Andreas Haberbeck is a partner in the Jeddah office of Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co.
Postcard from... Saudi Arabia
Living in Saudi Arabia as a lawyer means a lot of travel, because you are covering a country roughly the size of Western Europe, with its main business centres Jeddah on the Red Sea, Riyadh in the centre and Dammam on the Arabian Gulf, plus a fair number of out-of-country meetings in neighbouring Dubai and Bahrain.
More than $600bn worth of projects are in progress and in the pipeline, so there is plenty of quality work going round. The local weekend falls on Thursday and Friday. Work never really stops if you service international clients, because one cannot switch off when the rest of the world is busy. At least with a BlackBerry one is no longer tied to one’s desk as much as one used to be in days gone by. Moreover, when you look after clients in Tokyo and New York, your working day can be rather stretched out.
Makkah, the holiest city in Islam, is only 40 miles from Jeddah, which is an obvious attraction for Muslims. Performing Umrah, the lesser pilgrimage, can be done easily in three hours from leaving home in Jeddah until your return. Alcohol is forbidden throughout Saudi Arabia, and women are required to wear a black cloak and head scarf when in public places. Moreover, women are not allowed to drive, so that a family driver is standard issue when living in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, with all the restrictions, life is definitely harder on women than on men.
Without bars, cinemas or theatres, Saudi Arabia may not be ideal for bachelors, but it is well suited for raising a family. Most expatriates live in high security compounds, some of which are self contained villages, and with year-round sunshine the children have plenty to occupy them. A decent villa on a good compound in Jeddah costs between £30,000 to £65,000 per annum, and there are waiting lists. Domestic help is readily available, which takes much of the drudgery out of day-to-day life. There are good English, American, German and French schools, some of which are on or next to compounds, so that the children can walk to school.
Driving can be entertaining, if you have the appropriate sense of humour. Check out driving Saudi on Youtube. What you see there would not strike any resident as unusual.
Most people spend their weekends by the sea. Scuba diving, sailing and windsurfing in the Red Sea are world class, and, of course, available all year round. Weekend travel in the desert is another popular pastime, and it is worth opting for a 4-wheel-drive if you intend to go exploring. There are a number of good riding stables round Jeddah, and every compound has swimming pools, tennis courts and a gym. The weather is like a pleasant South European summer from November to April, and extremely hot from May to October. However, one is never out of airconditioning unless one wants to be.
Andreas Haberbeck is a partner in the Jeddah office of Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co.
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Readers' comments (23)
Anonymous | 25-Mar-2010 5:45 pm
Don't go to Saudi. Come to 'business friendly' Bahrain. You can have some of the restrictions of Saudi and some of the 'delights' of Western culture all at the same time. It is here that the Saudis themselves come in great numbers!!
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Mecca - don't all run at once | 26-Mar-2010 5:41 pm
And next weeks postcard come from...
....
...
...
Mogadishu!
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Anonymous | 27-Mar-2010 8:17 am
As an expat lawyer who actually LIVES in Saudi (Riyadh), I find the "postcard's" decription actually pretty fair and accurate. These are really the +/- of the country in a nutshell. (I have been here for about 5 months.)
Don't come if you're single (let alone if you're a single woman, which is borderline impossible anyway), but if you have young kids it's actually a pretty good life... The various expats communities are extremely warm an welcoming, no doubt because of the country's adverse conditions in many areas.
But overall, lawyers and other expats here are pretty happy -- in fact many have been here for much longer than they initially thought they would, and have a hard time going back to Europe!
I personally don't like Dubai, which I find to artificial and 'bachelor-centric', but if you're looking for a good middle-ground between Dubai and KSA, Oman and Abu Dhabi are probably the right spots.
Cheers
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Anonymous | 29-Mar-2010 1:01 pm
To the expat lawyer who 'actually LIVES' in Saudi. I am thinking of moving to Saudi - can you advise on any synagogues in your area which my family can attend and where it may be possible to buy kosher food ?
thanks
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The Chosen Few | 29-Mar-2010 5:48 pm
Anonymous | 29-Mar-2010 1:01 pm shows complete ignorance of his/her own faith - why don't you put your narrow prejudice aside and learn a bit about Islam before spouting off. If and when you finally grow up, you'll realise that there's no actual difference between halal and kosher meat and that muslims and jews have a great deal (may be too much) in common. Wake up and smell the chicken soup!
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Anonymous | 30-Mar-2010 5:05 am
Anonymous @ 29-Mar-2010. This is how Saudi is,nobody is forcing you to come here, and nobody is forcing us to stay here. We can pack and leave at any time. Stop your racist comments this is not going to help expats currently living in Saudi.
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Anonymous | 30-Mar-2010 6:25 am
Ananymous @1.01 (29 March) - what an utterly inane and ignorant response to a very accurate and balanced comment.
FYI there are Jewish communities in both KSA and even Yemen.
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Anonymous | 30-Mar-2010 10:59 am
Anonymous@1.01 I suggest you ask why there are no synagogues in the Vatican first before asking if there are any in Saudi.
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Anonymous | 30-Mar-2010 1:24 pm
Lewis - "the cynicism of the writer and the corporate law firms...is absolutely reprehensible." I'm sure you'll be a far more effective advocate of change preaching to a choir or just boycotting those with whom you disagree. But if you're seeking moral clarity, may I suggest another profession?
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Anonymous | 30-Mar-2010 1:28 pm
Chosen Few - though similar, there are significant differences between halal and kosher. Just because two systems both ban pork and share certain other similarities doesn't mean "there's no difference."
Shellfish? Cheeseburgers?
That said, the best hot dogs have always been Hebrew National - which, while both kosher and halal, are alas, not to be found in Saudi Arabia.
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