Departing next week - MORE Questions! :-)

To answer some of your questions at least as they relate to Dhahran Camp:

1. There is a cut off date for each payroll. It's usually around the end of the 3rd week of the month. If you are starting in the middle of June (say the 15th),you MAY be able to squeak through under the wire so as to be paid in June. If you are allowed to split your payments into UK/Saudi banks, you can elect to have the first pay go into the UK account (100 %) and then amend the future pays to include the Saudi account once you've opened it up.
Bring a cheque from your home country account and go to Payroll yourself to give them the details. It is helpful if you also have the SWIFT code for your bank as that's what held up our processing. They don't ask for it but it won't get done unless they have the proper routing info.

As for the Saudi account, you will need your Iqama and Salary certificate so that likely won't be doable until you've settled in a bit.

2. Re the car, you don't actually pay anything up front (at least at Majestic). They will take down your Visa Card number and Badge number but you don't actually make a payment until the end of the rental period. You can get cash out of the ATM machines located on the camp
Remember that YOU SHOULD NOT DRIVE OFF CAMP until you have your Saudi Licence. That will require your IQAMA / UK drivers licence / Eye Test etc. so keep that in mind when renting a car.

3./ 4. Yes it is hot during the day. Although everybody is different, we tend to stay inside during the hottest part of the day and go out for walks, activities in the evening. The temperature these days are in the 40-42 C range during the hottest part of the day and drops to about 28-30 C during the evening period. That being said, we have a pet dog and do take her out for quick 5 minute walks even during the heat. She gets a much longer walk in the evening.
Our daughter (who's 8 yrs old) really doesn't mind the heat and seems to have adapted well although we do limit her outdoor time. She loves swimming at the pool and will go even during the hottest period if we let her
There are many indoor activities one can take part in (bowling / movies / fitness gyms / special interest groups etc) so I don't think its a real issue. We look at the heat the same way we did with Winter in Canada.
ADVICE : Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water if you are going outside for extended periods. Because its a dry heat during the day (at least for now), you will lose hydration and may not even know it as your sweat will evaporate and your clothes will remain dry. Its important to know that and to ensure you replenish the fluids appropriately.

5. Sorry but I cannot help with respect to the Domestic Help question. We found a houseboy through a colleague / friend and he comes twice a week to help out. From what I understand, its mostly word of mouth.

Why shouldn't he? Even as a tourist, you can drive any car that your country's driver's license allows you to. Check out international car rental sites like SIXT or EuropeCar - the only condition is you have to bring (and in case you don't have it to apply for it at home) an international driver's license. An IDL usually is nothing more than a verified translation of your license, verified by local authorities in your country. In the EU, it costs 15 Euros and you get it within 15 minutes.

The issue is not whether you can rent a car or not but that if you get into an accident, the Police may want to see your Iqama or entry visa as well as your drivers licence. As a visitor, you will get a visitor visa but when you land at Dammam for work purposes, they will give you a work entry visa which also qualifies you for the Iqama.
We were told at orientation that it would cause issues if we were to get into an accident before we had our Iqama and Saudi licence. Although we too have heard about the 1 month rule, it was through friends / coworkers and not through the "official" Aramco channels.