I worked for a European company (not BAe) in Jeddah for 11 years and I'll pick up on a few points in earlier posts.
Yes, the driving is certainly "different", but most ex-pats sharpen up quickly - and survive. Adapting to UK driving on leave takes a day or so, however, and occasionally resulted in indrawn breath from Mrs LD! But being tied to a driver in Saudi would be very restricting - and would be costly and possibly unreliable.
When I left, two years ago, secondhand car prices were much less than in UK and petrol does really cost pennies per litre. There was a debate whether a tank-like car or a nimble one was best, and I went for "nimble!" In our company, with about 1100 employees, I knew of many traffic accidents involving our people but none where an ex-pat was found to be in the wrong just for being an ex-pat. No doubt it happens, but not in my experience.
Jeddah has some of the best scuba diving in the world, and I seemed to meet lots of BAe people from Taif who were prepared to come to Jeddah at weekends for that - and not just divers, families also. Lots of hotel package deals available.
There are some jobs for women: teachers, nurses, doctors, etc. Jeddah is definitely more relaxed in dress requirements than Taif - abayas for the women and guys usually don't wear shorts in public.
I think since the "new" king came to power in 2005, the country is indeed moving forward into a later century. Women driving has been debated since I went there in 1996, but more and more Saudi women are in the workplace, in finance and banking in particular.
Mistiming prayer time can be a pain, and you ends up joining others, who have made the same mistake, lurking outside supermarkets etc. However, once you work the timings out, it's livable with. I used to leave to go shopping about 10 minutes after the evening prayer call - and the shops are usually closed for about 30 -35 minutes. Shops seem to be until all hours, but closed in the afternoons, other than the big supermarkets, which seem to work 24/7.
I do agree that there may be some Saudis who indeed talk at you and regard all expats with suspicion. However, as the population becomes more educated and "internationalised", and more Saudis work for western companies with western bosses, I saw this situation improve a lot over my time in Saudi.
Compared to Oman, where I also spent a decade with my family, I think there was a great ex-pat spirit in Saudi. I was lucky in having a job I enjoyed; make some great friends; did over 700 scuba dives; paid no income tax; and loved missing the UK winter. However, as in all jobs, it also had its moments!!