Moved to Riyadh for a Project Manager role… now I’m wondering if I underestimated the cost of living?
I recently moved to Riyadh about 3 weeks ago after accepting a Project Manager role with an engineering/construction company. I have around 16 years of experience and moved here mainly because I always wanted international exposure and thought Saudi would be a great opportunity.
Back in my home country, my package was around 12.6k SAR equivalent. My Riyadh package is:
Basic: 22k SAR
Housing: 5.5k SAR
Car allowance: 1.6k SAR
On paper, I thought this was a huge jump and a no-brainer decision.
But after arriving… wow. Riyadh living costs hit me harder than expected.
Apartment prices seem crazy, and even monthly car rentals are not cheap at all. Then I look around and see engineers and supervisors reporting to me living in villas costing around 10k SAR/month and driving cars with 3k SAR monthly commitments.
That honestly made me wonder: am I missing something here?
Are people taking huge loans? Do they have family income? Side businesses? Or am I actually underpaid compared to the Riyadh market?
For those in engineering/construction in Saudi, especially PMs, what’s the realistic package range nowadays for a Project Manager with ~16 years experience?
Also, does nationality still play a big role in salary differences here? I’ve heard mixed opinions about that. Some expats on Reddit claim nationality still affects compensation significantly. Others suggest expat salary premiums in Saudi have been narrowing recently.
Genuinely curious because I’m still new here and trying to understand if this is normal… or if I’ve been humbled by Riyadh 😅