# Saudi Arabia or North Korea: where would you rather live? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378 "2010-07-03T01:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/121 "2010-07-08T18:24:37Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > As a Jewish woman, I think I’d be stuck with North Korea. Fun. It happens to be that there is no Jewish community in SA, as far as I know, but are Jews actually unable to live there? Iran is also a repressive Islamic theocracy, but they have a Jewish community. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/122 "2010-07-09T22:40:11Z")
I said NK, but I think this thread has fought my ignorance about how bad it actually is. Switch my answer to SA, even though I’m a woman (and don’t believe the apologism for sexism some of the replies contain) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/123 "2010-07-10T09:14:57Z")
Again, people are not reading the op’s criteria. You are well fed, and properly paid. You can interact within the confines of societal laws. You cannot have a satellite in SA and are stuck with crappy NK TV. From an environmental standpoint, I have the comfort of food and companionship in NK but little ability to travel or explore the world beyond me. In SA I would be giving up companionship in exchange for greater access to media. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/124 "2010-07-11T09:42:12Z")
How are you giving up companionship by living in SA? Besides, even if you live in SA, and can’t get satellite TV, so what? You can still pick up the likes of the BBC World Service, have access to large parts of the internet, and can likely pick up international editions of most western newspapers. I’m not seeing how NK is preferable in this regard. Further, many people have commented on the geography of NK versus SA. Saudi isn’t all [desert](http://www.rhinocarhire.com/images/CountryImages/400x500/Saudi-Arabia-Beach.jpg) and the landscape in the Arabian peninsula can be very impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/125 "2010-07-11T11:57:32Z")
Saudi Arabia by an enormous distance and frankly I am astonished that anyone is seriously picking North Korea which is very possibly the worst totalitarian hellhole in history. Not only is the average standard of living vastly higher in SA, it is a lot more open than North Korea in terms of travel and media and you have a much greater degree of personal freedom in the privacy of your home. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/126 "2010-07-11T12:14:10Z")
BTW I should also note that the OP is full of arbitrary restrictions heavily biased against Saudi Arabia. For [example](http://www.ameinfo.com/108980.html)94% of Saudis have access to satellite TV; so why put a restriction on this? On the flip side only a truly minuscule percentage of North Koreans have a standard of living comparable to middle-class Westerners so this condition makes North Korea look a lot more attractive than it is. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/127 "2010-07-11T12:28:48Z")
Have to say that this thread is an eye-opener. Companionship? Saudis can be accused of many thing but being unhospitable is definatly not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Radegast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@Radegast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Radegast)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/128 "2010-07-11T17:44:34Z")
Unfortunately, your rules are absurd. What you are offering in North Korea is completely impossible. “You will have a comfortable material lifestyle that is the equivalent of a middle-class household in the United States or Canada, including free access to health care and education. In NK, you’ll sill have plenty of food through famines. In Saudi, no bacon; you’re stuck with a halal diet.” I’ve been to NK. Pretty much no one has that lifestyle there. For those who think “how bad could it be?” the answer is “worse than you could ever imagine.” Please consider that even if you are lucky enough to get permission to live in Pyongyang, the show city, you will seldom have electric power. No internet, no outside media, no contact with people outside NK. Once you’ve been to the one bowling alley and the handful of restaurants, that’s it. You can see all of the sights in Pyongyang – ALL OF THEM – in two days. Most people live lives of bare existance outside Pyongyang. People were gleaning the fields for whatever might possibly remain. I passed a road repair project. They were making gravel the old-fashioned way – with sledge hammers. They don’t have power to run rock crushers, or the trucks or the fuel to transport it from a gravel pit. It is entirely possible to live quite well in Saudi Arabia, even as a woman. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/129 "2010-07-11T17:55:43Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > How are you giving up companionship by living in SA? > > Besides, even if you live in SA, and can’t get satellite TV, so what? You can still pick up the likes of the BBC World Service, have access to large parts of the internet, and can likely pick up international editions of most western newspapers. I’m not seeing how NK is preferable in this regard. This made me change my mind. The degree that NK is isolated really freaks me out. And the _1984_-style Propaganda FM all the time. Plus the poverty of the place and having to deal with extreme cold. Ugh. I watched the Vice guide. It’s just…bizarre. I almost wish they had shown more of the NK refugees in the South, to get an idea of what people are really like under the insanity. ---
