Expat Experiences in Saudi Arabia

American expat Susie has been a lot of things – police officer, travel agent, bank teller, teacher, chocolatier, airline reservationist, and a few more. She and her Saudi husband have been together over 43 years, 30 of which were spent in the USA, and they now live in Saudi Arabia. Read more about her expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Palavi moved to Riyadh with her husband in 2019. Though she was sceptical at the beginning, she loves the city she now calls home. She encourages people to give Riyadh a chance and not blindly believe stereotypes. Read more about her experiences in Saudi Arabia.

Aysh is a second-generation expat from India. She was raised in Saudi Arabia but moved back home for high school. After getting married, she moved back to Saudi and now lives in Jeddah. She is a stay-at-home mom and runs a successful blog. Read all about her life in Saudi Arabia.

Elriz is a Filipino expat living in Saudi Arabia. His work as a communications engineer allows him to live temporarily in different areas across the Kingdom. Elriz finds making friends easy when you try speaking the local language. Read more about his expat life in Saudi Arabia.

James Ynson is an expat who moved to Saudi Arabia to challenge himself and travel the Middle East. Although driving and the fact that shops closed frequently throughout the day for prayer was a challenge initially, he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the Kingdom. James encourages new expats to keep an open mind when moving to Saudi. Read more of his advice on expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Brenda Hurley is a Canadian expat who moved with her husband to a growing Saudi Arabian city on the Red Sea. She says that although adapting to such a conservative culture can be challenging, the key to living happily in the country is a positive attitude. Read more about her expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Aisha is a Cameroonian expat living in Saudi Arabia’s coastal city of Jeddah. Although life in the Kingdom has taken some getting used to, particularly the restrictions Aisha faces as a woman, she finds the cost of living in Jeddah more affordable than back home and the pleasant weather has added to a good quality of life for her and her family. Read more about her expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Mandi is an American expat who moved to Riyadh with her Saudi husband and daughter. There are many adjustments that Mandi had to make when she moved to the Kingdom, and she has found the experience of living in Saudi Arabia to be a challenging one. Read more about her expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Angela is an American expat who moved to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea town of Yanbu with her husband and daughter in 2012. Despite having to make many adjustments to life in Saudi Arabia, Angela has approached the move with a positive attitude and made the most of her Middle Eastern experience. Read more about her expat experiences in Saudi Arabia.

Thomas is a German expat living in Saudi Arabia. He initially moved to Jeddah in 2009 with his wife, Claudia, but they now live in Khobar, in Saudi's Eastern Province. They find expat life in Khobar drastically different from life in Jeddah, which has a thriving expat community and social scene. Read more about his expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Alexander Gorin is a British expat who moved to Saudi Arabia with his wife in 2012. They live in the city of Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Alexander understands Arabic and converted to Islam a few years ago, so the transition to expat life in Saudi Arabia has not been as much of a culture shock for him. Read more about his expat experience in Saudi Arabia.

Gregory Grove is a South African expat living in Saudi Arabia. He teaches English at a school in the capital, Riyadh, having previously lived in the southwestern city of Al Baha. Although Gregory enjoys the malls and finds many things generally cheaper than back home, he misses the parks, dams and social life. Read more about his expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Andrew is a Welsh expat living and working as an English teacher in Jubail, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Although Andrew finds Jubail to be a diverse and friendly city, he found adjusting to life in Saudi Arabia to be quite hard, especially as he does not live in a compound. Read more about his expat experience in Saudi Arabia.

Erica is a South African who moved to Saudi Arabia in 2009 to pursue a job at a new university just outside Jeddah. Nearly three years on, she has yet to tire of the view of the Red Sea from her office window. Read about her expat experience in Saudi Arabia.

Tania is a Canadian university professor who is married to a Saudi businessman. They divide their time between Vancouver in Canada and the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Read about her expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Susie is an American woman who has lived in Jeddah since October 2007 with her Saudi husband of 30 years. Read about her fascinating experiences of expat life in Saudi Arabia.

Jim Veihdeffer is an American who has recently moved to Saudi Arabia to teach English. He is living in Riyadh and enjoying his experience of life in the Kingdom to the full. Read more about his experience of living in Saudi Arabia.

Carol Fleming is an American who has been living in Riyadh since 2006. She has been married for over 30 years to a career-Saudi diplomat. Read about her unique take on expat life in Saudi Arabia here.

Fazli Sameer is a Sri Lankan living in Saudi Arabia since 1979. He originally migrated to the kingdom's Eastern Province, but now resides in the strictly religious capital city of Riyadh. Read about his expert advice on integrating into the expat community in Saudi Arabia.

Terri Lundberg isn't afraid to tell you how it is. Though the notoriously restrictive society of the KSA rubs her the wrong way now and again, she lives a good life and takes a moment out of her social schedule to tell Expat Arrivals about her expat experience in Saudi Arabia.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more unique expat experience in the Saudi city of Riyadh than that of the likes of the mysterious Arab-named American multiracial, vegetarian Yasmine Awais. Read on to find out just how well she's puddle-jumping between the local and the expat community.