Have you ever dreamed of packing it all in and jetting across the world to live somewhere exotic? That's exactly what Samantha Barker did, setting up camp in Saudi Arabia with her partner and children, living next to the $500 billion NEOM city.
Going viral on TikTok as a so-called 'digital ambassador' for NEOM, Barker lives in the NEOM camp, which is made to house employees and those helping construct the actual city. Described as a "technologically advanced residential housing complex for Neom employees and staff," NEOM camp holds up to 10,000 residents in the middle of the desert.
Barker's channel is full of her day-to-day routine, covering everything from trips to the salon to the mall, joining her neighbors at the NEOM Beach Games to what it's like being British and living in Saudi Arabia.
NEOM is a massive project, made famous by its giant linear city known as 'The Line'. Launched by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2017, it's hoped that much of the city will be finished by 2030. In the meantime, there are plenty of stories from those like Barker who are living in the camp accommodation.
Advert
One thing you might not expect is just how cold it can get out there. While one of Barker's videos has her sweating while playing football in 104°F, another explains an unexpected reverse of this when playing at night.
As the temperature plummets at night, Barker says: "It's absolutely freezing now. I don't know why, but before I lived in the Middle East, I never dreamed that in the desert, it would ever get cold. Does anyone else think like that?"
She adds: "It's actually very surprising, but here we are in the cold, the freezing cold, going to play football. Wish me luck."
Barker shared a picture of her in her NEOM Ladies Football uniform and then referred to Saudi Arabia in winter as 'the dream'.
The supermarkets in the camp are stocked with familiar treats from back home, there's a Dunkin' Donuts and a Starbucks, while everything in this temporary community is designed as a utopian precursor to the main NEOM city.
There have been some concerns that it's not as idyllic as these 'mumfluencers' make it seem, with Human Rights Watch sharing worries about the welfare of NEOM's migrant workforce being crammed into conditions with leaky roofs. The Wall Street Journal also posted a concerning piece claiming "gang rape, suicide, attempted murder and drug dealing" are all common on the construction site.
Whatever is really going on at NEOM, there are more and more TikTok influencers at least trying to make it look like a pretty nice place to live.