We looked into shipping a 9 month old Tahoe ... all in it was going to cost about $6K to get it here. I think if we went back to the very beginning, now its turned out to be a three year stint here (and it hadn't been black) he would probably have brought it. That said, Im not sure it's worth shipping a 2wd or a Nissan, depends how good you are at negotiating if you intend to buy new, how lucky you are if you want to pick something up second hand and what you're gonna lose selling it in the States..
The cost of renting a 1.8 Nissan Tiida is now 2400 QR up from 1800QR 18 months ago ... yes, that's the level of some inflation here.
Let me clarify my comments on costs. This is a developing country. It's costs are utterly unjustifiable, because we have access to an APO address we order in a lot of things.
If people come here on stupid money that is one thing (it doesnt really matter then) but many people dont and on top of that they make the mistake of thinking it's going to be a low cost of living. And it just isn't. What they think they will save is eaten up in rent and trying to remain sane :x
With the exception of cigarettes, restuarants in general (especially unlicensed), salon services (if you use the local gals, not the hotels) and things like dry cleaning/tailoring everything here is roughly the same or more than I am used to in England ... Bar petrol obviously.
Stuff that is imported from Saudi is not too bad either, soft drinks, toiletries etc etc, a lot of them come across the land border and are very reasonable.
Most western women are not comfortable souk shopping so the malls are the option you are left with and imported goods (not consumables) do have mark ups from marginal to ridiculous. Quicksilver items here for example are 50% or more than in the States. If you are used to Babies R Us type prices ... in dollars Mothercare will be very expensive .. Home Centre Vs Bed Bath and Beyond .. Just don't expect cheap and you wont be dissapointed.
Compared to Tesco's or Sainsbury's I found supermarket shopping in the States quite shocking (800g of bread for 80-90p v $4-5 etc, etc) so maybe the price of produce here wont be that bad for you. It depends on your shopping habits, adaptability and monetary margins really.
The Mega Marts both at Land Mark and the Centre (Ramada lights) will have more western brand imports but as was said are quite a lot more expensive all round.
You basically have four options. Mega Marts, Giant stores, Carrefours and the Family Food centres. Every week or so I will have shopped at at least three of the four. You will get used to what each one stocks and where its best priced. We live on Al Saad and have all but Carrefour within a few minutes.
Your furniture options for something western styled are Homes R Us, The Home Centre and a few random shops that you can sometimes find something cool or quirky in. As long as you're not too fussed you should find something just fine.
We looked into shipping a 9 month old Tahoe ... all in it was going to cost about $6K to get it here. I think if we went back to the very beginning, now its turned out to be a three year stint here (and it hadn't been black) he would probably have brought it. That said, Im not sure it's worth shipping a 2wd or a Nissan, depends how good you are at negotiating if you intend to buy new, how lucky you are if you want to pick something up second hand and what you're gonna lose selling it in the States..
The cost of renting a 1.8 Nissan Tiida is now 2400 QR up from 1800QR 18 months ago ... yes, that's the level of some inflation here.
Let me clarify my comments on costs. This is a developing country. It's costs are utterly unjustifiable, because we have access to an APO address we order in a lot of things.
If people come here on stupid money that is one thing (it doesnt really matter then) but many people dont and on top of that they make the mistake of thinking it's going to be a low cost of living. And it just isn't. What they think they will save is eaten up in rent and trying to remain sane :x
With the exception of cigarettes, restuarants in general (especially unlicensed), salon services (if you use the local gals, not the hotels) and things like dry cleaning/tailoring everything here is roughly the same or more than I am used to in England ... Bar petrol obviously.
Stuff that is imported from Saudi is not too bad either, soft drinks, toiletries etc etc, a lot of them come across the land border and are very reasonable.
Most western women are not comfortable souk shopping so the malls are the option you are left with and imported goods (not consumables) do have mark ups from marginal to ridiculous. Quicksilver items here for example are 50% or more than in the States. If you are used to Babies R Us type prices ... in dollars Mothercare will be very expensive .. Home Centre Vs Bed Bath and Beyond .. Just don't expect cheap and you wont be dissapointed.
Compared to Tesco's or Sainsbury's I found supermarket shopping in the States quite shocking (800g of bread for 80-90p v $4-5 etc, etc) so maybe the price of produce here wont be that bad for you. It depends on your shopping habits, adaptability and monetary margins really.
The Mega Marts both at Land Mark and the Centre (Ramada lights) will have more western brand imports but as was said are quite a lot more expensive all round.
You basically have four options. Mega Marts, Giant stores, Carrefours and the Family Food centres. Every week or so I will have shopped at at least three of the four. You will get used to what each one stocks and where its best priced. We live on Al Saad and have all but Carrefour within a few minutes.
Your furniture options for something western styled are Homes R Us, The Home Centre and a few random shops that you can sometimes find something cool or quirky in. As long as you're not too fussed you should find something just fine.