Expat Life in Riyadh: A Friendly Guide to Settling In

Sarah Green
Dec 17, 2025
5 min read

How to Navigate Expat Life Riyadh With Confidence

Moving to Riyadh often begins in a blur: one minute you’re trying to decode your first grocery shop, the next you’re sitting under palm trees with a cardamom coffee wondering how on earth you got here. Life as an expat in Saudi Arabia is a fascinating mix of the familiar and the utterly new — equal parts adventure, admin, and accidental discoveries.

If you’re fresh off the plane (or still mentally packing), here’s a guide to navigating expat life in Riyadh with more ease, more confidence, and a little less Googling at 11pm.

What Do Expats Need to Know Before Settling in Riyadh?

Starting life abroad can feel like assembling a flat-pack wardrobe without the instructions. But there are patterns and shortcuts, and once you’ve cracked a few, everything feels far more manageable.

Let’s start with the essentials.

1. Understanding the Grocery Landscape in Riyadh

Grocery shopping is an initiation ritual for every new expat. You quickly learn:

Tamimi is where you’ll find British brands, Quaker oats, and the occasional Waitrose product.
Carrefour is great for international staples.
Lulu does an excellent line in Indian and Asian products.
Local bakalas may surprise you with fresh mint, dates, or cinnamon sticks the size of rolling pins.

You’ll develop your own circuit — everyone does — usually based on which supermarket reliably stocks the one thing your child will eat that week.

Quick tip: Ask colleagues or neighbours where they shop. Someone will always know “the place that sells good halloumi” or a Lebanese bakery hidden behind the Diplomatic

Quarter doing za’atar flatbread that ruins you for all future snacks.

Check out our “Where to Buy Groceries in Riyadh” guide.

2. Should You Live on a Compound in Riyadh?

Many expats begin in compounds because they offer a soft landing: pools, playgrounds, a gym, familiar faces, and a ready-made community.

But here’s the thing: don’t let the compound become the whole story.

Riyadh is full of neighbourhoods worth exploring — from Wadi Hanifa walks at golden hour to the buzz of Olaya, the calm of KAFD’s weekend mornings, and the little cafés tucked into Al Malqa and Diplomatic Quarter.

Living on a compound is a comfort blanket. Living in Riyadh happens outside the gates.

3. How Do You Handle Paperwork and Government Services in Saudi Arabia?

Let’s talk admin — the unglamorous but necessary part of expat life in Riyadh.

You will deal with:

Visa renewals
Iqama printing
Insurance updates
Driving licence queries
School attestations

Saudi Arabia runs on digital systems, and the apps are genuinely good once you get the hang of them.

Apps you’ll need:

Absher – for everything residency-related
Tawakkalna Services – increasingly important for government tasks
Najm – after a vehicle bump
Sehhaty – for health appointments

Organising tip: Keep physical and digital copies of everything. Riyadh admin has a way of resurfacing when you least expect it.

Check out our Saudi Apps You Actually Need post for the full download.

Eye-level view of a desk with paperwork and a laptop open to a government services app — Organising paperwork for expat life in Saudi Arabia

4. How Do You Make Friends as an Expat in Riyadh?

This is the quiet worry most newcomers have: Will I find my people?

The truth? The expat community here is wildly varied — families, young professionals, serial wanderers, third-culture kids, long-timers who barely remember life anywhere else.

To build your own network:

Attend PTA or school events (low stakes, surprisingly helpful).
Join group hikes (Al Manjour and Hidden Valley are favourites).
Take Arabic classes, yoga, or art workshops.
Accept invitations — Saudis are wonderfully generous hosts.
Explore beyond the compound bubble.

Friendships in Riyadh often form fast because everyone remembers what it was like to be new.

5. What Are Schools in Riyadh Like for Expat Families?

If you’re moving with children, schools will dominate the early months.

Riyadh has a wide range of options:

British curriculum
American curriculum
IB
Indian and international schools

Tips for navigating school life:

Tour the school — you get a feel immediately.
Join parent WhatsApp groups (helpful, occasionally overwhelming).
Build in time for the Islamic calendar — Eid holidays shift every year.
Expect after-school activities to fill up fast.
Ask other parents about uniforms, transport, and lunch routines.

Schools are also one of the easiest routes to community. You'll find your people in the car park or standing beside a football pitch.

Check out our handy article about how to choose schools and compounds here

Wide angle view of a modern international school building in Riyadh — International school in Riyadh welcoming expat families

6. Must-Have Apps and Tools for Daily Life in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia is quietly brilliant at systems and tech. Some apps you’ll use constantly:

Careem – ride-hailing and (sometimes) grocery delivery
Noon – everything from kettles to craft supplies
HungerStation – food delivery
Google Maps – Riyadh’s road network has Thoughts
NOFOMO, Time Out Riyadh, Riyadizens – for weekend inspiration

Having the right apps makes daily life infinitely smoother.

Check out our Saudi Apps You Actually Need post for the full download.

7. How Do You Adapt to Saudi Culture and Find Your Rhythm?

Saudi Arabia is a country where tradition and modernity sit side by side.

Some things you’ll quickly notice:

Friday feels like a Sunday.
Weekends begin on Thursday night, not Friday night.
Hospitality is serious — gahwa (Arabic coffee) is a gesture of welcome.
Dress codes vary hugely by location.
The call to prayer becomes part of the rhythm of your day.

And yes, you may feel out of place at first. Everyone does. Give yourself time. Eventually, you’ll find your favourite cafés, shortcuts, walking routes, and the particular shade of winter sun that makes this city magical.

8. Making the Most of Your Time Abroad

Living abroad is one of those rare life chapters that feels intense, surprising, occasionally exhausting, and deeply rewarding.

You’ll grow.Your children will grow.You’ll acquire new habits, new friends, new stories.

And Saudi Arabia is a stunning country to explore:

AlUla
The Red Sea coast
Diriyah
Taif
Hidden canyons and desert hikes
Jeddah for a long weekend

Take the trip. Eat the shawarma. Get lost in a neighbourhood. Learn a few Arabic greetings. You’ll be glad you did.

Pop over to our travel section to get some real inspo.

Final Thoughts: You’re Not Just Surviving — You’re Building a Life

If you're reading this, you’re already doing brilliantly. Riyadh is a city that grows on you slowly and then all at once — the people, the humour, the warmth, the sky.

With a bit of savvy, curiosity, and patience, expat life in Riyadh becomes not just manageable, but genuinely rewarding.