½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Hello myyams.

Congratulation for the visa

Hope that the members will reply soon.

Thanks

Karen

Be prepared for a 2-3 wait to het through Saudi Customs

on Aramco compounds the comissay is open 24/7. you can get a phone and etc once you get on the coumpound. i just get prepaid and get unlimited internet. If you use Tango on your iphone then it uses data and tyou can do regular calls, video calls or chat and uiu only use uour unlimited data. i log onto my xfinity account via my computer to watch tv. you need a VPN account for that (strong VPN is 55 a year)

Hey,

Welcome to Jeddah. I can understand the frustration of having to deal with so much paperwork, but you should get used to it living in the third world.

What to expect when landing in Jeddah !!,, hmmm itÂ’s  like taking a trip back to the 80Â’s loool. I heard this from few friends about their Impression when they first landed in Jeddah! I agree with some of the aspects of this saying especially with the airport Interior Design. Any ways, after getting off the airport bus you will step into the immigration lines where they will figure-scan you and take a pic of you, this pic is the one that will appear on all your future documents so try to smile.
ItÂ’s normal for someone from your employer side  to be waiting for you and drop you of to your Compound.

I saw an early post of you and you said that you will be staying in Amoudia village. The location of this compound is very central and there is a big supermarket called Manuel across the road from the compound, but the problem is that  your compound is heavily guarded and the only iterance is from the other side of the road where the supermarket is. This one will stay open 24h (with the exceptions of prayer times like everything else here). Since its Ramadan , I will say the small grocery shop inside the compound will stay open up to 3 am like most retail businesses around Saudi in Ramadan ( in normal days itÂ’s  up to 12).

ItÂ’s a good idea to get a SIM card from the airport, since you donÂ’t need to show an Iqama while you do in the mobile shops in the city.  I will recommend Mobile service provider.

thank you all so much! 

Hopefully everything will go smoothly enough or not but we're excited enough to get us through it

beridge wrote:

Be prepared for a 2-3 wait to het through Saudi Customs

Has never taken me more than 15 minutes.  Thing is, you ask one of the guards/police if there is a 'faster' line.   Be sure to smile at him.   He'll show you to the right (if you're lucky, the FAR right). This is one small advantage women have lol

Given that you are going to be staying at Amoudia Village, there is also a supermarket called Danube which is on Rawdah Street. I believe this is open 24/7 (except for prayer times ofcourse). Like Ahmad mentioned, the Manuel supermarket is closer to your compound, but can be a long trek to get there as the road is not very pedestrian friendly and to drive to Manuel will be a greater hassle than going to Danube.

If you are looking for a quick way to connect to the internet, head-on to a Mobily (one of the three mobile operators in the country) store, which is again, located a few meters away from Danube Supermarket, next to Starbucks and Costa Coffee. They have a good deal on a USB modem( it's called "Mobily Connect 4G"). 3 months unlimited internet for SAR 333. The speeds are quite good too and is a good way to quickly connect to the internet before you decide to settle with a good connection for your home.

For any place selling internet and cell phone service outside of the airport, must we have our iqama papers all done?

myyams wrote:

For any place selling internet and cell phone service outside of the airport, must we have our iqama papers all done?

hi and welcome to jeddah ,, i think to have a cell phone line u have to have ur iqama first, otherwise ur husband can use any of his employer registered lines.

myyams wrote:

For any place selling internet and cell phone service outside of the airport, must we have our iqama papers all done?

You might want to try it at the airport first. If you are arriving on any airline other than Saudi Airlines, there is a Mobily kiosk just outside the arrivals gate. The company representative at the airport might have a better idea, as they might have already taken a mobile connection for your husband.

Make sure you ask him about this while at the airport, as getting a connection outside the airport is a hassle that you are better-off avoiding.

There might also be places in your compound that offer WiFi (I don't know much about Amoudia Village), so you can rely on it atleast for a few days before you get settled in.

The technology-geek in me is asking you to set-up a Google Voice telephone number. But you should do this before you leave the US.
google.com/voice

Hope the below helps you


1) Inform your sponsor to arrange someone to pick-up at the airport.

2) Inform them 2 bring along 2 new sim cards.

3) check if the accomadation is finalized and internet connection is up and running.

4) every compound has supermarket in it so dont worry abt the grocery.

5) iqama will be finalized for your Husband , you and kids by the company. So dont worry and it just needs follow-up.

6) in order to go out in the city u need to be weating an abaya in KSA. (Compulsory)

7) Better not to be outside when it is prayer times .. u can know it from the internet ..

reachtameem wrote:

7) Better not to be outside when it is prayer times .. u can know it from the internet ..

I completely disagree with this. It may have been a thing, long time ago, but those days are long gone. The shops might close for prayer, but no one will force you to go and pray or harass you in that sense.

Edit: I am assuming "reachtameem" means that the religious police will give you a hard time, if you are seen outside during prayertime.

hishmaj wrote:

reachtameem wrote:

7) Better not to be outside when it is prayer times .. u can know it from the internet ..

I completely disagree with this. It may have been a thing, long time ago, but those days are long gone. The shops might close for prayer, but no one will force you to go and pray or harass you in that sense.

Edit: I am assuming "reachtameem" means that the religious police will give you a hard time, if you are seen outside during prayertime.

I agree if it is fear from the Religious police. Don't. They really don't have that much athority in Jeddah

dear ahelpfulsaudi

it seems u miss took my statement ..

The thing is that there is no point being out if all the shops are closed.

Yes i did mean about the Religious Police.

Why give them unnecessary chance to question and waste our time when we know its salah time ..

And also if u r not muslim they will not force u to pray but they will not miss the opportunity for harrasment ..

reachtameem wrote:

And also if u r not muslim they will not force u to pray but they will not miss the opportunity for harrasment ..

that is old stuff, and with traffic, why shouldn't you get out early, because when you get where you want prayer will be over. Besides the maximum time the close is half an hour.

thanks everyone for your really helpful replies.  We're due to arrive Aug 17 and took a long lay over on the way in another country.

We think we have everything lined up. The recruiter had ended up sending us the plan for the time when we arrive at the airport til getting our keys and all that happens thereafter.  It's pretty much right on par with what I've been reading here from all of your comments.

No problem about the prayers, we'll likely be in a masjid praying at that time    So, here we go!!

myyams wrote:

No problem about the prayers, we'll likely be in a masjid praying at that time    So, here we go!!

There you go then!

Good luck with everything and enjoy the long layover before you enter the sandbox

Sandcell

Regarding staying outside during prayer times, I have been sitting outside of a shop smoking cigarette while waiting for the prayer time to finish... nobody gave me any trouble whatsoever and I've done this many times.

hy guys, I'm new around.. any contacts of compounds.. heard of SHARBATLY VILLAGE.. anywhere close to corniche..