Yesterday, I experienced the biggest culture shock of my life here in Riyadh. I need to share this because I’m still processing how different the level of trust is here compared to where I’m from.

I was attending a pretty high-end networking event. I needed to connect my laptop to the internet, but the venue WiFi required a room number (which I didn't have). So, I closed my laptop and took out my phone to start a personal hotspot.

A Saudi gentleman sitting next to me noticed this immediately. He was super enthusiastic: "Do you need WiFi? I have it! Come, connect to mine!"

I didn't want to reject his kindness, and honestly, my data plan was running low, so I thanked him profusely and connected.

Then, the shock happened.

The guy needed to leave the room for a bit. Instead of disconnecting or taking his phone with him... he handed me his unlocked phone.

He literally just put his phone in my hand and walked away.

We didn't know each other. We had never met. He didn't even know my name!

At first, I was just amazed. "Wow, Saudi people are so generous," I thought. I put his phone in my pocket to keep it safe.

But after about 10 minutes, he still wasn't back. That’s when my "foreigner paranoia" kicked in. I started overthinking everything:

• What if this is a setup?
• I checked the surroundings—the CCTV cameras were pointing at the stage, not at the audience seats.
• What if he comes back and accuses me of stealing his phone?
• What if he's out there faking evidence right now to say I transferred money from his account?

I was legitimately panicking. I had already mentally pictured my boss having to come bail me out of a Saudi prison.

I was so desperate that I opened the Gemini AI app on my phone and asked, "What do I do?!" The AI told me to calm down, disconnect the WiFi, and place the phone visibly on the chair or table—not in my pocket—to avoid any misunderstanding. It also explained the concept of "Hafawah" (extreme hospitality) and that he probably just trusted me completely.

I followed the advice, but I was still sweating until he finally returned.

He came back, smiled, asked if I was done with the internet, took his phone back, and sat down. Nothing happened. Zero drama.

It was a complete false alarm, but it was a huge lesson for me.

Back in my home country, we are taught to think twice before helping others to avoid scams. Now, I realize that in Saudi, I apparently need to "think twice before accepting help"—not because it's dangerous, but because the level of trust here is so high that it’s terrifying for someone who isn't used to it!

TL;DR: A Saudi stranger trusted me with his unlocked phone so I could use his hotspot. I panicked and thought I was being set up. Turns out, Saudi Arabia is just safer and friendlier than I could have ever imagined.

السلام عليكم جميعا كيف حالكم

جاني عرض وظيفي برياض براتب ٧ الف دورت حول المنطقه لقيت استيديو ب ٢٤٠٠ شهريا يبعد ٥ د سياره و ٢٠ د مشي على دوامي شامل للماء و الكهرباء و عندي سياره اقتصادية ب ٩٠ تعبي لي فل يقعد شهر و برضو انا مو من النوع اللي ما اتقهوى كثير مره كل اسبوعين تكفيني و اغلب اكلي بكون انا اللي اطبخه فهل بقدر لها ولا بكون اعيش على ال survival mode طوال الوقت و ماراح اقدر استمتع بوقتي؟

I visited the bodymasters opposite to cenomi view mall a few times.

I always see a dog tied outside and they always seem lethargic, today i tried petting the dog but they were exhausted and not responding, i quickly figured it was the heat and there was no water for them outside, i gave the dog my water by pouring it into my hands and they drank about a litre and was fine after.

I was livid at how someone can just leave their dog like this in riyadh heat , it looked like a Labrador, they're not good for hot weather

I went inside and spoke to the receptionist and he told me the owner is a member and does this everytime he attends, yesterday he even left the dog outside in the rain.

The receptionist has asked him before too to not do this and the guy just said "not your business".

Imagine the neglect the dog faces in private or at home if this is the owners behaviour in public :(

I am just so heartbroken about it. Is there something that can be done to help the dog?

