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Post by mastei on Oct 10, 2013 8:43:47 GMT
I would be very much interested on having feedback from people with small children at DLC. We have a 2.5 daughter and 1 yrs old son.
I was recently put in contact with a person who has been living in DHA for several years, and was a bit scared off. She said I should have strongly opposed the change in compound from RT to Rakkah, since (according the her) Rakkah has practically no facilities, no activities and is hopeless for children!!
Anyone can provide some slightly more positive info??
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Post by Aramcomom on Oct 10, 2013 23:19:32 GMT
I would also be interested in this. Thank you.
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Post by llfarms on Oct 11, 2013 11:47:02 GMT
Your friend could not be any more wrong Im afraid. There is a very nice preshool here so your >3 year old would be able to attend. Most of here have been very happy to live here in Al Rakah.
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revive
Senior Member
Posts: 180
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Post by revive on Oct 13, 2013 7:31:28 GMT
Rakkah definitely has its shortcomings, but not as dire as what your friend described. Take her comments (in fact any comments, advices, etc.) with a grain of salt. Don't believe one isolated comment. Always seek several comments, compare, juxtapose and then decide for yourself if this will work for you or not. There must be a reason why this process is called due diligence.
What your friend said has "some" truths in it (emphasize on 'some'), especially if your kids are much older than they are now, and you want them to have tons of extracurricular activities, most of which are only available in Dhahran (at least currently). But more kids activities are gradually (slowly) being added in Rakkah.
In your case, I'd say her comment was misguided. Rakkah is a better choice for you, because we have a nice pre-k here for 3 and 4 yos, while Dhahran actually does not have a pre-K (!). Meaning, your kids will be stuck at home until they are 5 yo. And how many extracurricular activities do you want for your 2.5 yo, if any?
A couple of years from now, once your kids are older, I think there will be many activities for kids here in Rakkah.
As for the allegation that "Rakkah has practically no facilities"... it's obvious that your friend has not visited the camp.
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Post by azraeil on Oct 13, 2013 10:21:41 GMT
Dhahran does not have a K3 but it has K4.
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Post by mastei on Oct 14, 2013 11:05:22 GMT
Thank you for all the feedback.
Yes in fact I did not trust the information provided by this person - as a matter of fact, I don't even know her very well. But as you can imagine I got a bit nervous (as if I needed to be) at the thought of enclosing my children in a place where there's nothing to do.
As with many other things, I'll have to first come there and check it out how life is according to my requirements and expectations. But thanks again for your replies.
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Post by Baker2253 on Oct 18, 2013 15:14:36 GMT
My Visa le finally came through this week but after a long deliberation, we have decided to decline the offer. Our main concern is that we have two young children that would have to take the bus from Rakkah into Dhahran for school and other activities. Although the experience and the compensation are appealing, they will never be enough to risk the well-being of our kids. In addition, I do not believe that the compound would provide much quality for my wife due to the size and lack of amenities at present. The transition to KSA was appealing to me at first when I was assigned to the Dhahran compound. I personally don't believe that Rakkah will offer the same quality of life as Dhahran (i.e. having lunch with kids, no commute, amenities, security...). Our life here in Canada now seems more appealing than ever.
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Ram723
Advanced Member
Posts: 69
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Post by Ram723 on Oct 18, 2013 18:24:30 GMT
All the best to you, Baker, proceeding from here. It's admirable that you have considered the consequences for your family and are trying to do what's best for everyone in your family.
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Post by Pookilook on Oct 18, 2013 18:54:12 GMT
We are in the process of deciding to accept the offer from Aramco or not. I would have been happy to go until they told us we would be living in Rakkah and not Dharhan! I am a mom of a 4 and a 6 year old and I am really not happy about the idea of sending the kids on the bus to school, it being a 30minute commute. If I could drive them myself or just simply be free to get there if I needed to, it would be different. I currently drive the kids to school and it takes 23minutes each way. We live in a small town outside a big city...
I have talked to our staffing consultant but he said there's really nothing that could be done about housing in DHR, not knowing if/when houses would be available. We'd be really high on the list to move to DHR once a house becomes available, since my husband will have GC15. But I don't really want to think about that since it also might not happen, too uncertain!
