Travel Nursing US (San Fo) vs Riyadh,Saudi for 1 year

Reigen · May 24, 2012

Generally, Saudi Arabia does not allow expatriate women to sponsor a visa for their husbands or dependents. With special exceptions, which must be granted both by the employer and the Saudi Government, you might get one.

If a position is in mid-level clinical management, such as Nurse Managers, Laboratory Supervisors, etc., men are offered married-status contracts (which pay for airfare, housing, healthcare, and children’s education for the spouse and two children); however, women are offered single-status contracts.

Now, if a woman on a single-status contract is, under some condition, given permission to sponsor her husband, she will certainly face a number of complications, including financial strain. (Keep in mind that most people traveling to the Middle East are looking to save money.)

First, on a single-status contract, she would be responsible for her husband’s visa medical costs, visa application costs, and airfare. Further, the hospital would not offer benefits for her husband and health insurance costs would amount to thousands of dollars. (These costs would, of course, also apply to a man on a single-status contract who obtained permission to sponsor his wife.)

Regarding accommodations: If a woman were allowed to sponsor her husband, she would not be allowed to live in hospital-provided housing. (It is also not common for an employer to give a woman a housing allowance in lieu of hospital-provided housing.) She would not be able to rent property in her name, and a person with property to rent would not usually rent to a foreign, unemployed man. Also, as told by my nurse friend in Saudi Arabia that property is often rented for extended periods of time (with payment up-front) rather than, as in North America, on a month-to-month basis. So, should she even be able to rent accommodations, with the high cost of housing, her savings would significantly be reduced.

Since women cannot drive, she would have to hire a personal driver, or pay for a cab to/from work daily, or have her husband drive her to/from work daily, all of which would be expensive. Not complicated enough? Her husband wouldn’t be able to obtain a Saudi driver’s license without an igama (residency permit), and he could not get a car without a Saudi driver’s license.

Depending on her husband’s profession/experience, he may find it very difficult to find a job in his field in Saudi Arabia. And, if he found work similar to what he does at home, he may be working for a fraction of his present income, as he would be competing directly with individuals from Asian countries.

If, for example, you are a Registered Nurse and your husband works as an engineer, recommend that he find a position first, before you considered relocation. Positions for experienced RNs in acute-care are usually available.

For travel in the USA it would be far easier to get to the assignment and a better possibility that your husband could also find work. Housing if a travel position most likely would be obtained by the agency, and also utilities as well. You and your husband probably have a driver's license nd car so no need to have to try to get one from a forgein country. $58,000 tax free, sounds good, but you could make far more than that traveling for a year depending on your specialty and area.

I hope this gives you some information so that you can make a good informed decision.

Reigen

MissRN80 · May 24, 2012

Thank You Reigan for your response...My husband is willing to stay here in the US (and thinking about it makes me NOT wanna go to the middle east route). I've been to Saudi but didn't work in a hospital before. I was just looking for a way to save and save and pay loans. Really? More in travelling within US? I was worried pay here in the US will be used up in housing,transportation and taxes...

MissRN80 · May 24, 2012

Reigan, I really do appreciate your input here!

sweetgurly25 · May 24, 2012

@missrn80, i think it depends how you spend you money. i think travel nurses get to a location and think they are vacation and spend most of their money. if you diligent you should save quite a bundle. CA is a high paying state i am sure if you work there for a period of time it would be worth it. Just watch out on your expenditures.

NedRN · May 25, 2012

Personally, I wouldn't work in the Middle East for 100 thousand a year tax free! Crunching the numbers is really difficult and it is true that travelers have different results in what they save, but for most travelers total hourly compensation comes out to upper 40s and higher. You can figure that 10 to 20 thousand is in housing expenses, but the rest is yours. With most agencies, a large percentage of your pay is tax free.

You also get to stay in the US, and keep your husband. Done right (not sure how marketable you are), you should be able to knock 30 thousand off your debts in a year. If you want to work really long hours for a company like Fastaff, it could be twice that or more. Even with the extra work, still better than Saudi, especially for a woman.

The only real reason to work in a place like Saudi is the easy access to Europe for quick holidays in my opinion. But then no savings. A few people are fascinated by the culture in the Middle East, so that is valid. But money? Not a chance.

CVmursenary · May 27, 2012

If you land a job in SF you'll be making twice what you'd be making in Saudi Arabia; and you wont be treated like a second class citizen either.

BearishBob · May 31, 2012

Can I suggest something different? I looked at the same options recently. Saudi doesnt grant visa's for male nurses. So that was out for me, but also I wouldnt move to a country that treats women like property. While you are in Saudi, you are subject to their laws. Imagine the worst case scenario. You could be in a Saudi prison, for a reward of only 58 grand. Seems like the risk just wasnt worth the reward.

I found travel nursing to be like buying a used car. Sometimes you get a great deal and everything runs something. Other times you get low pay and work hellish conditions. The worst part is you never really know how good of a deal you got until you're already there. In your situation, it means either bringing your husband with you or leaving him at home. Either way the expenses add up. If you bring him with you, some agencies make you pay more for housing for two. Then he has to find a job. If he stays at home, your going to eat up all kinds of money on trips home and phone time.

This all brings me to where Im at now. I work per diem for a small hospital. The pay is pretty phenomenal for the area. Im currently making double the hourly wage I was at a major hospital. You can expect to make 1.5 to 2 times the wage you make now, sans benefits. I'm paying off debt and working less hours. I didnt have to leave my house.