**Author:** ![Radegast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@Radegast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Radegast)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/130 "2010-07-11T20:22:20Z")
We fought a lot of ignorance about the US and Americans when we were in NK. I had some interesting experiences and some surprising conversations with both government and ordinary people. One of the most memorable experiences was when I showed the waitress at breakfast one morning the photos of my kids that I keep in my wallet. The entire hotel staff came to look. It was like they had been told Americans were spawned in pods… They only get “extreme cold” in the regions that border Manchuria. It gets cold in North and South Korea, but not much colder than it gets in Pittsburgh or Chicago. It isn’t usually even Minnesota cold. I blame MASH for creating the perception the Korea is really cold. They did have some exceptionally cold winters during the war, and where the show is set is one of the coldest spots in South Korea, but it is not usually extremely cold there. It seldom snows in Seoul. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/131 "2010-07-11T21:16:23Z")
> [@Radegast](#): > > They only get “extreme cold” in the regions that border Manchuria. It gets cold in North and South Korea, but not much colder than it gets in Pittsburgh or Chicago. It isn’t usually even Minnesota cold. I blame MASH for creating the perception the Korea is really cold. They did have some exceptionally cold winters during the war, and where the show is set is one of the coldest spots in South Korea, but it is not usually extremely cold there. It seldom snows in Seoul. I live in Britain, where weather is never extreme. Chicago probably constitutes extreme cold for me. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/132 "2010-07-11T21:36:00Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Have to say that this thread is an eye-opener. > > Companionship? Saudis can be accused of many thing but being unhospitable is definatly not one of them. Campanionship and hospitality are 2 different things. Companionship, specifically with the opposite sex, is a deal breaker in this situation. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/133 "2010-07-11T21:40:34Z")
Reluctantly, I think I’d have to pick Saudi Arabia, because being utterly cut off from my family and news of the outside world would be a deal-breaker. (I also suspect that the job market for English teachers, even female English teachers, is better in Saudi Arabia, and as long as I could have a job I don’t think I would go completely nuts.) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/134 "2010-07-12T01:51:24Z")
I have met many Saudi’s and without exception, they have all been very nice people. I could imagine living there would be interesting and an adventure! From my limited contact, Saudis are well-educated, friendly and worldly. Granted, there are some customs in Saudi Arabia that might take time to adapt - but to be honest, there are customs in the backwoods of Mississippi that would take me some time to adjust to. Hell, for that matter, adapting to NYC, Berlin and LA was no picnic for me either - but learned to adjust quite nicely and loved living in those places as well. Maybe I just have less problem living somewhere without complaining that it “isn’t like we do back home.” Get over it. One of the joys of living elsewhere is to learn that not everything you do is “normal” to everyone else on earth. ---
**Author:** ![PackLeader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@PackLeader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PackLeader)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/135 "2010-07-12T03:10:56Z")
Korean women are better looking. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/136 "2010-07-12T12:22:44Z")
Saudi women are not emaciated. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/137 "2010-07-17T05:28:47Z")
I have to switch my vote to Saudi Arabia after what I saw on the news. In NK, they amputate limbs without anesthesia. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/138 "2010-07-17T05:31:34Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Saudi women are not emaciated. How would anyone ever know? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/139 "2010-07-17T06:40:47Z")
To anyone thinking they’d prefer life in North Korea I’d urge you to watch the following clip, which is of Christopher Hitchens describing a trip he once took to North Korea and what life is like there. [Link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8-Vr_r36Fg) It was illuminating to hear what he has to say about life in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and in Iran during that appearance too. The links are all there on the Youtube page, and because Hitchens speaks for roughly ten minutes on each country it would take roughly half an hour to go through them all. It’s time well spent in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378/140 "2010-07-17T14:11:52Z")
Can I find a sexual partner in either place? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-or-north-korea-where-would-you-rather-live/545378.md?page=6)