Dear All,

I am a new comer to this forum. I will be moving with my wife and child (6 years old) in the coming months to Dammam for work as my employing company has won a marine construction project in that City.

In this regard, I am now trying to collect more information regarding Dammam and wish to benefit from your experience.

I have the following questions:

1. Range of Housing rental

2. Availability of international schools

3. Hiring of domestic helper and range of payment

4. Any other important information that I need to be aware.



I thank you for your kind attention.

Hi there,



Dammam is one of the oldest cities in saudi arabia, hence it isn't well planned and I would go as far as calling most of dammam the Ghetto of Saudi Arabia.



You will find most of the natives living over there. Is that a good thing? Definitely not if you are a foreigner, but the good news is that dammam is just about 30 mins away from a city called Al-Khobar.



Khobar in direct contrast to dammam, is a well planned city and most of the foreigners live over there. There are some really good apartments you can rent for about 16,000 riyals per year. The rent really depends on the locality of the house, some places rent out for as cheap as 8000 per year.



There are a lot of international schools here, but most of them aren't up to the mark. There are 3 or 4 American/British academies and they cost about 18,000 riyals a year. The other private international schools are much cheaper.



A domestic helper can be found pretty easily, they have variable rates but most of them ask for about 150 riyals a month to clean up the house every day.



My advice, stay clear of dammam. I am not saying all Saudis are bad people but some of them are, and trust me when I say you want to keep yourself and your family as far away from them as possible.



It won't be much of a hassle if you get a house in Al-Khobar, its a really nice place to live in and is just 30 mins away from dammam.



Hope this helped...

Most expats choose to stay in compounds in Al Khobar or in the border area between Khobar and Dammam. Dammam city itself is a rather busy place with lots of apartments and not may villas. This changes once you go out of the city center by 3 - 5 kms.



In terms of rental charges, compounds charge a premium since they provide a very self enclosed and luxurious lifestyle - these rates have gone through the roof in recent years.



A villa in the outside community might costs SR40-80 per annum.



Lots of high quality International Schools - the Dhahran Academy based in the US Consulate in Dhahran/Khobar is the best upto high school 12th grade (or UK equivalent since there is a British school here too). Beyond 12th grade sudents tend to go to Bahrain or US/UK.



Domestic Houseboys are easily available and charge around SR20/hr. Livein housemaids can also be arranged.

Would recommend that you look to one of the housing compounds for a place to stay - there are lots of them in the Al Khobar/Dammam area. Like the previous message I would choose Al Khobar over Dammam, but probably best waiting until you arrive to have a look around the place to decide what would be best for you and your family.



There are also a number of international schools - 2 I know about are the British Grammar and British International School of Al Khobar (BISAK) - both have websites so you should be able to find them easily, though they certainly cost more than SR18/year.



Hope this helps!

Here are answers to your questions:



Al Khobar is a 20 minute drive from Dammam



1. Range of Housing rental - ranges from renting apartments (cheapest) to villas to to living compounds (most expensive). Compounds tend to be located in Al Khobar.



2. Availability of international schools - good UK and US curriculum school in Al Khobar like the Dhahran Academy and British School. Highly expensive school fees !



3. Hiring of domestic helper and range of payment - you can have maids pr houseboys visit and clean your house - they charge around SR20 per hour. You can also arrange for a livein maid for around SR1500 per month.



4. Any other important information that I need to be aware. Please be aware of the driving in KSA and requirement for clothing

I am planning to move to Saudi Arabia (Dammam), I need your advice it is better to live in Dammam or Khobar and for how much I can get a nice apartment inside a nice compound? please advice and if you have pictures please send to my e-mail: tarekmostafa77@gmail.com

From SR50,000 to SR100,000 per year

Where will u work in Dammam or Khobar ? The driving is bad so is better to be closer to work. Dammam is cheaper for rents

ok but how much? I need nice apartment for me, my wife and my baby.

Nice quality life - you can consider Compounds in Khobar like Oasis Compound