Many expats choose to live in compounds to lead a more Western style of life, but foreigners are also allowed to live outside the compounds if they abide by the local customs and laws. Here are some city areas and comounds to consider.

Jeddah

Full of foreigners. Jeddah is a coastal city across the sea from Egypt. Here, you can scuba dive in the Red Sea or go deep sea fishing. The public beaches do not allow you to swim and require modest clothing to be worn but you can go to one of the many private beaches and enjoy a more relaxed day out at the beach.

Jeddah is both humid and hot, but offers plenty of entertainment and private beaches. Some Saudis consider Jeddah Saudis more liberal with the Mutaween (religious police) seeming to be less strict.

RENT 3 BR, 2 bath, US$9,000 Annual rent (esimsar.com)

BUY 2 BR, 2 bath, 1 parking space modern apartment with sleek finishes US$29,600 (Nov 2016) (Sloanes)

Dammam

Smaller than Jeddah, Dammam real estate is much cheaper. The American compound for Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, is located here, and the area is full of Western amenities. Dammam has private beaches and nightlife, and across the 25km bridge to the Kingdom of Bahrain, you will find clubs, bars, and movie theatres.

RENT 3BR, 3 bath apartment with lift, US$7500 Annual rent (Nov 2016) (Lamundi)

BUY 3BR, 4 bath apartment with air conditioning and lift US$227,000 (Nov 2016) (Lamundi)

Riyadh

Riyadh is in the middle of the desert, can have occasional sandstorms and has frequent cold evenings in winter. But Riyadh is a huge hectic and busy metropolis with everything that big cities possess. A very conservative city, the Mutaween (religious police) is more prevalent in Riyadh and Sharia law is strictly enforced. Olaya is the financial centre of town and is the location of the Al Rajhi Tower, which, when completed will be the tallest building in Saudi Arabia.

RENT 3BR, 2 bath apartment, US$9330 Annual rent (Nov 2016) (Lamundi)

BUY 1BR, 1 bath luxury apartment with gym, pool, sauna US$327,000 (Nov 2016) (Lamundi)

Many expats choose to live in compounds to lead a more Western style of life, but foreigners are also allowed to live outside the compounds if they abide by the local customs and laws. Here are some compounds and city areas to consider.

Compounds

Arizona Golf Resort

Located 28 kilometers from the centre of Riyadh and only 7 minutes to excellent shopping at the Riyadh Gallery, Arizona Golf Resort has everything from squash courts and bowling alleys to supermarkets, a golf course and even a petting zoo.

Cordoba

Focusing on families and family life, Cordoba has villas ranging from 2 to 4 bedrooms plus swimming pool and movie theatre.

Granada

With 300 Mediterranean style villas and apartments, Granada offers 6 indoor/outdoor swimming pools, a wave pool, gyms, spas and movie theatre and is only 20 minutes from the airport and 15 minutes to the Granada Shopping Mall. There is a range of accommodation from 1 Bedroom studios to 4-bedroom villas.

Fal

Studio apartments to 3-bedroom villas, Fal has a supermarket plus pools, games rooms, gyms, basketball courts plus restaurants, shops and a beauty parlour.

Al Hamza

15-minutes from the airport and main shopping area of Riyadh, there are 404 units ranging from 1-bedroom apartments to 5-bedroom executive villas. Al Hamza has 11 playgrounds, a wave pool, sports courts, shops and restaurants.

Arabian Homes

With lots of sports and leisure facilities, Arabian Homes are designed as enclaves to create neighbourhoods within the enclave. Apartments, townhouses and villas are available.

See also:

Glossary of Saudi Arabian terminology

Buying property in Saudi Arabia

Renting property in Saudi Arabia