Since I have made the ‘official announcement’ about my job offer, a ton of people have asked me, “Why did you choose Saudi Arabia?”  This is probably the number one question I’ve gotten since getting hired.  And I’ve gotten a lot of questions. So here I will address the newly famous question, “Why Saudi Arabia?”

Every time I get asked this, there is a part of me that wants to say “Why not Saudi Arabia?” and prance away like a gazelle. In reality it is a pretty good question, though. Why would an independent girl from the heart of Appalachia choose to pack up and move to not only one of the hottest regions in the world, but a place that would ban her from driving?

Because the pay is awesome. Seriously. I’m majored in Liberal arts, okay, my degree is in English Lit. It’s not like I have a wide variety of options that will leave me rolling in the dough. My last job paid $9.75 an hour and I thought I was pretty darn lucky with that salary. I’m not going to post my salary on here because it seems tacky, but I will say that it is enough to support me and pay back some of my student loans. But it’s not all about the salary. My job gives me housing, transportation, paid vacation, flights home, and, my favorite, health insurance. Oh and this is really cool, if I work there for a year I get 10 weeks PAID maternity leave for whenever I decide to have kids, plus paid days to get married. Neat, right?

I love the Middle East. As some of you may know I’ve already spent a lot of time in the Arabian gulf. I love it there. The heat, the desert, the sea, the palms, the CAMELS ❤ I just love everything. Plus, Saudi has Makkah and Medina, so it’s a really great chance for me to make hajj or at least pray Umrah.

They hired me. Literally. Can I be perfectly honest for a minute? Saudi Arabia wasn’t my first choice. It wasn’t my second choice, or even my third choice. But it’s where I got hired. When you’re desperate, any job is better than no job. After 150+ job applications plus many duaa’s (prayers) this job was a huge blessing. Not to mention the timing was pretty perfect too.

I am a Muslim. When people think of Muslim nations, KSA is usually one of, if not the first one to come to mind, right? It’s a chance to really grow in my religion without being judged and harassed like I sometimes am in my own country. I can experience life in a Muslim majority area, interact with other muslims, and maybe even learn a little Arabic. It’s not difficult to find halal food, and when I do find it it won’t be super expensive like it is here. It’s easier to find “hijab friendly” clothing. Sure, there are some misinterpertation of the Islamic faith, like it’s not haraam for women to drive so it’s silly that they have that rule. It’s not required to wear niqab, yet women have to. Either way it’s a learning experience and I am grateful to have it.

It’s my dream. Ever since I can remember I wanted to study abroad, but I was never able to afford it. This isn’t exactly studying abroad, but I get to live and work abroad which is just as good. When I was 9 years old I went to a christian school, and all our history classes were about the history and the culture of the Middle East. I became obsessed with it, constantly daydreaming about what life there is like. This is my golden opportunity to make those dreams a reality, and I am not going to let anything stop me. One more check mark on my bucket list 😉

So, in short, those are some of the reasons why I am choosing to move to Saudi Arabia. I was supposed to be leaving tomorrow to go there,  but there was a delay in getting my visa. Want to know why there was a delay? Stay tuned, I’ll post about it soon.

Peace be upon you,

KC