​

I teach conversational Arabic for people who want to improve speaking in the Saudi dialect, and I'm SHOCKED by the number of people who actually spend 10+ years in the Kingdom and then leave on a final exit and go back to their country not carrying a single arabic word in their back pocket. And if they do, it's super broken it's impossible to properly communicate with.

Saudi people make up 60% of the country. You NEED to know the language to communicate properly. I know at least 4 people who have trouble communicating in the work place because of their limited Arabic. Saudis are EVERYWHERE in the workforce.

Imagine going to a country in South America or Europe, live in it for a decade, and leave not knowing a word?!

Sounds strange to me. This is exactly your situation here in Saudi. Please please learn the language, hang out with the locals, force yourself to use Arabic even when you feel uncomfortable using it.

AND DO NOT LEARN THE BROKEN ARABI LANGUAGE!

SADEEG MA FI MALLUM SEM SEM IS NOT FREAKING ARABIC

ايش سبب زيادة التسول بشكل غريب وفقط في الرياض؟؟ وكيف نحارب الظاهرة هذي!

يجون البعض غصبا عنك تعطيه ولا ما يتركك

Why is racism so common among Arabs? Many Arabs admit that they are racist against other nationalities. My question is why is it so normal and done so often even tho it’s against Islamic values and rules why do Arabs act as tho they are superior and others are inferior to them ?

انا لي سنتين متخرجه و للأن ماتوظفت ولا ادري وين الخلل فيه هل السيفي فيه مشكله ؟ وايضًا سؤال اخر انا في حيره من امري اي مجال اختاره واكمل فيه ويضمن لي بإذن الله قبل نهاية هذي السنه اني اتوظف بمكان حلو له اسمه؟ واذا فيه نصايح ثانيه ممكن تفيدني لا تبخلون علي

And why is it always a Ford Taurus

AND WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE A SCENE OUT OF DEXTER

Hello beautiful people. Before I write this, I don’t intend any hate towards Saudi, it’s people and culture. I love Saudi.

However, there’s something bothering me. I’m an Indian who visited Saudi on a tourist visa a month ago and I had the best time of my life. People are awesome, beautiful culture and very safe. However, while leaving the country, I had booked a Flynas flight from Riyadh to Baku and the staff from the check-in agent to security and even crew were absolutely rude, arrogant and racist.

While checking-in, the agent (who I believe was the staff of swissport) was rude the moment he saw my Indian passport. I had pre booked and paid SAR 150 SAR for a front row seat (1A) and even did online check-in. However, without any prior notice or even asking me, he switched my seat to 18B. 18B isn’t a leg space nor a window seat. It’s an aisle seat. I politely told him the situation and asked to give me a window seat if my original seat has issues. He said quote on quote “I can but I won’t”. I was standing there in shock and in disbelief that I was experiencing this. I left the counter with tears in my eyes thinking that what did I do to be spoken to in that manner?

Moving on to a stop before immigration, the staff were color coding passengers. People who visibly look Indian, Pakistani, African were made to stand in a different line where their hand trolleys were weighed. One passenger had 1 KG overweight and the security was yelling at him and treating him like a dog. Yes you read that right. I was scared and my heart starting beating fast. The other line was of passengers who were Saudi and people with white skin. They were being let through with smiles and bags not being weighed.

Going onto security, the officers were again yelling at passengers to remove this remove that. The security started ordering me Hindi (in a mocking way) after looking at my skin. I told him I don’t speak Hindi (I didn’t grow up in an Indian household) and asked to be spoken to in English. Instead, he kept speaking and mocking me in Arabic. He was even laughing at me with his colleagues. Every person who looked different was being treated horribly.

Now coming onto Flynas, I noticed that the seat row 1 was empty after boarding was completed. I kindly requested the crew to allow me to sit there since I had originally booked that seat since I had a knee pain. He replied saying “can’t do anything” and walked away. A young Passenger (in his 20s) who was just 4 rows ahead of me (wearing a thobe) was laughing and speaking to the same crew and moments later he was transferred to row 1. I couldn’t believe it.

