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Post by D&J London on Feb 19, 2013 21:01:41 GMT
Hi,
I am awaiting my offer letter for a position starting in Dhahran. My wife is excited and we have two very young girls 1yrs and 3yrs.
Prior to my interview we have been doing our research and reading through the boards. Working in Dhahran and being close to the family was one of the most important things for us.
One thing that was said to me before leaving the induction was that there may not be living space in Dhahran and we would have to live in Ras Tanura with me commuting.
Now this is something we really do not want to do. We want our 3yr old to go to school in the british school in Dhahran. If we live that far away it would mean a daily commute of 3 hours for my wife with the 1 yr old. Which is simply not an option.
This is a big move for us and it is important to me that i am close to my wife and daughters. Working in Dhahran i am. However i will not be if we are in Ras Tanura.
Driving is not really an option as this will take us a long time to organise before we get up and running.
So while we are excited about the opportunity and are ready to move our lives and little family over this is the one breaking point. We really want to be as close to possible together to support through the transition and establish ourselves etc. Then there is the getting the family time in etc.
I am wondering if anyone else has had this issue and how they raised it in negotiations. What is the best way to do this? We are happy with everything a part from this one housing issue which is really really important. We have seven days to respond so please share your thoughts.
Thank you.
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Post by Overland on Feb 27, 2013 15:38:00 GMT
It's worth a try. Write it as a condition of acceptance and your reasons why. If they need you bad enough, they will find a way. There are some departments that are really short staffed right now as we have had a batch of retirements. The worst that can happen is they say "no". If that is a deal breaker, then you have to weigh the hassle factor. Personally, I would not want my family making a daily commute on the am-Jubail highway unless in a BIG Aramco bus!
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kilted_highlander78
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Post by kilted_highlander78 on Feb 27, 2013 15:55:37 GMT
o there... Hi overland ..it's been a while eh!
Now, I agree with overland...but there are many other considerations such as nationality, grade code, job le..etc. let me elaborate.... US and Canadian citizens are automatically housed in DH (GC11+). Brits and others are allowed in DH if they were GR14+(according to a friend at the housing assignment dept). In my dept. I am the only one at DH, because the rest are either Brits, Aussies, Or Arabs.
RT, by the way, is waaaaaay cooler than DH...at least you live by the beach.
All the best
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Post by Overland on Mar 3, 2013 2:54:05 GMT
KH
We still have a BBQ to do! Hopefully my stuff will arrive in a week or so and that can happen at our place. Hope you are settling in well.
O
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Post by MANTARAY on Mar 3, 2013 20:40:33 GMT
hope i can go to the bbq as i am arriving next week see you all there
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Post by vpainter on Mar 4, 2013 5:20:16 GMT
An FYI for all those who think only U.S. and Canadians get to come directly to DHA. Currently have several GC 11- 14 other nationalities coming directly to DHA that I know of personally.
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Post by GYM30 on Jul 19, 2013 11:16:31 GMT
Hi VP
It is almost one month since I raised my negotiations. I called recruiters twice and every time he said next week hopefully but until now he just hold the deadline of signing the offer. I really need advices as following:
1- what will be the worst sceniro. Is it possible for them to withdraw the offer entirely. ?
2- the main reason I request this negotiations is as since I will have tough life by commuting from abg to dah I will at least got far bigger salary than current one. The offer is slightly higher than current one but if they base me in dha I would immediately signed the contract already. ?
Can you share some hints and workarounds from your experience. My department is reservoir characterization and my job is core business on one of the famous technical domain.
I shared you with some inputs so that you can share accurate assumptions as you can
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Post by vpainter on Jul 19, 2013 22:03:57 GMT
GYM30,
In the over 10 years I have been writing on this forum, I have heard of one person who negotiated housing in DHA. No one else has been successful that I know of, and that is a limited population that I know or have contact with.
If you have a high enough GC and you work in what is considered a critical job, you may get DHA.
Although, since they do not usually give anyone a housing choice, it is assigned according to availability at the time of arrival, worst case scenario is they could withdraw the offer for someone who is more flexible and meets their needs. (bachelors recently getting a choice of ABQ or RT is the first time that has occurred when someone is getting to choose).
You could look at the current offer as a possible temporary assignment. You can go on the bid list after 2 years and try for a house in DHA, but that does not always happen for those bidding.
There is absolutely no way to know what they will decide.
I wish you the best.
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Post by GYM30 on Jul 20, 2013 8:21:37 GMT
Thanks VP for you advice The GC as per offer is 13 ( is that high enough to get dha). My status is family status and GBP payroll. The second concern is that I heard that Aramco usually offer many candidates the same job , is that true? If yes then that mean we are still in the compeion peroid which mean that someone should be careful  So bottom line here is that I am bit worry that this delay in replying my negotiations request is possibly due to waiting for another candidate who my fill the position ?? Is that make sense ? If yes then I may regret negotiations request !!! What may happen if I sign the contract now? I know I will look bad !! Once again, the offer is nice for me. I am only hesitant due to such painful commuting (abq-dha). Thanks very much |
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Post by azraeil on Jul 20, 2013 10:45:44 GMT
GYM30,
I have not heard of anyone on Sterling Payroll with less than a GC15 being offered a place in DHA. If you work in the core area (PE, Geoscience) etc, the absolute best you could hope for is negotiating for a place in the Rakah compound. They are moving people from GC11-14 working in Dhahran but living in both Abqaiq and RT to the Rakah compound.
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Post by GYM30 on Jul 20, 2013 15:24:15 GMT
Thanks azraiel
Yes I am under Geoscience team. But I have read some other post on rakkah which show that it is very new and no much facilities like dha or even abq. If I base in rakkah will it be possible to have lunch at home,? I heard even in dha is very hard ? Also what is it worth to negotiate it ?
Thanks
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Post by GroveWanderer on Jul 21, 2013 4:38:27 GMT
If you were living in Rakkah, it would be almost impossible to get home, have lunch and get back to work on time, given a one hour lunch break. The drive is around 25-35 mins, depending on traffic, based on most estimates I have heard.
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Post by vpainter on Jul 22, 2013 17:05:25 GMT
GYM30, please read under the discussion group: living in Aramco Communities, Living in Rakkah for more information and the amenities there.
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