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Germany: Considering a Move:
Many things that one naturally worries about will prove to be no problem at all. DoD, for example, will handle everything involved in moving your furniture and personal belongings. DoD also used to ship your own car to Europe. Whether they still do that, I am not sure.
Once in Europe, you can purchase cars on some of the larger military bases--both new and used. If you buy a car in Germany, you'll have to decide whether to buy one with American specifications or German.
DoD has comissaries where you will be able to purchase American foods and other products. How close one is to Stuttgart, I don't know, but if you get desperate for American pancake mix or an American cut of meat, you can get to a comissary somehow.
One personal comment: Once in Germany, it is possible for Americans to ghettoize themselves, that is, socialize only with other Americans. That would be a great loss.
With a little effort, you will be able to find groups where you can meet Germans and/or nationals from other countries. Joining such groups will enrich your experience enormously.
Where to live in or near Stuttgart, I do not know.
Saudi Arabia: Women in Saudi:
You mention your prospective husband. You must be married to enter Saudi Arabia in the company of a man. So . . . it is essential to actually get married. Women can only work in the most restricted circumstances. It will depend on your profession and qualifications, but opportunities are extremely limited.
Women may not drive on public streets or highways in SA. Period. They get around with their husbands. Many compounds arrange shopping trips for women.
Generally speaking, women may wear what they like in the compounds.
Saudi Arabia: Moving and Living to Ryadh:
We need more information. One does not simply move to Saudi Arabia. One is hired, and the hiring company, institution, or agency sponsors you so you can get a visa. Of course, spouses or children can get visas as dependents of the peron hired. Otherwise, you can't even enter Saudi Arabia.
Single women especially need sponsorship to get a visa. Would you be coming as a dependent or as a single woman?
That compounds would hire a professional like you seems very, very doubtful to me. Perhaps a hospital, a medical practice, or a social agency might engage such a professional. Agencies which recruit various professionals might have listings in this field.
Saudi Arabia: Customs Restrictions??:
The Buddhas should definitely be stored elsewhere or shipped home for relatives to store.
In general, Islam forbids statues of living (or once-living) creatures. If customs inspectors see the Buddhas in your household shipment, or in your luggage, the Buddhas will most likely be confiscated. They will certainly not be admitted to Saudi Arabia.
In addition, religious icons, statues, crosses, medals, books, or other writings, if they are identifiable as non-Muslim, will be confiscated. Buddhas would probably be seen as violating both strictures: statuary and religious item.
Customs inspections are generally very thorough whether of household goods or luggage at the airport.
Of course, people sometimes try to smuggle in small items, but if your Buddhas constitute a collection and/or are valuable, I'd never suggest taking a chance.
Saudi Arabia: Salary info?:
The most sophisticated employers in Saudi Arabia definitely pay different salaries to different nationalities. In general, salary schedules are based on salaries in one's home country adjusted upward for expatriate conditions.
For some nationalities the adjustment is a percentage increase. For other nationalities, it may even be a multiple of your salary at home.
The sophisticated employers are well aware of every aspect of the market, including whether you will be exempt from taxes in your home country.
Regardless, salaries in SA are going to be higher than what you can earn at home for equivalent work.
Saudi Arabia: Banking in Saudi...:
Undoubtedly you will get additional advice from others, but for one thing, I would ask your Canadian bank which is its corespondent bank in
Saudi Arabia. Chances are, they have one, though the name of that bank is not one that will come trippingly off the tongue of your average bank clerk. The clerk will have to query someone in your bank's international department.
It has been some years since we liived in SA, but knowing corespondent banks has been helpful while working in any number of countries.
Saudi Arabia: is possible to visit my saudi boyfriend in his city?:
As a non-Saudi, I would say no, not a chance. Of course, your Saudi boyfriend may be so well connected that he can perform miracles. You would have to ask him.
When it comes to obtaining visas, you have to be a member of the famiily you are visiting, and in the case of an adult, unmarried woman, you would have to be visiting a blood relative. An unmarried woman getting a visa to visit an unmarried man is absolutely taboo.
You should understand that even if your boyfriends were able to perform miracles getting you a visa, your visit would be like home arrest. You would have to stay always in his family compound. He could not drive you around or take you anywhere public. Even if you were in his family compound, it would be common for you to spend most of your time with other women in the household--assuming they were willing to accept you, a very generous assumption indeed. Both of you would be subject to arrest if you were caught together.
Saudi Arabia: can somebody give advice:
It has been some years since we were in SA, but you are moving very soon, and you may not hear from people with more recent experience before you go.
You ask what clothing you should bring. The basic idea is that your clothing must be modest, and wearing anything immodest will almost certainly get you into trouble. Modest means long skirts (remember them?), slacks or jeans (neither one tight), long sleeves, and high necklines. High necklines aren't restricted to turtle necks, but no cleavage should show, and jewel necklines are better.
This dress code is for being in public, in the Saudi community. On a compound, you would have much more flexibility, but fighting local customs is ill advised and fruitless. You are not going to be in Kansas any more.
In fact, neither my wife nor my daughter were put out by having to dress according to acceptable Sauid norms. It wasn't much bother, and it seemed poliite. We were guests, after all. In fact, my college age daughter loved wearing the abaya. Her thinking was that she could wear absulutely anything under it, even a swim suit, and no one could tell or object. The abaya looks rather like graduation regalia, and when she graduated from college she wore her abaya. It was nicely trimmed and looked much sharper than the normal graduation gowns.
Whether you will be expected to really cover up in public with an abaya or a head scarf varies according to what part of Saudi Arabia you will be living in. You did not say.
There is hardly anything sold in the world which is not readily available in Saudi Arabia, but if you are very partial to particular brands of underwear, as many people are, it is sensible to bring a good supply along in case it is hard for you to locate locally.
In many areas, women have little or no access to public sports activities. Consequently, depending on where you will be living, you may not want to haul along a lot of stuff you won't be able to use.
Saudi Arabia: Electricity in KSA:
It seems to me that kitchen appliances will be provided with your apartment--in which case, you will have to make room for duplication.
I'd ask the human resources people at your new company about the apartments they put their employees in and how those apartments are equipped.
Germany: Should I move to Germany?:
Any graduate degree less than a Ph.D. will not give you much of an edge in seeking work in Germany. For one thing, Germans are usually not very impressed with American masters degrees. TESOL, on the other hand will have some cachet and will actually help you get a job teaching English.
As for English teaching jobs themselves, the fact is that they do not pay much and often do not pay a predictable salary whether you work for one of the many language schools or in public adult education schools. Nevertheless, if you are single and expect only to get by, such work will sustain you.
Once in Germany and started, you may then look around for free-lance work, for example, in a corporate setting. However, your likelihood of going free-lance will probably require real fluency in German--which may take you some time.
Keep in mind also that getting permission to live in Germany--or other EU nation--is not all that easy. You can move there as a tourist and then find a job, but to stay there for more than six months requires getting a work permit and a residence permit.
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