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Post by ToesInTheSand on Sept 27, 2015 23:56:43 GMT
Congratulations on getting settled in. Its been a couple of weeks since our medicals and we are still keeping our fingers crossed we clear all contingencies.
As far as we know we are slated for Rakah and expecting to be mobilized prior to year end. We were iven a date of Oct 30, but I expect the housing crunch will have us pushed back a bit.
Insh we will be there soon!
-T
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Post by ToesInTheSand on Oct 22, 2015 15:03:33 GMT
Rakah residents,
The wife and I have a couple of questions for our pending transition in November to Rakah.
1. Can anyone provide window measurements for ds? Just the measure from top of window to the floor would suffice.
2. Do the showers come with a shower curtain / liner, or do I need to bring that on the plane. We have new ones to bring, just need to know if we can ship or bring with us.
3. I believe the bed sizes in Rakah are standard US sizes. Can someone please confirm below? - Master - King - Bedroom 2 - Queen - Bedroom 3 - Two twins
I am sure there will be more to come!
Cheers,
- T & S
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Post by bogiefrommuskogee on Oct 23, 2015 4:13:50 GMT
Wow! Bringing ds? When we leave here, we will have ds made here and take them back with us. Having ds made here is a quarter of the cost of having them made back home. Maybe even less. They come and measure. You pick the fabric. They install. Many different stores to choose from. Service is fast. Just saying.
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Post by Cypress_KSA on Oct 23, 2015 8:45:55 GMT
T&S,
All windows in Rakah house have ds. These are pretty good quality and the color scheme matches the furniture upholstry .
The Bathrooms have shower curtains.
You are right the bed sizes are as you listed.
What we found lacking was floormats for bathrooms/Kitchen/Entry etc. We shipped ours in surface shipment, wish we had air shipped them. The other option is to buy them here upon arrival from stores like hyperpanda/Saco world located in Dhahran Mall.
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Post by ToesInTheSand on Oct 23, 2015 11:42:31 GMT
bogiefrommuskogee,
Thanks for the note. We were more interested ensuring we have some privacy and darkness when needed on day 1 rather than for decorative purposes. I imagine we wont be prepared to hunt down stores and services for a bit upon arrival.
Cheers,
T
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Post by ToesInTheSand on Oct 23, 2015 11:45:14 GMT
Cypress_KSA,olstry, Thanks for the response. This is very helpful.
-T
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FPEPRO
Advanced Member
Posts: 58
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Post by FPEPRO on Oct 24, 2015 12:04:33 GMT
I have one suggestion for anyone arriving in Rakah. Bring some kind of friction mat for inside the bath tubs, or some of those bath tub friction stickers. I nearly killed myself last week in the tub. The tubs here at Rakah are like skating on ice.
But as has been said, the houses in Rakah are fully furnished with dries, and shower curtains. Also there is a large number of towels already provided. They do include a few very basic hotel-style towel bath mats for the floor. But nothing special. Also all the beds do come with full linens, but I'd suggest washing them. They felt like they were put on the bed brand new. They were very itchy. But that got better after a good washing.
And yes there is a washer and dryer in each house. Not top of the line or anything, but they work. Also there is a dry-cleaner on camp within a short walk that is very cheap and does good work. I turned in 17 shirts and 9 slacks for cleaning and pressing and I think it was only $20 USD including a tip.
Don't worry about a vacuum, there's no carpets in any room. All hard tile downstairs, and hardwood floor upstairs. Get a good broom and mop when you get here, it is dusty. But you may want a vacuum eventually since the furniture is all upholstered.
Send me a PM if you have any more specific questions. I've been here in Rakah for about a month now.
-CT
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Post by ToesInTheSand on Nov 18, 2015 19:25:58 GMT
Good Rakah (soon to be) neighbors,
I have a very important question that I cannot believe I haven't asked yet...
Is the house furnished with a coffee maker?
Just need to know if I am packing one in luggage or able to ship it. Can't go a single day without coffee.
See you in 12 days!
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Post by expatinwaiting on Nov 19, 2015 17:45:05 GMT
Toes - No and I strongly urge you to bring one. I just had this conversation this week over breakfast with a colleague and apparently they are ridiculously expensive here. I haven't been to an appliance store yet, so this is second-hand information.
Make sure to also bring a couple frying pans, a decent knife set, scented trash bags from Costco and some towels in your DB boxes. We received our air shipment early this week and I'm kicking myself for not noticing that I sent the knife set in the surface shipment.
Also, don't forget to bring a few Gs in cash, which you can exchange at DMM airport. There's also a Mobily and STC shop outside of the Office at the airport where you can get SIM cards if you are still able to function. Note that you'll need your stamped passport copies to accomplish these tasks. I'd recommend Mobily to start with as they have free wifi in many public areas and their shared postpaid plan with unlimited data isn't bad.
Another thing. If you are a Vonage user and you want to use the Vonage extensions app on your phones, be sure to activate wifi calling before you leave the country!
See you in a couple weeks, in sha .
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Post by bogiefrommuskogee on Nov 19, 2015 19:48:37 GMT
Scented trash bags 20 gallon size are easily available at Tamimi and Lulu's in Khobar. They are grey in color and we do buy them in bulk because they sometimes run out. Appliances in general are always more expensive here but how much can you really spend on a coffee maker? Since I don't drink coffee I really don't know. I see Nespresso everywhere but do remember that it is near impossible to buy 120V appliances here. A coffee maker is one of those things you want to thing hard about if living on an Aramco camp. Off camp and even new housing on camp will always have 240V available.
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Post by ToesInTheSand on Nov 20, 2015 1:46:34 GMT
Thanks guys! Appreciate the responses!
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