AFTER coming to Jeddah in 2007 as a ‘trailing spouse', Angela Brazier continued with her ‘trail' when her husband was offered a transfer to Riyadh. For Angela – who is from the north-east of England and has a BA (Hons) in Geography and left behind a flourishing career in the UK – ‘trailing' did not really seem to be her cup of tea. I wondered what had made her agree to come to a country where she had been led to believe that she wouldn't be able to work. “The answer to that question is quite easy really. I'd been working full-time for nearly 20 years and it was time for a change – albeit a rather major one. I had been an expat child myself in places like Abu Dhabi, Singapore, China and Vietnam and whilst I was at boarding school in the UK, these countries were my ‘home' in the school holidays. I knew that living abroad was a great opportunity for all of us, particularly for my two children.” Before coming to Jeddah, Angela spoke with a number of people who had lived here or knew someone who had. “They gave the impression that it would be quite restricted, particularly in respect of work opportunities and dress. One lady told me that I would have to wear the niqab! I first came to Jeddah on a ‘look see' visit and it was a pleasant surprise to find that Jeddah was much more relaxed and diverse than I had imagined. The compounds were better in terms of the facilities that were available and overall, I found the place very sociable and welcoming.” Her career had primarily been in procurement and business development in both the private and public sectors. On arrival in Jeddah, she was surprised to find that she was offered a job almost immediately. “I started work fairly quickly as the Secretary for the British Business Group (BBG). Generally, it is relatively easy to find work as an expat woman here as long as you are not necessarily looking for a continuation of your career. The international schools are a good place to start and I was very lucky to be able to work part-time for the BBG, and also for Jeddah Prep School. Later, I spotted a job advert for a local law firm which took me back into a business development role,” she said. Angela and her family did not waste time in finding out what Jeddah has to offer expatriates. “Being on the Red Sea was a big bonus and we enjoyed going to the beach or scuba diving most weekends. We also spent many weekends camping with friends, either in the desert, or around Taif, and we also enjoyed going to the dunes with our dune buggy. A visit to Medain Saleh is also a ‘must' if you live in Jeddah.” With two good British schools in Jeddah, she found it easy to find placements for her son and daughter and she has found expatriate life in Saudi Arabia to be good for families. “We probably spend more time doing things together as a family than we would do in the UK and I think the confidence that the children get with the diversity of cultures and experiences is just great,” Angela remarked. After three and a half years in Jeddah, her husband's job was transferred to Riyadh. “The decision to move was our own, and this made it easier to move. The most difficult part was the decision to send our daughter, Emily, to boarding school in England. This was really driven by the fact that she will need continuity in her schooling as she moves towards her GCSE exams,” she stated. It is apparently more difficult for expatriates to find a good place to live in Riyadh, so Angela considers that they were fortunate to find accommodation in a small compound where previous friends from Jeddah were also living, including a group of boys her son's age. “This has made our transition to Riyadh much easier. What is striking here is that there is a tendency for expatriate social life to be Embassy-centric. This is fine, but we find we miss some of the informality and impromptu aspects of the Jeddah social life.” She seems to have adapted well to Riyadh. “It feels like a big, modern city. I was struck by the large, fast highways you have to take to go anywhere, and the longer distances to get into ‘town'. The city is currently very low-rise with only a couple of tall buildings, so when you get high up, you get a sense of the scale and sprawl of it across the desert. What I really like at the moment is the weather – it is genuinely cool here now, only 12C in the mornings – so this seasonality is a change. What I am not looking forward to is the poor air quality and dry heat later in the year – we will lose the humidity of Jeddah but gain the dust of the central plateau,” she said. She made some interesting comparisons between Jeddah and Riyadh: “Jeddah feels almost like a village compared to Riyadh. In Riyadh they have more, and better presented, green open spaces and the quality of the public realm is definitely better. Having the Corniche and the greater diversity of people are real advantages for Jeddah. The jury is still out on which city I prefer to live in!” There are a couple of things Angela would like to see change in the country. “I would like to see a cleaner desert with less piles of rubble everywhere, and I'd like to be able to drive – I still find it difficult having to rely on someone else to get me around,” she said. Her advice to expats who want to come to Saudi Arabia: “You must come with an open mind and willingness to engage. The scope to see and do different things and to experience a different way of life is great, and not to be missed.”
