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Post by Lulu22 on Apr 28, 2012 13:26:26 GMT
We have been assigned housing in Abqaiq, but are wondering about the possibilities of bidding on housing in RT after a while.
Can you bid on houses in RT if you live in Abqaiq?
Would you need extra points to bid on houses on a different camp?
Does anyone know of examples of families who have been successful with this?
I find it a bit strange that there are forums about living in DH and RT, but nothing about Abqaiq. Can anyone who lives there make any general comments about the community itself?
We would really like to hear from some other Canadians/Europeans who live there (I am Canadian and my husband is European) and we are trying to get a realistic impression of the place before we come.
Thanks!
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Post by Hadia on Apr 28, 2012 15:37:58 GMT
Have you used the forum's search function with the word "Abqaiq"? It brings up a ton of posts about life there, along with the names of some forum members in that camp who might be good contacts for your questions.
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Post by Lulu22 on Apr 28, 2012 16:51:14 GMT
Thanks Hadia, for sure I have used the forum search function (nonstop for about 3 months...) and have found that the posts about Abqaiq actually do not give me a real impression of the life there. Reading so many posts from people in RT and DH, on the other hand, has given me a very good impression of those camps. We are coming with the idea of staying 15-20 years, so it is important for us to have an impression of the place.
I have a feeling this is not going to happen, because no matter how hard I try, we can't seem to get in touch with anyone there, and several of the questions I have posted on this forum remain unanswered...
Thanks anyway!
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Post by SugarLandTX on Apr 29, 2012 6:47:50 GMT
Please note that Dhahran is located between Abqaiq and RT, about 50 minutes from each. So a person working in Dhahran can be assigned a house either in Abqaiq or RT. However, it is unlikely that a person working in Abqaiq can be assigned in RT or allowed to move to RT.
Initially when you come to Saudi, your residence should be based on the passport of the employee and work location. In your case it is European passport. What is the work location?
Assuming the work location is Abqaiq. Then you will be assigned housing there and it will be difficult to move from there to either Dhahran or RT.
Assuming the work location is Dhahran. Chances are that you will be assigned to Abaqaiq or RT becasue of European passport. You can move to your work location after 2 years based on the house availability. Currently there is a long wait list for Dhahran and some people have waited 10 years to get enough points to win a bid.
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Post by Lulu22 on Apr 29, 2012 11:44:53 GMT
Thanks for the reply! Sorry, I should have been clear about that - yes, my husbands work is in Daharan. We are very open people and have lived abroad in the past, so we think we can make the best of Abqaiq and are willing to go there for the short term (a few years..) if we can get a bit more information about the place (including pollution from the nearby refinery???). The problem is if we don't like it, we want to at least have a chance to move to the other camps after some time, if we want. We are also open to enjoying the life there and staying fir the long haul. As I mentioned in another post, we are thinking of this as a 15-20 year commitment, and raising our children there. Can you comment in the family atmosphere there and sense of community, compared to RT or DH?
It is funny to us that there are so few people living in abqaiq who actively use this forum. To us this indicates several things potentially: 1) there are not that many people living there right now at all, 2) there are not that many north American/Europeans there (in proportional comparison to other foreigners who may not be inclined to be so active in such a forum), 3) there are few actual expats there, in comparison to the resident Saudis, 4) the place is just so bad that no one wants to talk about it on this forum, or 5) the Internet service is not good enough to provide a convenient opportunity to participate in these discussions.
Any comments on those thoughts?? Would greatly appreciate it!!
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Post by vpainter on Apr 29, 2012 16:50:44 GMT
Whether or not someone continues to use this forum after they have arrived is not an indicator on who lives in a compound. Only recently in the last few years has there been anyone from RT writing on the forum.
I am getting your information to a friend in ABQ; once I've contacted them I'll let you know. I can only hope they will email you.
First hand information will be the best for you and these friends have been there many years.
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Post by Lulu22 on Apr 29, 2012 18:06:57 GMT
Thanks again vpainter!!
This would be great, and I think you are right about getting first hand information. I hope we can get in touch with someone soon...
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Post by NOD on Apr 30, 2012 21:30:33 GMT
We have also been offered housing in Abqaiq and we too are concerned about what to expect. We enquired about being housed in Dahrhan or RT but were told that they are full.
