Community allowance for Rakkah.

nxpat
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Community allowance for Rakkah. Jul 31, 2013 18:35:56 GMT

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Post by nxpat on Jul 31, 2013 18:35:56 GMT

Hi,
We will probably be moving to Rakkah as Dhahran is suppose to be full. Waiting on visas now. Is there a community allowance for Rakkah. I imagine with all the going back and forth its going to take up some time and money. Is Aramco thinking of reimbursing those living in Rakkah for that?

Also, my husband's work location is Dammam. Will there be bus service to Dammam? What is the commute time?

From reading through the forum it sounds like one needs a car to drive around Dhahran to get to activities. We have been informed that there are buses running within the camp as well but most people on the forum seem to be of the opinion that taking a bus to get to places is not practical.
So, once we get to Dhahran from Rakkah via bus, how do we get around. Can we buy a small car and park it there to use with the camp

Thanks in advance for helping me...

vpainter
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Community allowance for Rakkah. Aug 1, 2013 14:07:09 GMT

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Post by vpainter on Aug 1, 2013 14:07:09 GMT

There are several community benefits that will save you money for living on Rakkah. That is your compensation. Reduced rent, free furniture, free TV service, to name a few.

There are buses running to Dhahran daily, hourly, but do not know about to Dammam. People who work in those areas do not get bus service to all the offices and do not receive any compensation that I know of. Your location will be a lot closer to Dammam.

I have mentioned to the Assistant Director of Community Services they may need a parking lot of camp cars for people coming from Rakkah and in fact other compounds to check out while on camp. He was rather skeptical of that idea.

There are 3 taxi services in DHA, but they do get busy. The circuit buses around camp may need to start running on a more frequent schedule to accommodate everyone's needs.

nxpat
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Community allowance for Rakkah. Aug 1, 2013 19:03:45 GMT

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Post by nxpat on Aug 1, 2013 19:03:45 GMT

Thank you for your reply.

So, if Aramco does not provide bus service to everyone working in Dammam, how do those people get to work when they first arrive? It will take some time for someone coming from the US to get used to driving in SA.

Can you please clarify something you mentioned in your reply post. You said that Rakkah is closer to Dammam than DHA? Did I get that right?

Do we know how many families have moved into Rakkah so far?

vpainter
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Community allowance for Rakkah. Aug 1, 2013 20:03:22 GMT

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Post by vpainter on Aug 1, 2013 20:03:22 GMT

The ones in DHA, coworkers have picked them up and taken them to work. Aramco knows you will not have a car. You will be told options for getting to work.

Yes, Rakkah is closer to Dammam than DHA is to Dammam.

I am not completely up to date but last I heard there were about 20 families in Rakkah at this time and more moving in each week.

revive
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Posts: 180

Community allowance for Rakkah. Aug 26, 2013 6:06:56 GMT

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Post by revive on Aug 26, 2013 6:06:56 GMT

Just to clarify, TV is not provided. All the furnitures/appliances in the pictures are provided, except TV and rugs.

About a parking lot of camp cars, I increasingly see this as a real need for Rakkah residents particularly those with children. This may not be the case for RT/ABQ/UDH residents, since those camps are truly self-sufficient. But given the limited availability of kids activities in Rakkah, I anticipate spending more time in DHA for kids activities such as piano lessons, gymnastics, boy scout, etc. So now I see having a camp car as a real, tangible need. Hopefully parking a car overnight near the bus stop (near the Towers) won't be an issue.