Rent a Tent, Then!

I was really ready to be sympathetic to this. Rents, unless you qualify for Section 8, are high everywhere. Is there such a thing as "Section 8," here? The article says that "Sky rocketing rents of apartments and houses are making a big hole in the pockets of citizens and the expatriates alike... are bothering the young Saudis of marriageable age who cannot tie the nuptial knot now because of the sharp increase in rents." Not a situation much different than in areas in the States insofar as the rent of an apartment being just barely affordable, especially for young couples.

Then I read Hamed Al-Lehiani's statement - he is an engineer and he is going to be married this summer:

"We as Saudis cannot rent a small apartment because of our traditions, and this makes it all the more difficult for us to find a perfect and low-cost apartment."

Sympathy for arrogance??? I've got none!

Exactly what "traditions" are you referring to, Hamed? Traditionally, not all that long ago, Saudis were not living in big apartments or houses. The discovery of oil, here, some seventy years back, is what changed everything.

I grew up in a big Colonial house in New England - a ten room house - so by Hamed's theory, when I married my husband, we never should have rented that teeny, tiny little 700 square foot apartment [and it was probably much smaller than 700 square feet: kitchen/living room combination with ONE bay window, two bedrooms and a single bathroom]. So much for tradition...

Hamed is full of crap. Traditionally lived Saudis in "canvas" homes. Perhaps he should be looking for a tent to rent!