Today I was told that I could talk to the Superintendent of the DHR school next week to discuss any concerns I might have. Apparently I would be able to ride the buss with the kids to school or go later in the day to have lunch with them, be as involved/visible as I would like to be?
I know Rakkah is a brand new camp and it has a long way to go to be anything like DHR... sure I am worried about myself and the activities for me during the day, but I can always go to DHR for activities and one thing that calms my nerves a little is knowing that there will be loads of families just like us, in the same position and that together we will work it out. We have lived in several parts of the world before and one thing I have learned, is that expats can form a great community with a lot of support for each other!
Please post more info about life with small children in Rakkah if you currently live there, or feel free to comment on anything I have said...
I will post more info after my talk with the Superintendent next week.
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Doll
Member
Posts: 15
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Post by Doll on Nov 4, 2013 18:16:36 GMT
Hi, I just had a few questions about products available at the stores there.. Particularly about baby/ children's.. These might sound trivial to many but my lil one has eczema and I need to know if I need to bring a lot or not.. Are brands like Aveeno, Cetaphil, Aquaphor available there?
Also, those with small children, were you able to get the large cribs and toddler beds with side rails similar to the ones available at US?
I appreciate all your help. Thank you.
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Maursh
Senior Member
Posts: 169
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Post by Maursh on Nov 4, 2013 22:18:00 GMT
We were due to move to Rakkah for 1st November start, but like so many others we are awaiting the visa block so still stuck in London, but very excited about going.
I have done a fair amount of research including reading on here and I must admit that I find the anxiety about Rakkah rather baffling. This is what I have learnt:
Rakkah is a small site - 500 houses - and more or less everyone will be new and mostly families;
Small enough that no one need drive around the camp - seems 10mins walk max. Perfect for families and most likely safe enough for your children to play out, ride bikes etc.
Brand new amenities (pool, cinema, bowling etc), same as Dhahran, but between only 500 families
Brand new three bed houses
Local on-site nursery for 3 and 4 year olds. Parents can accommpany their older kids on the bus ride to school
If you really want an organisation or activity and you can pique enough interest - set one up
Someone commented on here that they were trying to persuade personnel from Ras Tanura (?) to relocate to Al Rakkah but they refused to do so. Now they have seem the finished result they are begging to come, but it has already be reserved for new hires.
On the Dhahran front, yes it is more established, so everything is laid on already, but this isn't necessarily such a great thing:
11,000 families - much less personal
Children who live at Dhahran have a 30min to one hour commute by bus because the camp is so large and goes around doing various drop of and pick ups. One parent commented that they collected their child from the security gate each afternoon so they didn't have to go around the houses again.
One bachelor on here not so long ago wrote about his first hand experience arriving in Dhahran - unwelcoming neighbours and mouldy accommodation.
I know someone who lived in KSA 15 years ago and they have commented to me that Dhahran was old then!
I am personally delighted to be heading for Rakkah and after all I have read on here would be really disappointed if I found we would be living in Dhahran. I have a two and a half year old.
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Post by Hadia on Nov 5, 2013 2:52:45 GMT
I don't understand the comment about the bus commute for Dhahran students. My kids ride the buses to each school. It takes about 10-15 min or so, certainly not 30-60 minutes.
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Post by vpainter on Nov 5, 2013 4:48:23 GMT
Doll,
I do recommend you bring a supply of the things your child needs. Even if they are here, you will be busy settling in and do not want to have to be going out to find something your child needs on top of all the things that will need to be done. Then you can shop at your leisure instead of under pressure to find what you need.
I cannot tell you if those things are available and am traveling at present so cannot check. Hopefully someone can tell you for sure if they are available.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Nov 5, 2013 8:15:55 GMT
The reference to children living in Dhahran spending 30-60 mins commuting to school was for children attending schools outside the Aramco camp, such as the Dhahran British Grammar School or ISG Dhahran American campus (aka Dhahran Academy).
As Hadia says, the bus ride to school for children attending the Aramco schools is much shorter. The buses for the Aramco schools do not go around the entire camp, as each bus only serves a limited area. There are 15 different buses just for the middle school (I don't know how many there are for the Hills school but probably about as many).
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