Our First Saudi Apartment

Me, I had to smile this morning.

Moving to Saudi Arabia brings unexpected moments of perspective, and our first apartment in AlUla has certainly provided plenty of those. Sometimes expat life isn’t the Instagram-perfect adventure you imagine, but there’s beauty in the imperfect reality of starting fresh in a new country.

The Reality of Our First Saudi Apartment

Our AlUla apartment layout definitely wasn’t my choosing. A large living room, a massive open bedroom, and a hallway of a kitchen that meets the bathroom – it’s one of those Saudi homes designed for scorching summer heat, which means it inherently traps the winter cold (which it is now while I’m writing this with frigid fingers).

Living in Saudi Arabia’s desert climate means adapting to seasonal extremes. Sweaters are layered on while inside to ward off the cold, with my signature blanket scarf (actually a Turkish hammam towel – my personal favorite). Bare feet are unthinkable on these tile floors; instead, I’m wearing socks on top of socks, awkwardly stuck into shib-shib (flip-flops) to avoid the cold surfaces. Our little heater gets wheeled between the two rooms, this one conveniently doubling as a cooktop for tea.

The Kitchen Situation: Expat Life Reality Check

Now this might sound like complaining, but I’m setting the stage for what expat life in Saudi Arabia really looks like. Our hallway kitchen (I can’t even call it a galley kitchen – it really is that narrow) doesn’t hold our mini fridge. Instead, our little fridge is tucked near the doorway in the bedroom.

We brought several kitchen conveniences from Dubai when moving to Saudi Arabia (much to the amusement of border patrol). What made the essential list: the air fryer, toaster, my American measuring cups and spoons, a good chopping knife, and our beloved espresso machine and coffee grinder. Once we arrived in AlUla, we realized we should’ve packed the whole kitchen – cups, plates, forks, and all.

Finding Joy in Imperfect Expat Moments

Fast forward to unpacking our AlUla kitchen, where there’s no counter space for chopping, let alone for the air fryer, and barely room for the off-kilter toaster. So I found a home for our coffee station on top of our mini fridge in the bedroom. Who doesn’t like the smell of coffee in the morning? This way, it’s just that much closer.

As I made coffee this morning, spilling coffee grounds on the cluttered fridge-top already spotted with drops of espresso, I smiled. I smiled at my new mug – a cute dipped ceramic piece that matches AlUla’s earthy tones perfectly. I smiled at Mido’s mug choice, clear and small. I snuggled further into my favorite yellow sweater, a gift from a dear friend, and smiled even more.

The Permission to Feel Everything About Expat Life

You’re allowed to complain about expat life. Life isn’t always peaches and roses or sunshine and rainbows, even when you’re living your dream of moving abroad. Here we are on this great new Saudi adventure, initially halted by COVID and currently defined by the cold walls of this new AlUla apartment.

But I can still smile.

What Expat Life in Saudi Arabia Really Looks Like

This is what moving to Saudi Arabia actually looks like – not the polished social media version, but the real, messy, beautiful reality of starting over in a new country. It’s coffee stations on bedroom fridges, layered sweaters indoors, and finding joy in imperfect moments.

Living in AlUla as expats means embracing the unexpected, laughing at the absurd, and finding beauty in the chaos of creating a new life in Saudi Arabia. Sometimes the best expat stories aren’t about perfect adventures – they’re about the small moments of gratitude that remind you why you took the leap in the first place.

Our first Saudi apartment might not be perfect, but it’s ours. It’s where we’re building our AlUla story, one imperfect, smile-worthy morning at a time.