“It’s already difficult saving money to buy an engagement ring and gifts, and also pay for a wedding, let alone renting a flat which could cost around SR35,000. Furnishing is an extra cost,” said Ibrahim Shaker, a 28-year-old bank employee.
“I don’t even make enough money to pay for my car let alone a wedding and an apartment. I really don’t want to begin life with a bank loan but it seems this is the only choice I am left with,” he added.
Some prospective couples see living with parents for a short while after marriage the only solution.
“People say I should get married before it’s too late and I really can’t afford to buy jewelry and have a big wedding, let alone rent a decent apartment which would cost me up to SR40,000 a year,” said Talal Al-Youssef.
“I think my only choice is to pay for the jewelry and the wedding then stay at my parent’s house for a year or two, or until I buy a house. This would help me avoid the headaches associated with paying rent,” said the 32-year-old architect.
Wives should help their spouses pay rent, said Saad Abdul-Mannan, a 30-year-old high school teacher. “I make around SR5,000 a month and pay SR28,000 for a two bedroom apartment a year. As a result, I’m left with nothing to buy groceries and pay electricity and water bills,” he said.
“Women should help their husbands with costs. My wife is a teacher and I sometimes borrow money from her. But I always pay her back. I don’t think I should. She should pay half the rent because we’re both earning,” he said.
Jameel Fouad, a 36-year-old college teacher, said getting married is almost impossible in the current financial climate.
“I started saving to get married some six years ago and I still don’t have enough money. I’m talking about the dowry which would cost me anything between SR20,000 and SR50,000. Then there is the expenses for jewelry, the actual wedding and the house we’d be living in,” Fouad said.
“I collected enough money to cover the wedding and the dowry but I still need to think about the house because my fiancé has asked for a three bedroom villa somewhere close to where her parents live,” he said.
Abdullah Al-Bluwi, chief of the Real Estate Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said newly married couples should look for small-size accommodation. “The price of real estate is high at the moment; newlyweds generally look for new buildings and modern apartments which are very expensive,” he said.
“I recommend newly-married couples do not look for new apartments; they should look for apartments that have two to three rooms because the prices would be more appropriate for them,” he added.
“Of course, the price of rent varies from one place to another,” he said.