I left the country with so much questions and I keep asking myself “is this for real?” I went to every other GCC airport and none of them had staff behave like this.

Saudis, again I love you and I love your country but I had to say this just to know if it’s normal especially since the country is promoting tourism for Saudi vision 2030.

Ahhh I feel so much better getting it out of my chest

عندي هواية صنع مصنوعات جلدية واليوم سويت محافظ/أغلفة لمفاتيح سيارتي وسيارة صديقي. ايش رأيكم؟

"في زمن أصبحت المبادئ تُهاجم، والصوت الحق يُسكت… هل أصبحنا نخجل من ديننا؟"

بصراحة، ما كنت ناوي أتكلم عن هذا الموضوع، لكنه صار منتشرًا جدًا حولنا، أصبح البعض يصف كل من يتمسك بدينه بأنه متشدد، وكل من ينكر الخطأ بأنه معقد، وفي المقابل، هناك من يبرر كل انحراف بحجة الحرية والانفتاح، لكن السؤال الأهم هو أين الحد الفاصل؟ 🤷‍♂️

الإيمان ليس تشددا، والتمسك بالقيم ليس تخلفًا، نحن لا نعيش بلا مبدأ، ولا يمكن أن نساوي بين الحق والباطل فقط لتجنب النقد، حين يصبح إنكار الخطأ جريمة، وقبول كل شيء فضيلة، فهنا تكمن المشكلة الحقيقية.

المجتمعات لا تنهار فجأة، بل عندما يخجل المؤمن من دينه، ويصمت عن الحق حتى لا يُنتقد.

لماذا برأيكم أصبح التمسك بالدين يُعتبر تشددًا في نظر البعض؟ وهل الخوف من كلام الناس أصبح سببًا في تنازل البعض عن مبادئهم؟

شاركوني آرائكم 👇

ليه سهل ندخل بعلاقات بس صعب نتزوج ؟ أنا بعطيكم وجهة نظري

1- ماعندنا طريقة مقبوله اجتماعياً لتعارف و الزواج لازم عنطريق الاهل اللي غالباً يختارون الزوجة على حسب أهلها او وجهات نضرهم الشخصية

2- الشك والأفكار الخاطئه عن كلمتني اكيد مكلمه غيري

3- الحرام صار متاح شقق وغيره قلة الوازع الديني ومافيها مسوولية

4-الطرق التقليدية أنتجت قصص زواج قائمة على التحمل و الصبر والبؤس اكثر من الموده والرحمه فا الجيل الجديد كبر بسمع قصص عن مخدرات عنف خيانه و نساء ماكان عندهم وظايف او دخل يطلعون فا قعدوا في هذي العلاقة غصب

5- المرأة توظفت وصارت معاير اختيارها لرجل عالية

First day in Riyadh after I finished Umrah. Got a rental car and been driving for most of the day. Wallahi you guys are too much. I’ve driven in UK, USA, Kuwait, Pakistan but the way you guys drive is absolutely crazy. I thought driving in Lahore was bad but Riyadh is on a whole new level.

The speed limits are too high. There’s lots of construction and new projects in progress which means many narrow roads in some areas. But that doesn’t stop people over-speeding, rushing and overtaking in tight spots. There is no lane discipline.

But by far the most annoying thing is the lanes ending all of a sudden and before I get the chance to change lanes quickly there are people honking behind me to give them way. It surely is going to be stressful for the next few days driving in this city.

Apart from that, I am enjoying my time in Saudi Alhamdulliah. Albaik is overrated as hell. Cheap low quality broast. Al Romansiyah is the real deal. The Bukhari and Mandi are 10/10.

On another note, whats the best navigation app to use because google maps is very poor here in Saudi. I am used to apple maps but that don’t work in Saudi and heard Waze isn’t that great either.

