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Post by Texas on Apr 7, 2012 17:00:08 GMT
Folks,
Just thought to share with you few things that might help new comers to Dhahran.
1) Bring all paper copies you signed in Houston. When I visited HR over here, some paperwork never reached them. This will save you time filling new paperwork.
2) Bring Saudi Riyals with you. The Dammam airport is so hectic no one will have time to exchange money. Go to your local bank and get SARs at your own pace.
3) Buy an internet air card from Dammam airport. Aramco is no longer providing free air cards. If the shop insist on you having "iqama" before they can sell you air card, ask the Aramco rep. if you could use his name...I did that, what a life saver.
4) Do whatever you can to rent a car next day, especially if you bring a family with you. In my case, a gracious magnificent family helped me out the next day on getting a rental car which can be hard to get. Buses are available but hard to figure out the routes.
5) Bring as much stuff as you can to get you/your family by at least for the first 2-3 weeks. I brought 6 dish-barrel boxes and 2 suitcases which included stuff we needed urgently.
6) If your kids to attend school, make sure they are TB tested.
7) Before you get to Dhahran, ask your boss or someone else to get you a Network ID prior to your arrival. Mine was there on day one so I was able to do lots of things. Aramco is electronically driven and everything is done online via Aramco intranet.
8) Memorize your badge number, this is like SSN (US residents). No one cares about your name, the emphasis is on your badge number. Your family members should memorize it too.
'9) Be prepared to chase after many things when you arrive here such as car stickers, Aramco temp IDs, visiting the local clinics and banks, housing maintenance, and so on.
Good luck to all. The camp is very nice and kids will love it.
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Post by Speedy53 on Apr 8, 2012 19:15:02 GMT
Thanks! We will be in RT in two weeks, I'm going to get my husband to work on the network thing for sure!
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Post by expatwife on Apr 10, 2012 21:25:50 GMT
Thank you Texas, for the info. We'll be arriving approx early July.
We're wondering, since school is out, what activity can my kids do in the summer there? I have 2 and 6 yrs old. Is it going to be too hot to go to the beach or any outdoor activities?
What indoor activities are available inside the compound?
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Post by Twofeets on Apr 11, 2012 5:32:53 GMT
Great advice Texas!
1) Bring all paper copies you signed in Houston. When I visited HR over here, some paperwork never reached them. This will save you time filling new paperwork.
It took me 4 months to get the paperwork sorted out! ASC even mailed stuff to my old US address on the day I was moving to KSA!
2) Bring Saudi Riyals with you. The Dammam airport is so hectic no one will have time to exchange money. Go to your local bank and get SARs at your own pace.
Saudi Hollandi bank it the only bank in RT camp (there are banks off camp nearby but require a taxi to get there). They will only exchange up to $300 if you're not a bank member and it must be in new bills!
3) Buy an internet air card from Dammam airport. Aramco is no longer providing free air cards. If the shop insist on you having "iqama" before they can sell you air card, ask the Aramco rep. if you could use his name...I did that, what a life saver.
If you think internet is a must in the US, its a lifeline here!
4) Do whatever you can to rent a car next day, especially if you bring a family with you. In my case, a gracious magnificent family helped me out the next day on getting a rental car which can be hard to get. Buses are available but hard to figure out the routes.
If you arrive in the Spring/Fall most camps are small enough to manage with a bike, bus, etc. Taxis can be tough to find in RT and DH (not sure about other camps) due to a recent population increase. Im not sure about the rental car, I had been told you needed a Saudi drivers license first which takes a few weeks. In the cooler season its not a big deal, but come summer a car will be a *must*. You wont want to walk 5min in that heat!
5) Bring as much stuff as you can to get you/your family by at least for the first 2-3 weeks. I brought 6 dish-barrel boxes and 2 suitcases which included stuff we needed urgently.
There's a lot of places to buy things here, once you learn the routes. But the first few weeks you will have limited transportation and will struggle to find what you need. Bring all you can!
6) If your kids to attend school, make sure they are TB tested.
Make sure all your kids shots are up to date!
7) Before you get to Dhahran, ask your boss or someone else to get you a Network ID prior to your arrival. Mine was there on day one so I was able to do lots of things. Aramco is electronically driven and everything is done online via Aramco intranet.
Wish I had done this! Until you get your Aramco access you are very dependent on others. Everything here is computer based. There is a pretty good link on the HR webpage now which provides a ton of information, everything from payroll to benefits to classified adds, but you need that login ID first!
8) Memorize your badge number, this is like SSN (US residents). No one cares about your name, the emphasis is on your badge number. Your family members should memorize it too.
As was said, your number becomes your name. Everything, even calling a taxi, revolves around your number.
'9) Be prepared to chase after many things when you arrive here such as car stickers, Aramco temp IDs, visiting the local clinics and banks, housing maintenance, and so on.
The first few weeks can be challenging. Luckily Aramco usually gives you the time off (during work hours for most positions) to help with this. My supervisor even drove me around a few times himself.
We're wondering, since school is out, what activity can my kids do in the summer there? I have 2 and 6 yrs old. Is it going to be too hot to go to the beach or any outdoor activities?
What indoor activities are available inside the compound?
Im not sure about the other compounds. RT has 2 pools which stay pretty cool and the beach for outdoors. Indoors we have a few kids rec rooms with things like ping pong, pool, and a few other games. There is a bowling alley on camp and a movie theater which plays 'old new' movies (usually 6mo-18mo old movies from what Ive seen). Ill be honest, there's a ton to do outside 9 months out of the year, but the summer months are the most challenging time to arrive (We arrived in July as well, and it was rough, but has been well worth it).
