Moving to Saudi

1, Looking at saudi culture and the religious side of things do they allow partners to live together when not married.
No, you cannot stay with your girlfriend unless you are married to her in Saudi!! In Bahrain you can, but remember she won't get a resident permit unless she's married to you or working there.

2, How would life be for my partner in Saudi / Bahrain.
In Saudi the life of a female is very very restricted, but at Bahrain it would be like in any other normal city.

3, Cost of Accommodation and living in saudi compared to Bahrain.
I would say Bahrain is 20-25% more expensive compared to Saudi on similar things.

4, Types of Accomodation to live in Compounds or Apartments.
That will depend totally on your budget. But normally compound accommodation is hard to get, cuz of demand and supply and also the same is 5-6 times more expensive than the apartments.

5, How long does it take to get to saudi from Bahrain in morning rush hour.
Rush hour minimum 3 hours and you wud require a complete different set of driving style to cross it in that time.

6, My partner is a school teacher in the UK and would she be able to teach in Saudi / Bahrain. Yeah she can apply for the teaching jobs, both at Saudi and at Bahrain, that's the silver lining

Good luck !!

I am a daily commuter and have lived on both ends of the border. Will give you my perspective.

1, Looking at saudi culture and the religious side of things do they allow partners to live together when not married
Saudis won't even issue a visa. So should you want her to join you consider living in Bahrain until you are officially married.
2, How would life be for my partner in Saudi / Bahrain
Life is a subjective question. Depends on what her preferences are.

3, Cost of Accommodation and living in Saudi compared to Bahrain
I actually find the cost of accommodation to be cheaper than in Saudi nowadays. An unfurnished 2 bed starts at minimum 24 K. An advance rent of 6 months and cost of furnishing sums up to a huge amount.

Compared to Bahrain where in Saar you can find a nicely furnished 2 bed apt for as low as 400 BD (equiv of 4000 riyals including utilities + internet).

Apartments in Bahrain are of much better designs and build quality (thank god for windows) than the ones in Saudi where apartments have very small windows or none.

4, Types of Accommodation to live in Compounds or Apartments
Your preference.

5, How long does it take to get to Saudi from Bahrain in morning rush hour
45 minutes avg. and an hour on a bad day during morning rush hours.

6, My partner is a school teacher in the UK and would she be able to teach in Saudi / Bahrain
I am not sure if she can teach in Bahrain. But i know wives of British expats teaching in Saudi on dependent visas. Not permitted but you can work around it.

Hi everyone,
     I just asking advice regarding my sponsor, she is the one told me to find another work and i did but when i find new sponsor she dont want answer the call of my new sponaor even for me and my problem now she not giving salary for me from june until now, so i dont know what to do Lmra told me to go in the labor but i dont have any experience rgarding this case.
   Any one can give advice Thanks in advance

Your gf will have to live in Bahrain if you want her to be anywhere near you. She'll never be able to get to Saudi unless you marry.

You can do the commute daily or weekly and that 3 hours for rush hour is a not someone who does the commute every day, I assure you. A lot depends on the times you have to travel. I go at 5:30 and return at 3:45. It takes an average of 10 mins to cross the island in the morning and 45 mins to cross the island in the evening. I've been keeping stats for six months so those times are accurate and include the best and the worst of times. Add to that a 30 min drive between Khobar and Saar... add another 10-15 if you are commuting to Adliya/Juffair. Of course, if you are working a 9-5, those times will be at least double if not more.

I assume as you are asking about accommodation, your company provides none. Yes, accommodation is cheaper in Saudi but it is abysmal quality. I rented flats in Khobar for two years and what you get for SR5000 a month there does not compare with what you get for BD500 in Bahrain. Bahrain is streets ahead in terms of quality of furnishings, decor and the size and light of the flat you might rent. There's a huge range of choice in Bahrain too. Much more than Saudi.

if you want to spend $30,000 a year on accommodation, you can try and get into a low-end compound like Eurovillage. They hardly ever have vacancies though as companies rent most of the properties there. I wouldn't pay that much for the quality of accommodation there. Again, it's relatively poor.

There are lots of opportunities for qualified UK teachers (particularly primary) in Bahrain. But the hiring period is generally in spring for September starts. If she's happy to work on a tourist visa (which is illegal) then most schools will employ her on a cash in hand basis to do supply work as a teaching assistant. She'd have to be in Bahrain to find these opportunities. They won't be advertised. It's a case of ringing around and being willing to go and have interviews and being flexible.

She could get a job in Saudi, but there are really only three decent schools and these, again, will have already hired for September. They start advertising in the new year for September starts so she could try and get a position for Sept 2016. But it's tough to land an expat position at these schools. Much of the work goes to spouses of guys already working in Saudi.

Hi Shane,

Welcome to Expat.com!

You can also post your questions on the Saudi Arabia forum.

Mods you can move this thread to Saudi forum for better visibility !!

Hello everyone,

This thread is now on the Saudi Arabia forum.

Best of luck,
Bhavna