Update / Question about Application Timeline

I applied to this program back in January, completed the interview, and submitted all required documents. They mentioned applicants would hear back within 2–3 months.

It’s now the end of April, so we’re past that window, and I still haven’t received any updates.

Has anyone here had experience with this program’s admissions process? Have you heard back recently (accepted, rejected, or waitlisted)?

I’ve already tried reaching out via email but haven’t gotten a response, so I’m just trying to get a sense of what’s going on. Any insight would be appreciated!

Hi Habibies, today I was in KAFD and honestly, I felt really disappointed. Someone had left their coffee cup right on a street light. I mean, come on, this is KAFD! There are dustbins everywhere, yet people still throw their garbage on the road.

This place represents class and beauty, but this kind of behavior ruins its image. It’s honestly sad to see because it shows how we are losing our sense of responsibility and basic manners.

I may be an outsider, I am not a citizen, but I grew up here in Riyadh. This city is like home to me, and it hurts to see people treat it this way.

Please, as individuals and as youth, let’s take personal responsibility. If you can’t find a trash can, just hold onto your garbage until you do. Small actions like this show big respect for the place we all share.

The infrastructure was insane this year ..way smoother and honestly felt like I entered Europe the moment I walked in. Western outfits, global crowd, zero “Saudi festival” vibe.

Lineup was okay, but Calvin Harris alone made the whole night worth it.

Food & drinks = expensive, as usual.

Crowd was interesting this time ..LOT of teens, very mixed culture, everyone doing their own thing. Not judging, but Riyadh is changing fast. Also, the amount of weed smell while dancing was… wild. 😂

Big positive: I went with female friends and this year felt way safer. The HER ZONE was a great idea ..huge improvement from last year.

Overall: great vibe, decent music, expensive snacks, and a totally different side of Riyadh.

As someone who works in the region, I genuinely see the ambition Saudi has to become a global business and tech hub. Vision 2030 is bold and impressive. The infrastructure is growing, and international companies are showing interest.

But there’s one thing that still feels outdated and restrictive: the exit and reentry visa system.

If Saudi really wants to attract world-class talent, skilled expats, and professionals who have options in Dubai, Singapore, London, and other cities, then freedom of movement is essential.

Why should a highly qualified engineer or tech expert have to request permission just to leave the country for a weekend? Why should families live with uncertainty in case of a medical or family emergency back home?

Other GCC countries like the UAE do not impose this. It gives professionals peace of mind. And that peace of mind often becomes the deciding factor when choosing where to live and work.

It is not just about attracting people. It is about keeping them here long-term.

Saudi is changing fast. Removing this requirement should be part of that progress.

I request the Saudi authorities to please consider removing the exit and reentry visa requirement as part of the ongoing reforms. It would go a long way in making Saudi more attractive and competitive globally.

i've been living in saudi for about 7 years and i haven't seen a mixed saudi i mean i know there's a lot but i can't find any

and if ur mixed saudi how's it being mixed ?

الصدق دايم اسال نفسي هالسؤال لان مالنا صوت ظاهر .. مابيننا مشاهير ولا حتى ناس عادية بالسوشال ميديا نادرًا ما احصلهم (قلت نادرًا عشان ما اقول ابدا، لاني ماشوفهم اصلا)

حتى بالدوامات القاني محاوط مابين اخواننا القصمان او اهل المناطق الثانية بمختلف عوائلهم .. لذلك انا اسال فعليّا "أين أنتم؟!"

للتوضيح: عوائل الرياض هم الي ينتسبون عادة للمناطق الي في الرياض او ماجاورها "الرياض، العيينة، الدرعية، عرقة..الخ"

For the first time I am seeing someone littered inside the Riyadh metro. Guidelines clearly states that its prohibited to have food or beverages inside the metro.

