"Bachelors" in Saudi Arabia

They may be married but they are known as ‘bachelors’ in Saudi Arabia. They are expatriate men who stay here as singles and who are forced to live like nomads except for those leaving in a company villa or accommodation provided by their sponsors.

The Saudi Arabia labor law grants a housing allowance equivalent to 3 months of the basic salary. If a bachelor is not meticulous in his habitat, he could save more from his housing allowance.

However, hard they try to find a home of their own here, most fail because landlords and real estate companies refuse to rent flats to ‘singles’ even though the law does not prohibit them from doing so.

But very few landlords rent out houses to bachelors as they are perceived to be noisy and untidy. Also, families with daughters don’t feel comfortable living in buildings that accommodate bachelors, even as other families rent out rooms to bachelors to augment their earnings in the face of the rising cost of living.

Once they rented a small room, they do not buy furniture or install amenities in their rooms because they are not sure of staying long in any one place.

A friend of mine is receiving SR4,000.00 (US$1,100) monthly salary and is entitled to a handsome housing allowance of SR12,000.00. Luckily, he was able to share a flat somewhere in Hara costs SR200.00 per month. Hence, he got a sure extra savings of SR9,600 (US$3,000) a year.