Life reserves sometimes unexpected turns. If you are an engineer who has always lived in Milan, who studied at the Milan Polytechnic and got married to a Sardinian girl, but starting a family in Lodi, you certainly don't expect to find yourself living in the desert less than 10 years later. Yet it happens. This is the story of Francesco, who today he finds himself working in Saudi Arabia against all his expectations.
Working in Saudi Arabia: the first transfer
You were born and lived in Milan, what prompted you to leave?
I studied electrical engineering. After graduation, I immediately found a job in oil & gas sector. However, many projects take place abroad and I had the opportunity to move from Italy in 2010. They should have been only three months in Great Britain and then a year in Turkmenistan. The works went slowly, the three months became twelve and at the end I have decided to settle in Great Britain, look for a more stable job and bring my family.
Your wife and your daughter.
Yes, we had lived apart and we have reunited. The girl was three years old at the time. Great Britain immediately fascinated me. I was struck by the many opportunities it offered. I've made a lot of friends. Unfortunately, now there we live in the uncertainty of what will be there Brexit, although for me the referendum it was one farce. Not only because the campaign that preceded it was based on lies, but also because, considering who went to vote and the result, only 27% of those entitled voted to leave the European Union. 27% of those entitled to vote in a consultative-only referendum is not the will of the people. It was not a democratic process.
Working in Saudi Arabia: a desert adventure
Now you are separated again, what happened?
In December of last year, things changed again. The industry is experiencing a steep downturn and companies are moving businesses and projects to where it costs less. The one I was working for until a few months ago had Thailand as its destination. I wasn't going to go that far though, so I looked for another accommodation.
Saudi Arabia is a mecca for expats.
Here I am very selective. In my case they were looking for a figure with a lot of experience but under the age of 50. For me it was a great opportunity, but to get the job I had to go through a tough selection. Once you are hired, however, you have a lot incentives, like the paid apartment, in which you are cleaned and your laundry washed, but also - and above all - theabsence of taxes on employee work.
Working in Saudi Arabia: Immerse yourself in a different culture
How do you live in a country that is so different from any state that has a Western-style culture?
You live in Saudi Arabia good. It is not a tourist place like neighboring Barhein, but a country where life revolves around religion. Everything stops, literally, for the five daily prayers, including the shops that close the shutter. Even the Friday, which is the holy day of Muslims, is respected by all: until three in the afternoon the locals are dedicated to prayer, rest and family, no one can be found on the streets, all shops are closed and do not even go around public transport.
Working in Saudi Arabia: the differences
How has your life changed since you've been there?
THU work starts at 7 in the morning and ends at 5.30. Virtually the whole day is dedicated to work. A different pace than I was used to in Britain, where if I went to the office early it was to have some precious hours of peace to work quietly. The other big difference is that I live in a compound, a sort of village closed and controlled by private guards with the support of the army to ensure the safety of the Westerners inside.
My compound houses about 500 homes, including apartments like mine, a studio apartment for those who come here alone, and independent houses and villas for families. You don't even need to get out of here, everything is there. The swimming pool, the supermarket, the services. If you go out there is the sea and the possibility of going for walks. But if you are looking for something that resembles the Western way of life you have to move and go all the way to Barhein, which is half an hour away by car.
Obviously then there is the distance from family. I come back about every three months. I try to make my holidays coincide with half term of the girl (editor's note, the half term is a week off from school within the quarter). I have 24 days of vacation, I have to make the best use of it to be able to spend some time at home.
To find out more about Italians who emigrate abroad, read also , promising.
