Saudi Arabia VS America “Economically"

Saudi Arabia VS America “Economically”

(A citizen’s perspective)

In Saudi Arabia, people think that America is better than Saudi Arabia in all respects. That stereotype can be found under every roof there. Every single child there asking, “When we will be like America?” Actually, I was asking that question until I arrived the country which all children in my country dream to live in. However, I found out that Saudi Arabia overtakes America in several sides such as prices, family bonding and governmental services. For me as a young student who still developing himself, I think that “only prices matter” because of my unstable financial situation. Therefore, I will be focusing in this comparison specifically on the prices differences between Saudi Arabia and America. In fact, what discriminates Saudi Arabia is that it has free colleges, cheap gasoline and low-priced food.

            In every district in Saudi Arabia, there is at least one governmental school for boys and girls. Governmental schools are completely free, and they provide students with books, which are free too. Teachers there get high salaries compared to the prices in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, each city in Saudi Arabia has at least one governmental university. For example, Hofuf which is a small city in KSA has a big university “KFU” that contains many colleges such as engineering, medicine and business. Furthermore, college students do not have to pay for college, it is for FREE.  Besides that, college students live for free in the campus. This is not the end; Saudi students receive monthly stipends too! However, American students have to pay to study in the university even if it was not private “state university”. For example, The University of Texas, which is a public institution, requires $5,164 per semester for in-state residents. In addition, students have to pay for housing too which has different prices depending on the region. For example, In Boston, it is hard to find place to live because of the enormous number of universities, so landlords exploit this chance to raise the prices of rents there. Eventually, the student will be the victim! In short, Saudi government encourages college students by smoothing their studying way which is virtually non-existent in America.

            If you want to visit Saudi Arabia, do not be amazed if you saw school students using their own cars to go to school. Saudi students use cars more than others; they prefer to use their cars even if they live beside their schools. The fundamental reason for that is the cheapness of oil. Until today, you can pay only 0.61 dollar per Gallon. For example, my father pays only 5 dollar to fill his car with oil! Because oil in Saudi Arabia is not a big deal, most of Saudi students have their own cars. On the other hand, I could not believe my eyes when I saw the oil prices in America which equals to six times the price in Saudi Arabia. Because of that, Americans reduce using their cars reluctantly seeking different ways as alternative solutions. One of these solutions is the bus system which covers all American cities. For instance, In Austin, I can go wherever I want inside the city by using the bus system. Actually, I would like to buy a car because it saves my time. For example, if I want to go to Wal-Mart, I have to wait for a bus then I have to wait till I arrive the bus stop of Wal-Mart. However, if I was using a car, I should not wait for anyone, so it saves a lot of time. Unfortunately, I cannot buy it because of the oil price here.

            Another aspect is the food which is a big deal, especially for international students like me. In Saudi Arabia, I get my breakfast, lunch and dinner with a cup of coffee by $16. On the other hand, I pay $35 (at least) to get the same things in America. In Fact, In Saudi Arabia, I can buy with $35 three big meals which can feed three families! In addition, although Coke is an American drink, it costs $0.25 per can in Saudi Arabia while Americans pay more than one dollar for it! The same issue is with water. Even though water is more expensive than gasoline in Saudi Arabia, it stills much cheaper than water in America. For these facts, Saudi Arabia distinctly beats America with prices.

           

In every country, there are negative sides and positive sides. For me as a student I focused on these sides more than others because these aspects are the most important for me and for the people who face the same circumstances that I face. Therefore dear reader, you can realize that all my points were economical points. In conclusion, living in Saudi Arabia is more beneficial economically than living in America.