Life in Jeddah and Saudi in general
Generally, as you've found out, women can not drive and can not work in Saudi. Although you may try applying for a teaching role in expat schools as they are a bit linient. Most of women who work in Saudi are either nurses, doctors, dentists and related to the medical field. So if you're not into the medical field, there's little chance you'll really get work so you have to accept that.you also need to buy and wear an Abaya, the black dress that they wear, everytime you go out. Better to also buy the thing that they put on their head to cover your hair (they're linient about the covering the face) just to be sure so when a Mutawa (religious police) accosts you, you have at least something to show.
Going out by yourself is an option but it might require sometime before you get the guts to do so. First, you have to take a taxi as you can not drive. Unless you really know the driver, I wouldn't suggest it. I myself have been harassed (although that was at 2 in the morning). But I know a couple who were able to find a good taxi driver so they just call him up when the wife needs a ride. And if you do get out by yourself, get used to being stared at. The expat community in Jeddah is not as big as the community in Dhahran/Khobar so local men are "excited" to see expats. It's not that bad though.
Without kids, no outside life, no nightlife, restricted movement (no driving), life would really be a bore for a woman. After visiting all the places that you could visit, you'd find yourself doing mostly nothing. My wife was really complaing when we didn't have a baby yet. But if you have 2 kids, then it's good that you have your day to spend with them, right? I'm sure they're a handful already.
Accomodation is relatively cheap in comparison to Bahrain, Dubai and Qatar. Almost everything is cheap in Saudi I guess.. .from cars, to food, to electronics (cheaper in Dubai though). for 50-60K SR/year, you can live in a pretty decent enclosed villa with swimming pool, gym, tennis courts, etc...Or if you're on a budget, you can get a decent flat/apartment in a building for about 18-30K per month. Don't worry about groceries as it is CHEAP! except for western/imported items. You'd probably be spending about 3-6K SR per month on food and groceries.
School. I'm not too sure about the cost in Saudi as I wasn't yet concerned too much before. In Bahrain, British schools would ask for about 3-4K SR per term (3 terms a year), American schools about 6-10K per year. In Qatar, it's almost the same except much higher for American schools at about 12-15K per term.
So saving is relative on how your lifestyle is going to be....At least this gives you an idea right? But amongst the Middle East countries, if you really want to save a lot of money, Saudi is the place to be.
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