diff back grounds. Moreover, there a lot of parks in Yanbu.. by that i mean a lott!! And really nice beach and if u go to Yanbu Al bahar, there is a beach where u can horse riding, motorcycling  ( 4 wheels...safe) and having a chance to ride a camel as well lol. ( allowed for women also )

Diving is so cool in Yanbu Industrial  city 
And both men and women can do that ....my neighbour has a 25yrs son and 26yrs old daughter who are ssso addicted  to diving and they are also diving trainers from PAD ...so women.can dive and i saw that when i went fishing trip....
Ur son will definitely  find good friends out there ...and boys nowdays like to stay at home and play video games. ...

People are sooo nice and wolecomed ( dont believe  the media)
And the food is sooo delicious. ..they have variety  of food from all over the world...u can fine american, chines, italian, indian,and middle eastern restaurants

And its safe. ....

Make sure to distinguish  bt Yanbu industrial  city( Alsina'ya) and Yanbu Al bahar

The first one is clean modern and nicer pple
Second one is dirty ...not organised well ...


If u guys need more further information. ..
Contact  me via skype ***********or whatsap
************

I'd  really happy to help  ya and show u the city. Ive been in Canada for ab a year ...soo nice and respecful pple