I'm an American woman who lived and traveled alone in Saudi Arabia for 4 months. It was clearly a man's world, but I never felt unsafe.

25.10.2023 - 03:15 / insider.com

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Kylee Nelson, a 34-year-old travel nurse who's been to over 40 countries and runs the blog Passports and Preemies. She shares what she experienced while living in the Middle East. It's been edited for length and clarity. 

I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. I grew up surrounded by nature — catching fireflies, spending days at the lake with friends, and driving on dirt roads.

I left the Midwest when I was 18 and took on a nursing job in Kansas City a few years later. Everything changed when I broke up with my boyfriend — I realized I wanted to break out of my shell and started looking for volunteer nursing opportunities abroad. In 2022, I accepted a nursing job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and headed to the Middle East.

I lived in Saudi Arabia for four months. Everything about the new environment felt so different from the Midwest. Here, the brightly colored jackets and baseball caps from home were exchanged for abayas, which are black robes that cover women from head to toe, and thawbs, the long-sleeved ankle-length white robes worn by men.

The weather, too, was vastly different. Days were usually cool in the Midwest; even on the hottest days of summer, temperatures rarely exceeded 85 degrees Fahrenheit. But in Saudi Arabia, I always found a thick smog in the air. It was sweltering hot, and the temperature could rise to 110.

As the daytime heat could be overwhelming, I found that Saudi Arabia came alive at night — locals often spent this time at night markets, hookah lounges, or having big dinners with family and friends. 

One misconception people have is that traveling to Saudi Arabia is dangerous. It's often portrayed as being unsafe for women, but I had the opportunity to meet many kind and beautiful people during my time there. It's a shame that more people don't get to experience its beauty.

While living in Saudi Arabia, I never once felt like my life was in danger, even when traveling solo around the Middle East. My travels included a weekend trip to Bahrain, where I enjoyed the local food and vibrant souks, and a visit to Jordan, where everyone had welcoming smiles. As a woman from the West, I was treated with so much respect. I almost felt coddled at times, especially as locals always tried to make sure that I was enjoying my time in their country. 

I remember that whenever I was waiting for an Uber to pick me up, a man would wait to ensure I got in the car safely.  And whenever I went out to eat, I would receive the warmest smiles and greetings. Men would also sometimes kindly pay for my meals. If there was anything I needed, locals would drop everything to help me.

I had encounters that reminded me that women don't have the same