BAH
Ron,
I can't speak from experience about DHL as I did not work for them however I lived in BAH until 11mths ago and can at least give some constructive info on life.
Accommodation: Amwaj Island is 'the' only place to live in my opinion and that of many expats. It is a 6-7mins drive, straight shot, to the airport, regardless of time of day. All of the apartments, condos, townhouses etc are new as this island is man made in the last number of years. The standard of accommodation is very high and surrounded by water and small beaches. There are plenty of amenities and a new large supermarket along with the Lagoon area is pleasant. Amwaj also happens to be as far away as you could possibly be from the crappy parts of town where alot of the 'minority majority' live if you know what I mean.
Amwaj has suffered it's own mini Dubai style real estate crash and many developments are not finished or are empty so prices are probably still falling.
As for schools, there is an excellent school beside Amwaj (5mins drive), international curriculum and other schools not more than 15-20mins drive away.
I've lived all over M.East and have a young family. Bah was by far our favourite place with Ras Al Khaimah coming very close second. My wife and I enjoyed the nitelife, selection of great restaurants and she loved the shopping.
As for DHL, I had heard from a friend over a year ago that the financial situation was precarious so you'd want to check that out. Also, and more importantly, as far as I know they aren't operating any 75's. They have a few different types incl 72's but if my info is accurate then there are no 75's, that would be worth checking also. DHL BAH is not your typical DHL and they have aircraft on the Saudi register and correct me if I'm wrong, possibly an AOC from E.European country under which they are operating Il76's or some such junk.
There is no malice in Slowjet's post however. The island appears to be a tinder box and only the might of the Saudi military plus some others, is all that kept this from going the way of Egypt or Tunisia. The Sunni minority rule the Shia majority, think Hussein's Iraq, and there has always been simmering tension below the surface long before the events of earlier this year. Again, in support of living on Amwaj, it was one of the few places that was completely unaffected by the trouble and some friends who remained on there said they they watched events unfold on TV as if it was another country.
I dont know how much or if the expat scene has changed since the recent troubles but we made some terrific friends there and were sorry to leave them go.
We left BAH and the M.East as it was a better career move for me but our time there was happy and many of our friends who are still there, continue to thrive and say they will not leave unless something really dire happens with the political situaion.
Hope that helped, feel free to pm if you want to know anything else.
Cheers,
D.O.G