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Post by Houston312 on Jul 31, 2014 16:37:25 GMT
Incredible amount of info on this board! I am considering applying to SA, I have been approached by a recruiter here in Houston who tells me if I apply I will very likely get a postion. Who knows, however, I have 3 kids, 3, 7, and 14. The younger 2 I am not too concerned about, but the 14 yr old wories me. He is a gregarious, happy, athletic boy who will be entering 9th grade in a few weeks. By the time this process ran its course he would likely be a 10th grader entering KSA.
So my question is, if we chose not to send him abroad to boarding school (we are a VERY close family, and I fear this decision might make us all very sad) what might life be like for him? Your answers will very likely influence my decision to apply or not. Will there be lots of other kids his age around, or does everyone send their kids off? Do they get into trouble? Can he continue on in boy scouts? Will he have a social life?
Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!
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Post by vpainter on Aug 2, 2014 20:19:14 GMT
There is an International Schools Group: Dhahran High School outside Dhahran. You can google it for information and contacts. There is also the Bahrain U.S. Defense High School that students from Aramco board in during the week and come home for the weekends. You can also google it. Sent you an email.
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Post by Twofeets on Aug 3, 2014 9:11:42 GMT
Honestly, it will depend a lot on 1) your son and 2) which compound you end up in. The main compounds have a lot more activities. Some of the newer leased compounds are a lot smaller and thus more limited. If they find your housing in DH he will be close the international school Vpainter mentioned and will have access to a lot of activities between school and camp. If you are in RT he will have a long bus ride (about an hour) to and from school but if he's a beach type person he may enjoy RT. ABQ is a bit more limited as its about 45-60min from DH and in the desert. UDL is even more remote and would make the commute to school extremely difficult.
Good luck!
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cgyguy
Advanced Member
Posts: 90
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Post by cgyguy on Aug 3, 2014 18:23:36 GMT
We just arrived in Rakkah, just over a month ago, which is a compound 30 min drive from Dhahran main camp, work and Aramco schools. The houses are nice, all the same, sweet water, spacious and the 500+ houses camp is nice! has lots of things but it is isolated from all the activities bigger kids have in the main camp. So far my 13 year old daughter hasn't found one friend here (most people is on holidays and the new comers that we have met have small children).
I imagine that the future leased compounds will be somewhat similar.
Once the school start teenagers will meet people and somehow their social life will kick start (I hope as my daughter is not having it easy).
Your son will not be in an Aramco school, a good percentage, from what I've read and heard, of expat's kids leave the kingdom in high school.
I wouldn't expect to have it easy for him at the beginning but with time things should improve. Ideally you would be housed in DHA but honestly I don't think so, the list of people awaiting for getting in main camp is very very long. Recruiters sometime promise one place or another and housing issues do not align with what you were told, so I suggest to plan for smaller compounds and/or longer commutes. I don't want to paint a negative view but more a cautious word from my own experience and from others that I have met.
Good luck
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Post by NEWEMPLOYEE on Oct 3, 2014 3:07:11 GMT
I have accepted job offer from Saudi Aramco. My daughter is in grade 10. I am expecting my family will join me next summer (2015) in KSA. So my daughter will start her grade 11.
I am really concerned with the housing problem in DHA. I don't want my daughter to live far from school and ride the bus daily for 1 hr (one way).
How is the private housing in Dhahran or Dammam city? Do we have private Villas available for rent? What type of security is available in these villas?
What is the best solution in this scenario? Kindly help.
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Post by vpainter on Oct 12, 2014 4:14:37 GMT
This will depend on where you are assigned to live, and no one can tell you where that will be. Housing is assigned the week of your arrival and sometimes a couple of days before you step on the plane according to availability at the time of your arrival. The new leased compound will be about a 20 - 30 min one way to DHS depending on traffic.
The only way your daughter would have a 1 hour commute one way is if you are assigned housing in ABQ or RT. longer if you were to be in UDH.
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