Job Discussion Forums

[Henry_Cowell]

This is a new job posting in the International Jobs forum here on Dave's. Can the following be true? Most of their teachers can save so much money on such a meager salary?
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New teachers start at 90 rubles per hour. Most teachers earn between $300 and $500 US per month. The school pays the income taxes and provides medical coverage so this is a net amount. Living here will cost you about $150 US per month for food, transportation, and miscellaneous living expenses. The cost of living is considerably less than in Moscow.

Most teachers save $200 to $300 US per month. If money is important to you, you can accept extra work. There are bonuses paid if you teach more than 30 hours per week.

[canucktechie]

Housing is considerably less expensive in Rostov (and everywhere else in Russia, except St. Pete to some extent) than in Moscow, but the school is providing this anyway.

There is a prevailing image in the West that Moscow is some sort of super expensive city. It's not. There is certainly an expensive subculture in Moscow enjoyed by rich Russians and expats, but this is not the way that most people live.

Now certainly some everyday things in Rostov like a trip on the tram or a beer in a pub are going to be a few rubles cheaper than in Moscow. It will be easier to find a cheap cafe rather than a McDonalds. But I have shopped for groceries in the Rostov region, and I can tell you that they are not any cheaper than in Moscow. This is going to be your major expense - I spend about $150/month on food.

Certainly you could get by on $200 a month or so - a lot of local people only make this much - but you are not going to be doing much on this.

Frankly there is no point in working in Russia at all if you want to save money. Go and have a good time.

And further to that, I would say that if you are a male looking for "action", it's better to be making $400/month in Rostov than $650/month in Moscow.

[malcoml]

Canuk,

Please explain action.

[Slim Jim]

Hey, Mr Canuck

Do you want to go and tell every salivating, sex-starved male / would-be language teacher in America and elsewhere that they can get laid in Rostov? The poor town will be filled with them...

If it isn't already.

[canucktechie]

Actually my comment was inspired by a story I had read in the Moscow Times. A lot of women there were looking for foreign husbands, because all of the good men in Rostov were already married, and many had a mistress to boot (hm maybe I shouldn't have said "good men" ).

It is easy to dump on foreign males living in Russia as some kind of sex tourist, but in fact the local men are no better and indeed I would say the foreigners are of better quality overall.

[maruss]

I would agree with the last posting in principle, especially about Moscow.Especially if you are young, girls of your age there tend to be very materialistic and earning $650 per month will definitely not impress most of them when they can find Russian guys and other ex-pats who earn more than that in a week!!Don't ask how they earn it-the girls don't either and just offer their 'goods' as 'payment in kind!!'
Older women tend to value quality rather than quantity,so you may have better chances with them,especially if you behave like a gent. and speak some Russian.
Outside Moscow,things are different and girls who are not outright whores tend to be more genuine and less materially demanding, but it takes longer to get to know them-if you want a quality relationship,the effort is worth it!

[Henry_Cowell]

[maruss]

If you are that way inclined and have few scruples about the social deprivation in Russia(and many other countries for that matter!!) you can find whores almost everywhere as some girls follow that lifestyle out of desperation/habit etc!What I was trying to say is that by no means all Russian girls are like that but in Moscow there is a situation with all the riches-and rags-of a boom town in what is essentially a third world country so quite a few girls there can see the high life and perhaps understandably, they aim for it!In a corrupt society like Russia, there is not much room for sentimentality when getting on, or often just surviving, is involved!

[malcoml]

The same is true in South America a lot of women would prefer not to be walking the streets and a lot of guys would prefer not to be dealing drugs but because of the massive difference between rich and poor they have no choice.

[maruss]

I couldn't have put it better myself Malcolm!Behind everyone of those girls(well at least 99%)is a story of sadness,deprivation and misery,possibly involving child abuse and even rape!And anyone who thinks of'buying' one of them would do well to consider that it could have been his sister/daughter or even mother..............

[garlic and basil]

Prostitution, in its many forms, from outright brothels to women marrying up, is an economic reality. The US government of Bush would have the entire world refuse the working poor the option of making money in what is in many cases better choice, and a free choice (not always of course) than working in a factory or as a maid.

Decriminlaize prostitution now! Sex work is real work. Remember 'our bodies our selves'? What a man does with his body and a woman with hers is no business of the state's - or foreigner do-gooders.

By the way, what does it cost to get laid in Russia?

[Henry_Cowell]

In one notorious instance (Saipan in the American commonwealth of the Mariana Islands), some members of the current U.S. government tacitly SUPPORT prostitution as a requirement for certain female workers. It's a very sad story that you can read about here:

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/sweatshops/saipan/2020expose.html

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/4384.html

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2005_05_16_conservative_con_tom_delay_denies_his_corruption.asp

[malcoml]