Recently I was apprised of an article by a faithful reader of my blog. Now this happened to be a Saudi who kindly sent me the link in case you were wondering. But I wanted to share it with everyone. Do you think Riyadh is really that BAD of a place to live? Of all the cities in the world with high crime, pollution, economic hardships, instability and so on, should Riyadh really merit as number three on the worst cities in the world to live?
Now there some things I personally dislike about living in Saudi Arabia but I would not go as far as the article did such as “No surprise here. Life in the Saudi capital is not easy. “The possibility of a terrorist attack is an ongoing threat,” according to ORC, “while wide-ranging restrictions on dress, movement, conduct, food, alcohol, travel, and communications limit expatriate life.” The city is especially hard for foreign women. Finally, adds ORC, “violating the country’s strict moral religious codes is a particular danger in this conservative city.” Frankly I wonder if whoever provided that commentary in the article has ever even been to Saudi Arabia or relying solely on heresy? Let’s face it, the possibility of a terrorist attack is an ongoing threat anywhere these days and perhaps greater in the USA than other places in the Middle East. And if an expatriate feels that the restrictions of Saudi are too limiting on their lifestyle then there is an easy solution…do not choose to take a position in Saudi Arabia. Go to Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates instead!
And of course since Riyadh was ranked number three, I’m sure many of you are probably wondering which countries were first and second? The Gold Medal (number one) goes to Lagos, Nigeria and the silver medal (number two) goes to Jakarta, Indonesia. And right behind Riyadh at number four is Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Filed under: safety, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Living, terrorism, travel | Tagged: KSA, places, Riyadh, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, terrorism, travel | 55 Comments »
