Any Regrets??

Depends on your personal situation and motivations. If you’re coming here only for the $$ you’ll likely be disappointed, it’s a place in decline (and the trade offs you mention) just don’t make it worthwhile IMO. There are exceptions of course, but the trend is definitely downwards in terms of expat lifestyle.
You need to have a number of other motivations, whether it’s travel, culture, living abroad, work experience etc, in addition to the cash element to make it bearable.

I would be wary of bringing a family over and doing anything long term given that direction of travel- but it depends on one’s own personal situation in home country and expectations. Your age? Your career plan? Your current earnings? Your current lifestyle etc?

Working in Aramco ranges from the dull to the dreadful (there are a few exceptions) and Saudi working culture is enough to put off any hard-working expat who cares about quality of work. It’s a very unfair environment where do as I say, not as I do, persists. It’s very bureaucratic, akin to a government department and just as dysfunctional.

That said, If you come with an open mind it will help, but be prepared to be treated like a well-paid servant, and it will help you adapt faster. Leave any sense of pride or self-worth at the border. You cannot change working practices or culture, those that have tried will find it a frustrating and difficult place, and won’t last long. Go with the flow.

My main suggestion would be to make sure you have a clear plan before coming here. It’s not a serious long term proposition for vast majority of expats with future options elsewhere, so consider how long you need to be here to meet your financial goals. If you have other motivations then that’s great, but I’d caution against thinking there is a clear promotion path for expats, because there isn’t, and the trend is towards saudization and cost cutting. Take the rough with the smooth and expect the unexpected.

found some reviews on Glassdoor. Not sure how accurate they are and if they reflect the actual work environment. If I have to summarize, Pros: Salary/compensation ; Cons: there is a long list lol (no career progression, expat discrimination etc)

www.glassdoor.ca/Reviews/Saudi-Aramco-expats-Reviews-EI_IE7712.0,12_KH13,19.htm?filter.iso3Language=eng

In short, if your atude and approach is you are looking at an opportunity to experience a different culture and travel to locations you likely wouldn't, it is an incredible opportunity. If you expect it to be anything like home, it most definitely isn't and never will be. You need to look at what you can do and find to do in kingdom that you can't at home and don't look in the rear view mirror of what you are giving up. At the end of the day and plainly stated, it is a developing country, a very wealthy one, but aside from a few blvds in Riyadh it has a long ways to go.

The real make or break deal for most is how you get on with your supervisor. Unfortunately you won't know that until you start working for him and if you stay here any amount of time your supervisor will change. Most likely you will be working at a professional level a grade or two below where you were at before coming to Aramco, but paid handsomely for it. As mentioned, there is no professional development for expats. It is best to sign on towards the end of your career where you will get peak pay and expect to retire when done in kingdom. As far as the cultural differences, it really isn't as different as you might think or be told. Yes there is nepotism, buddy buddy and people trying to work around the rules and procedures. But I have seen the exact same thing from US and European oil companies.

The work for most of us is relatively easy, you will have to deal with some to a lot of BS, but you do the same in your current job. The work day is 7-4 with an hour lunch. You don't work late or take work home.

Making social connections in the community can be tough, you need to be really pro-active and active in outside of work activities to make friendships. The company support of community activities is very limited and many of the clubs have folded due to lack of support and folks retiring. Most socializing seems to be based on what your home country is, so in smaller communities you can have a fairly small pool of potential friends.

The only regret for me has been my wife has been unable to find work in kingdom so she hasn't moved over. Doesn't make sense for her to give up her career and being in one of the smaller camps with no school aged kids she would be quite board in short order. You will be told different things regarding if your spouse is a professional regarding getting employed in kingdom. Bottom line, don't plan on that.

All in all it has been what I expected and I am absolutely glad I chose to accept the offer. I'm also counting down my days. They say you arrive with two buckets, one gets filled with $, one gets filled with . When one of your buckets gets filled, you leave.