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Post by doonhamer on Apr 11, 2012 7:58:59 GMT
"Before you get to Dhahran, ask your boss or someone else to get you a Network ID prior to your arrival. Mine was there on day one so I was able to do lots of things. Aramco is electronically driven and everything is done online via Aramco intranet.
Wish I had done this! Until you get your Aramco access you are very dependent on others. Everything here is computer based. There is a pretty good link on the HR webpage now which provides a ton of information, everything from payroll to benefits to classified adds, but you need that login ID first!"
You can't get a network ID prior to arrival. You have to be hired in the system for that to happen and you are not hired until you physically arrive. Hire date will therefore be the first working day after arrival[/color].
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Post by doonhamer on Apr 11, 2012 8:06:42 GMT
I should clarify my previous post. Hire date is the day you start traveling to Saudi. However, you are not physically hired in the system until the first working day after arrival. Aramco will not hire you until you are physically here.
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Post by Texas on Apr 11, 2012 10:26:23 GMT
Let me be clear on few things:
You can rent a car using Aramco temp. ID that you get at the airport. You don't need an Iqama for that. I rented a car the very next day on my Aramco Yellow Badge (temp.) with no questions asked. Rent is cheap, $320/month or $10.70/day. Gas is cheap, my fill up cost $5, cheaper than water we buy.
It is getting warm around here so getting to the busses and walking around is getting tough and sweaty. It will take sometime to get use to the bus routes in your area. Yes, you can get a taxi but you will have limited mobility. Rent a car if you have a family and go drive around the camp.
The NCB bank in Dhahran will exchange your money for Saudi Riyal without any fuss. I exchanged little more than $2000 at NCB at a good rate, 3.74. Not sure about RT camp, but here in DH I had no problems and no limits on money.
Network ID. Most likely you won't start work on your first day because you will be flying in. I don't know about "you have to be physically here to get Network ID" because mine was done while I was flying into Dhahran. I started work 3 days later due to the weekend and on first day at work, I had my Network ID. A co-worker who started the same day with me didn't have one and he pretty much struggled for 7 days. My point was, be proactive and ask for it, it won't cost you much.
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Post by Hadia on Apr 11, 2012 10:34:57 GMT
You don't need a Saudi driver's license to rent a car. Your driver's license is good for 30 days when you arrive, and then you need to be driving on a Saudi license. It is impractical to assume you can get around easily by bus or taxi in Dhahran during your first weeks here. Also, most people don't arrive here with their bikes; they come in their sea shipment. It's getting to be hot to ride a bike to work, especially if you have a hike between work and home and don't want to arrive all hot and gritty. Car rentals are worth checking out for sure. Definitely hard to get household needs without a vehicle. Only so much you can carry to and from a bus stop and on a bus, especially if you're trying to corral kids at the same time. Taxis are getting harder and harder to get -- even at odd hours during spring break time, very lucky if they even answer the phone.
I am so happy for those of you who have departments that support the new arrivals and provide ample time, instruction and advice on the new hire steps. That's not the case for all departments, however, especially if you work in one that has more contract employees than direct hires. Be prepared for any scenario. Flexibility and a positive atude are a must for all new arrivals. It does get easier after the first few months.
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Post by Twofeets on Apr 11, 2012 13:51:54 GMT
I apologize for the misinformation about the rental car. I had been told (apparently incorrectly) by my relocation agent that I would need both the Iquama and a Saudi DL to drive, so we borrowed a bike and a golf cart until we could get our own. That would have been VERY nice to know last summer lol. That should help new arrivals a ton!
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Post by vpainter on Apr 11, 2012 22:18:53 GMT
ABQ, RT, and UDH can use golf carts to get around. Not inside DHA, they are only used to golf.
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Post by doonhamer on Apr 15, 2012 10:44:12 GMT
Impossible to get a network ID until you are hired. It is the hiring action that activates the network ID and you are not hired until you physically arrive.
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Post by trojan on Apr 16, 2012 16:58:49 GMT
I've been here now for 2 weeks. Reading this board helped me a lot before I got here. Thanks to all. The Dhahran camp is really a great place. It has exceed most of my expectations and I think we will be happy here after we get all of our furniture in and have a real chance to decorate and plant some flowers in the backyard. Besides getting local currency, the first thing to do is get a local cell phone. The cell phone is the first life line, because you will need to call taxi's when you are outside. I got one the very first morning in camp. Use the house phone to call majestic taxi for a pickup. Have them take you to the STC mobile store and get a SIM card. The Dhahran commissary around the corner has cheap phones for about $30. Ask them to explain the area codes and be sure to test an outbound call to a land line as well as a cell phone to make sure you actually know how to dial. Right after that, I got my mailbox at the Al Mujamma building next to the commissary and then went to the information center (next to the STC store) to get more information on the bus system, the dinning halls and the services (laundry, barber shop, bank and housing office). Ask them about the shopper's bus that goes to Dhahran Mall everyday at 4:30 pm. It easy going there and you will find alot of useful stuff there. In the Al Mujamma building you can request an extra house key at the housing office. The orientation on Sunday will help alot. I also recommend bringing a laptop computer with you. It is a good idea to buy a USB connection at your first opportunity at the airport or STC store. I didn't bring a laptop computer when I first got here and I wish I did. There isn't much to online, however, until you get your network ID on the first day at work. It will be at least 7-12 days until you can get internet installed in your house. When you request ASDL internet, request the activation of the second phone line to the ASDL. Once the ADSL was in, I got a US VPN at www.boxpn.com. This allowed me to watch netflix, hulu and amazon videos at home without a TV. I pay cash for everything here, but I should have gotten a credit card with no foreign transaction fees (capital one, chase saphire) before coming. 100% fraud protection is also a great feature. (From what I have been told, do not send credit cards here through the regular mail.) Good luck! |
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