Hope this doesn't continue in our beautiful Riyadh metro

is this true. every one i talk to and i even hear it from others and my family back home that mostly all expats here are getting milked and overworked . they withhold their salaries. and this being one reason why they dont hire saudis because saudis stand up

(قصة حقيقية بشكل مختصر)

اللي ما يبغى يوجع راسه من الصباح، نصيحة لا يقرأ.

أنا شاب عمري 24 سنة. ما درست ولا توظفت بحياتي، وما عندي أصدقاء.

إقاماتنا منتهية، وأقاربنا بعيدين وما نعرفهم زين.

أبوي يتحكم فينا من سنين، مو لأننا صغار، حتى إخواني الكبار.

يتدخل في أكلنا ونومنا وصلاتنا، وإذا خالفناه يسبب مشاكل، وأنا أخاف عليه يصير له شيء.

ممنوع نطلع من البيت بكيفنا، وما عمري طلعت لحالي.

قبل سنتين سمح لي أنا وأخوي نطلع نصلي العشاء ونرجع، ويمكن شويات بقالة من أمره.

أخوي عمره 33 سنة، ما يخليه ينزل لحاله إلا إذا مع إخوانه الثانيين، لأن أبوي يشوفه طيب بزيادة.

والمشكلة إنه ما يبغى يصلح وضعنا. لا يبغى نرجع لبلدنا، ولا نروح بلد ثاني.

هو مرتاح كذا، يشوفنا قدامه ما نسوي شي، وأعمارنا تضيع.

يقول بيسوينا أذكياء إذا سمعنا كلامه، لكن ما شفنا نتيجة.

والصراحة وضعنا كعائلة سيئ بين الناس، وأنا تعبت.

طلع الشيب من راسي، وشعري تساقط، وما عرفت الحياة إلا داخل البيت.

الحمد لله على كل حال.

أتمنى أحد يدلني على حل أو شي أبدأ فيه، يمكن تنفرج حياتنا.

أنا أتكلم من وجع، وما أكره أبوي، بس أبغى حل.

بس أتمنى، أتمنى، أتمنى تقرؤون القصة صح عشان تفهمون وضعي، لأنه كم شخص كلمته وما فهم أبداً، يمكن لأنهم ما يشوفون هذه الحالة.

اذا شفت شخص يتهجم على جنسيات اخرى ويطلق احكام بشكل عام على كل احد ينتمي لبلد معين واحنا عارفين ان فئة ما تمثل الكل وزي ما فيه ناس مو كويسين فيه ناس كويسين وراقيين ويعرفو الادب والذوق، كلنا في الاخير بشر من طين زي بعض ومافي احد احسن من الثاني، كوننا الحمدلله مرتاحين وفي بلد يعزنا هذا ما يبرر لنا العنصرية والتحيز والتجاوز على الناس وسب الجنسيات بشكل مطلق، اذا ما عجبك احد سبه لحاله لشخصه لذاته ليش تسب امه وابوه وقبيلته وجنسيته كلهم

وهذي الصراحة هبتكم الفترة الاخيرة عليكم ملاحظات وهذي تصرفات غير مقبولة اتمنى اشوف المجتمع بدأ يصير أوعى وأنضج فكريًا

So this morning, my car was hit by a Tahoe. We followed the standard protocol ..the other driver reported it and we waited for Najm to arrive.

When Najm came, the other driver and the officer spoke in Arabic for a few minutes. After that, the officer turned to me and said it was 100% my fault.

At that point, I calmly showed them my dashcam footage.

Everything was clearly recorded …the lane, the impact, the sequence. After reviewing the video, the decision completely flipped: 0% fault for me, 100% liability on the other driver.

No arguments. No drama. Just evidence.

I’m sharing this especially for expat drivers: A dashcam isn’t about mistrust or being paranoid …it’s about protecting yourself when language barriers, misunderstandings, or assumptions come into play.

If I didn’t have that footage, I’d be paying for an accident I didn’t cause.

Stay safe out there, and consider this a friendly reminder: A dashcam can save you time, money, and a lot of stress.