|
|
Post by Lynjohnson-Bartlett on Feb 23, 2014 6:02:37 GMT
Hi
Hoping to get a response. Noticing that there is little activity on this subject for years. My husband and I have been allocated this camp. I have many questions. Is there anyone available to discuss via email with me please?
|
|
|
|
Post by Canadian2014 on Feb 25, 2014 4:11:10 GMT
Hi I just receive my offer from Aramco and I'm looking for information about Abqaiq too.
Thanks,
|
|
|
|
Post by Radiance on Feb 25, 2014 9:43:43 GMT
o Lynjohnson-Bartlett.
I have only been in Abqaiq for three weeks but I have had a very pleasant time so far. In fact, Abqaiq is called "the friendly city" and I have met so many friendly people within a short time.
I'm happy to provide my email here, but I believe it will be more beneficial if you ask your questions under this heading in this forum. That way, the questions I can't answer, someone else who have been living in Abqaiq longer than I have been, could provide the answers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lynjohnson-Bartlett on Feb 26, 2014 13:20:48 GMT
Radiance
We were interested to know wether the voltage at AQ is 110 or 220 have heard some have been revamped? Are there many groups for women during the day? We are moving from Dubai. Previously lived in Oman. We are hoping to ship things from Dubai ourselves. How was your experience? How did you find the accommodation ? Also any useful tips? Lyn
|
|
|
|
Post by vpainter on Feb 26, 2014 20:14:35 GMT
Aramco has installed some 220V plugs in some homes, they are dual voltage. All the homes have 110/120V. If you arrive and your home does not have 220V plugs, you call maintenance and get on the list to have them installed in your house.
Activity groups during the day: Women's group, art group, quilt group, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by Radiance on Feb 27, 2014 11:42:36 GMT
We have both 110 and 220 voltage sockets scattered around the house. Although, I would say, it's more of 110. There is a double UK style 220 volts socket in the kitchen. It's between the cooker and the sink. I was able to plug my 220 volt microwave oven to one and a toaster to the other. (Of course, I placed them on the work surface and not on the floor!)
In the lounge, there's another UK style double 220 volt socket where I hope to plug my TV and DVD player when they arrive via shipment.
Another double 220 volts socket in the hallway leading to the bedrooms (please note that my accommodation is a bungalow style housing). I normally plug the Hoover to this socket when vacuum cleaning.
There's another double 220 volts socket in the master's bedroom which we use for our laptops, and for charging our mobile phones and IPads (although, they could also be charged on the 110 volts socket since they are dual voltage appliances) but it's convenient since most of our stuff have UK style plugs. I also tend to use these 220 volts socket for ironing.
My children's rooms only have 110 volts sockets. My accommodation is alright with a lot of stoe space.
When I arrived in Abqaiq, I was given an orientation date. I would advise that you should not miss your orientation for any reason because you will get all the information you need to know first hand and you will meet lots of nice people and make some good friends. My husband's orientation was different from mine, he attended his in the morning and I had mine in the evening, but it was well worth the time.
Talking about activities, we had a ladies only Valentine's party organised by the women's group and it was beautiful! There's also the fitness and exercise activities with duly qualified fitness instructors which hold daily except on Fridays.. Exercises like circuit training, resistance training, spinning, boxercise, aqua fitness etc and they are free. I think it's only Zumba that you pay for. The gym is undergoing refurbishment at the moment.
Abqaiq compound is beautiful and the weather is pleasant at the moment, although, it's getting hot in the afternoon. There is the shopper's bus that takes you to Darhan Mall and Al Kobher. You can pick up time-tables from the Community Information Centre.
The people here are friendly and you can always get a ride from the commissary to your house, although, there are taxis as well. The commissary in my opinion is well stocked, but you will agree that because of its size, it can't have everything.
I don't want to bore you with too much information, but please do feel free to ask about anything you are not sure of. If I don't have the answer, someone else might know and provide the answer.
|
|
imax
Member
Posts: 33
|
Post by imax on Feb 27, 2014 14:04:36 GMT
Radiance & Other ABQ Residents, I have accepted an offer from Aramco on the last week of January, with work location in Dhahran. My relocation adviser recently informed me that my housing will be in Abqaiq. Do you know of anybody who resides in ABQ and commutes to/from Dhahran for work? How is the overall experience of this daily ride? From other posts in this forum, I got a feeling that it may take up to 3 hours for daily commute (total for both ways). Any other thoughts are also much appreciated as it would help us make an informed decision. Regards, imax
|
|
|
|
Post by Radiance on Feb 27, 2014 16:08:03 GMT
I know some people who do the daily commute between ABQ and Darhan but I don't have a first hand experience, so, it's difficult for me to give an accurate answer. My husband commutes to UDH and I believe thats a longer distance to travel.
There might be someone in the forum who is able to give a more accurate answer based on experience. I'm sorry I wasn't of much help on this occasion.
|
|
imax
Member
Posts: 33
|
Post by imax on Feb 27, 2014 16:10:03 GMT
Thanks for your reply, Radiance.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lynjohnson-Bartlett on Mar 6, 2014 9:32:15 GMT
Thanks Radiance very helpful. Also wondering about attire for the women on camp. Is it a one piece only around the camp pool? Are longish shorts acceptable to walk around camp in? I appreciate the need for an abiah outside camp. Are there eating places, cinema, on camp? How do you find getting around the camp? Assuming you did not have a car initially either? We were considering a rental? I believe it more expensive than Dubai and Muscat? Are they many second hand cars available from transiting expats? Many Thanks Lyn
|
|
Nemo
Member
Posts: 41
|
Post by Nemo on Mar 7, 2014 5:13:17 GMT
Hi, I am also appointed to move to Abqaiq soon, my wife is really excited about it, if someone from the forum currently living in this community could pm within email address so my wife could contact for interesting and silly question would be really appreciated. I have read about the commute to Dhahran and the driving in general in KSA and at first I wasn't sure I was going to be happy with this idea but on the other hand I have also read about the strong sense of community in Abqaiq and being that far from home that's exactly what all of us need. By any chance is there any organized basketball compeion for kids in the compound or inter aramcons?
I would like to see more activity in this forum, we all have the tendency to only ask VPainter for the so called PDF, but if we start to share non sensitive but valuable info via this forum we all can benefit a lot.
Thanks to all the contributors of this thread
|
|
