The veritable heart of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is a bastion of Arab culture and as well as an emblem of success on the Persian Gulf. Visitors have a notoriously difficult time securing tourist visa, but there are more than 6 million expatriates here capitalizing on high wages and excellent benefits.

Many English teachers who come to Saudi Arabia live and work on the same compound, heading off grounds only for the occasional weekend trip or shopping errand. But as the tourist sector slowly opens up, expatriates are enjoying better outside infrastructure and more access to fascinating cultural attractions.
One of the most amazing sites in Saudi Arabia is Madain Saleh, a place where pilgrims, explorers and merchants convened for centuries. Its tombs and stone villages are reminiscent of Petra for good reason – they were built by the same people.  

Another fascinating nexus of culture is Jeddah (4.5 million), characterized by a hypnotic blend of old-world markets, Western-style cafés and a crumbling medina (historic quarter). And in a country where dancing, drinking and mixing genders is forbidden, Jeddah has the closest thing to an after-hours scene.

Any teaching position in Saudi Arabia comes with a housing arrangement of some sort. Most of the schools hire teachers to work in a large compound that has everything a person could want inside.

The same applies to transportation. The Saudi Railways Organization and Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company handle intercity travel. But within a given city, most schools have private cars and teachers can use them when needed.

The massive educational compounds that hire Western English teachers are mostly in Riyadh (population: 6.6 million), where wealthy families send their children to school. These compounds are ostensibly islands of Western culture and social rules are relaxed behind closed doors.

Salaries are generous and tax-free in Saudi Arabia, partially because the international community perceives this country as a hotbed for terrorist activity despite evidence to the contrary. In order to attract competent, qualified teachers, schools in Saudi Arabia also offer handsome benefits packages.
It’s worth mentioning that men will find it much easier to get hired in Saudi Arabia. The internationally administered private schools and language centers here do hire Western women, paying and treating them equally, but it’s notoriously difficult for women to cope in a culture that denies half its population such basic rights as education or the ability to appear in public without an escort.

Saudi Arabia Links

• Go to Saudi Arabia forums
• Go to Saudi Arabia photo gallery
• Google search for Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia wikipedia entry