We are also looking at this as a long term plan, 15-20 years and raising our kids there. We've moved around a bit and what we have always found is that if the kids are happy, we're happy. We don't really see
There is certainly the feeling that ABQ is the least desirable of the three main compounds and the limited information is worrying. However our feeling at this stage is this is what we have been offered and it is up to ourselves to make the most of it and make it work for our family.
I have to say that it is somewhat consoling to see others on this forum with the same concerns as ourselves and despite a lack of info directly related to ABQ we have found this forum to be very helpful.
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Post by bolishfamily on May 1, 2012 8:37:57 GMT
I would have to believe that Abqaiq is starting to be more occupied than in the past. Since Dhahran is full, they have been send more people to Abqaiq. I live in RT but have visited Abqaiq and can say the commissary in Abqaiq is nicer than ours. They recently updated the movie theater there. There is a nice coffee shop called the Charlton Lounge. Gym facilities, playgrounds & the grounds are nicely maintained. Since the community is smaller, there is only one school-I was in the gym area & it was very nice. The classroom teacher-student ratio are low-more one-on-one attention to the children.
Hope that helps a little.
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Post by Lulu22 on May 1, 2012 11:22:53 GMT
Thanks bolishfamily, that is indeed some good information! In the beginning, we were almost ready to reject the offer... But now we have decided to accept it. We also realized that if Abqaiq were absolutely awful (which I doubt!), we could move off camp to an expat compound in Khobar (or nearby). The only thing we are still unsure of is the possibility to accrue housing bidding points while living off camp, and then maybe one day bidding into Daharan. We are coming for the looooong haul (15-25 years)-at least that is the plan...  So, any comments on how it would work to try to bid on camp if we lived off camp for a few years? Is this just an unrealistic idea, or do housing points stop accumulating if you live off camp? Also, any comments on the commute from Abqaiq to Daharan office? We have hears everything from 35 minutes by car to 1.5 hours by bus..?? |
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Post by bolishfamily on May 2, 2012 8:08:59 GMT
Not sure about the accumulation points if you live off the compound but I would assume you would still accumulate as the points are based off of months you are employed & maybe grade code (??). I would think maybe you would be able to get onto Dhahran as you are supposed to live on the compound that you work at.
The commute would be similar to ours from RT to Dhahran...the driving time is about 45 minutes depending on traffic but where time can be added is what time the bus picks up & does it have multiple pick-ups then where in Dhahran are you working & where is that stop on the bus route?? So it could possible be up to 1.5 hours. There is always the possibility of your spouse driving to Dhahran if he is comfortable with the crazy driving over here. I know some spouses that take the bus sometimes & drive other days.
Things to consider about living off the compound is then the transportation of children to Aramco schools & are you still eligible for the Aramco schools-that I'm not sure of but you could explore after you arrive.
Hope this answers your questions.
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Post by Lulu22 on May 5, 2012 0:06:09 GMT
Hi NOD, I can totally empathize with the kinds if things you must be wondering... We finally got in touch with a couple of people in Abqaiq by phone and, I have to say, our 'worries' have since faded. Sure, it might not be as nice as living by the sea like RT or living is close to work, like DHA, but it has it's own qualities. I was in touch with a young woman with a family from Scotland and my husband was in touch with another German. If you send me a PM with your email address, I'd be happy to forward along some good info they sent to us.
Good luck making your decision. We have decided to accept the offer and have just started with all of the forms... Fun! ;-)
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Post by Itstime on May 5, 2012 8:07:39 GMT
Hi there!
We are under relocation process right now, family of 3, workplace Dhahran, housing assigned to ABQ. We would like to thank all of you, as per initial post, since your input all these months that we are gathering information was more than valuable to us!
Please do continue to support this forum, since we consider it to be a life-saver decision tool!
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Post by GroveWanderer on May 6, 2012 5:56:30 GMT
I have seen this opinion voiced a few times now and I'm not sure that it's true. I think it comes about mainly from the lack of posts from people living in Abqaiq. In the absence of direct information, people start to imagine the worst - a natural human trait, I think.
Having been to both compounds (although I've only ever lived at RT) I would say there's not a lot to choose between them apart from the beach. I'm not a "beach person" so personally, that is not a factor.
We had friends who lived in Abqaiq and we used to go down to visit them sometimes on weekends (or they would come up to Dhahran). They have since retired, but they seemed perfectly happy in Abqaiq and never voiced any major concerns about the lifestyle there.
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Post by NOD on May 6, 2012 12:19:29 GMT
Thank you GroveWanderer, that is reassuring.
Lulu22, I will PM you. Thanks.
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