Interesting, but I don't see Americans emigrating to Saudi Arabia to be part of a "Middle Eastern Silicon Valley." There are just too many obstacles culturally and politically. Here are some examples that came to my attention recently:<p>-Saudi Arabia is one of the least welcoming countries in the world for foreigners.[1]<p>-Saudi Arabians are on average far less racially tolerant. Don't expect to see a SF-style mixing pot without conflict.[2]<p>-The religious laws conflict sharply with US culture and belief, and that goes twice for SF. Homosexual acts, for example, are punishable by the death penalty.[3] Non-muslims cannot worship in public, etc.<p>-Women cannothold certain jobs, including engineering jobs.[4]<p>Saudi Arabia <i>may</i> be the next Silicon Valley, but only for people near the Arabian peninsula who will have an easier time adapting. Westerners will continue to avoid working there until conditions improve from their perspective.<p>[1]2<a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TT_Competitiveness_Report_2013.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TT_Competitiveness_Report_2...</a><p>[2]<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-racially-tolerant-countries/" rel="nofollow">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15...</a><p>[3]<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia</a><p>[4]<a href="http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/viewFile/183/309" rel="nofollow">http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/viewFile/183/309</a>