Hello everyone, and welcome back to my channel,
the best place to learn about expat life, intercultural skills, and business abroad. You
may have seen my previous video 10 Questions about Saudi Arabia: Answered. Now it’s time to
explain specifically why I loved living there. Keep watching to find out even more info that
you always wanted to know about Saudi Arabia. Now as you may know from my previous video,
I lived in Saudi for 4 years and worked at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology). I had an extremely positive experience, and now I have my own business
helping others to understand different cultures, including Saudi Arabia. Before we get into
the top 10 Reasons Why I Love Saudi Arabia, just hit that subscribe button down below to
keep getting informative videos on living, working and doing business abroad. OK, now for the
reasons. So, of course, as I always tell people, you don’t love a place because it’s beautiful.
You love a place because of the people, and the experiences you have with
them. So that’s reason number one: The people. To say Saudis are friendly is an
understatement. Their hospitality, positivity, generosity and loyal friendship goes far beyond
your expectations. First of all, whenever you meet a Saudi or accept a phone call from them, they ask
you 3 times how you are. It gives you the feeling that they are truly concerned for your well-being.
Also, as my friend Shouq told me, “We Saudis love a lot and we do everything with love. Shouq also
told me: We love hosting, we love to reflect our culture. We love to make food. We love to give
gifts. We love to give more than receive. We want to make you feel you are a part of our family.
It’s almost like their strong family values also transcend into friendships. Making you feel like
you are part of their family was evident to me in how my Saudi students and colleagues all called me
“sister” practically from day one. Next, related to the aspect of relationships with people, is
their communication style. So that’s my number 2 reason. When having conversations with Saudis,
it’s always pleasant and enjoyable. You’ll find them to be extremely positive and upbeat most of
the time. They are smart and well-spoken, and have a great sense of humor too. Moreover, I have never
heard a Saudi making sarcastic or snide remarks, or these annoying perverted comments that are
so common in Western countries. I love that talking with Saudis is always clean. Finally,
Saudis have a saving face value in conversation, so they always try to speak diplomatically.
If they have a negative opinion about someone, they will never say it to your face, and if they
have feedback to give, they will say it in a way that doesn’t hurt your feelings, or embarrass
you in front of others. This communication style preserves harmony and good relationships in the
workplace, and speaking of the workplace that brings me to number 3. Great professional working
environment. You will find state-of-the-art facilities with modern work environment in most
workplaces in Saudi Arabia. The classrooms I taught in, for example, were extremely spacious,
they had all the latest technology and equipment, and it was so comfortable to work there. Then, in
Saudi workplaces there are a lot of opportunities and also flexibility. I found it really to work
with Saudis and they always find a way to make the work day fun. Also I found a pretty decent
work-life balance. The typical work week is 40 hours, just like back home. Yeah, sure, you may
work extra hours because of certain projects, but generally speaking that’s not too often.
Then, every day when you walk out of your office you find sunshine, which is my reason number 4:
The weather. It’s sunny and warm nearly every day of the year in Saudi Arabia. The hottest season*
is from May to September, when the average daily temperature is 102°F / 39°C. Even in the hottest
month of the year, July, when temperatures get up to 110°F / 43°C the constant sunshine is just
glorious! I would take that heat over cold, gray, and rainy winters in Europe any day. The cool
season in Saudi is from November to February, when the average daily temperature is around
75°F / 24°C. Then, speaking of the environment in Saudi, you will also find yourself amongst
a multicultural population, so that’s my reason number 5. First of all, Saudi’s culture
itself is so diverse and rich with history, and very different from region to region. There
are Saudis with roots traceable to many different parts of the world, from Africa to Uzbekistan,
from India to Indonesia, and many other places. You’ll find unique foods, dialects, and ways of
living in all the different parts of Saudi. Then, about 1/3 Saudi population of 35 million is
expat. That means you will have the amazing opportunity to meet and work with people from all
over the world. At KAUST, for example we had over 120 different nationalities working and living in
the same place. It was the first time in my life I met people from Kazakastan, for example! Now on to
Reason number 6, on a slightly different note: No drinking. It’s nice to know that when you go out
and meet people in Saudi, they are not drunk, they are in a good state of mind. And then you don’t
have that craziness that happens due to drinking like fights in the street, drunk driving, and
other issues. In fact, speaking if this matter, that brings me to Reason #7: It’s safe. Saudi
Arabia ranked in the top 10 of the Gallup Law and Order Index, and in the top 3 safest places
in the world by the Institute of Environment and Human Security at the UN University. Speaking of
safety, that brings me to the next point: 8. No guns and gun violence. No average citizen can
obtain a gun license so you can be sure there are no random shootings in Saudi Arabia. Then, about
Saudi’s location, that brings me to number 9: Opportunities to travel in the region. Saudi
is located in the Middle East Gulf which means traveling to many places from here is very easy
and quick. You can travel to Dubai, Qatar, Oman, in under a couple hours flight. Europe is
also not too far, it’s right next to Africa, and you can reach Asia is also in reasonable time.
My last, but certainly not last reason to love living in Saudi Arabia was …drumroll please…the
opportunity to…be part of the Vision 2030. It’s exhilarating to be a part of the opportunities
that have sprung forth and are still springing from the Vision 2030. It’s amazing to see
Saudis, with 70% of the population under age 30, super energetic and engaging with the world in
a way never seen before. It is exciting to be part of the rebuilding, in a sense, of a nation.
Personally, I have been an expat for the last 20 years and lived in 10 different countries, but
I have never seen the kind of transformation, ambition and excitement as we are seeing now
in Saudi Arabia. Well that’s all for the 10 Reasons Why I Love Saudi Arabia. Why don’t
you open your mind and think about giving Saudi a chance? Thanks for watching, I hope you
found it useful, and don’t forget to subscribe to get more info on expat life, intercultural
skills, and business abroad. Bye for now!
