Job Discussion Forums

[tjhoult]

Hey,

Got a job offer for Moscow and need to know the cost of living. I've searched the other posts, and found a comprehensive breakdown of many things, but no simple answer. I know, life's not simple, but i've never been to russia, and have no idea how one 'gets by'.

So...a rough ball park figure...how much do you need to spend a month. We're couple, both working at the same place, but need accommodation. Not big or luxurious...just enough space for two and a few people over from time to time. Oh, we don't drink...so less the clubs/ bars costs.

Please help...how much will we NEED, if we were being frugal?

Thanks a lot.

[oxi]

$500 a month

[tjhoult]

Thank you oxi. My new hero.

Does anyone agree/ disagree?

[expatella_girl]

You should browse the Russia folder a bit to get an idea of the cost of living for a teacher in Moscow.

A good place to start would be here: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=59905

Even the Russians won't work for $500 a month, whatever kind of job has pay that low, they import Tajiks to do it.

Not a prayer of surviving in Moscow on $500 a month.

[ontheroadagain]

[rusmeister]

Yeah, oxi is joking. That would set you up to leave Russia much earlier than expected, trying to borrow money from friends and family via Western Union to bail you out. Food prices have shot up dramatically. A can of corn costs upwards of 36 Euros now, and grains like rice and buckwheat, which had been stable, are climbing up from 20 r a packet (300-500g) to 40 and higher. (Even at a bull exchange rate of 25 r /$ that still represents a general doubling of prices)

In short, EG and OTRA are right.

Now who's your daddy? (I mean 'hero'?)

[oxi]

Being honest the comment was designed to get some retorts and maybe some straight answers as requested. I'm a bit of of date I'm afraid - but the OP didn't want details.

In a tiny bit more detail, my experience was summer school, accommodation paid, 2004, and I didn't drink much, so $500 got me food and in and out the country

I'm still waiting on the really rude stuff to come like - "it depends on you, read all the previous posts, how dare you ask such a question?"

But hope I'm wrong...

[expatella_girl]

[expatella_girl]

Soaring Prices Push Expats Into Suburbs

Rising apartment rental rates are putting the squeeze on the city's expatriates, forcing Westerners accustomed to prime real estate to start settling well beyond the familiar streets inside the Garden Ring.

"We are seeing a trend of expats moving to the suburbs," said Michael Bartley, general director of real estate agency Four Squares.

With rents increasing across the board at 15 percent in the first quarter of the year, "People are being forced out of the center," he said.

Expats, once tightly clustered within walking distance of the Kremlin and Arbat, are now being driven beyond the Garden Ring, the 16-kilometer road that encircles the capital's pricey central neighborhoods.

"When people move to Moscow, one of the cast-iron parameters has always been to be inside the Garden Ring. Now expats are realizing that that's no longer feasible," Bartley said. "If you're a lower-level executive, you can't afford to pay $2,500 to $4,000.

"It's always been a bit of an anomaly here," he said. "It's very unlikely to say, 'I want to live within two kilometers of St. Paul's in London."

Inside the Garden Ring, rents for a one- or two-room apartment of 50 to 90 square meters in a typical building now run from $2,500 to $4,000, said Victoria Opolskaya, head of the residential property rental department at Blackwood.

Bartley said an apartment with "decent, European-level repairs" in the center is now starting at $2,500 per month. Outside the Garden Ring, rents are running from $1,500, he added.

Those not willing to downgrade on the quality of their apartments are moving primarily toward Moscow's western and northern districts, Bartley said.

"We had a very fast start [with rising prices] in the first half, then it quieted down. Traditionally in autumn there is an increase, but because of the rapid increase at the start of the year, I don't see how it could continue," he said.

And instead of moving out, some expats appear to be huddling together, looking for roommates or to rent a room in someone else's apartment.

For July through August, the average rent asked for an ordinary room in Moscow was 21,769 rubles ($856), according to data compiled from Expat.ru's online real estate bulletin-board postings.

The average rate for a one-room apartment was 36,459 rubles per month, or 1,181 rubles per square meter. For one-room apartments inside the Garden Ring, the average rental rate was 42,217 rubles, as opposed to those outside, which averaged 32,394.

Landlords were asking for an average of 73,406 rubles per month for a two-room apartment outside the center, or 1,436 rubles per square meter. Inside the Garden Ring, the average asking price was 74,850 rubles ($2,964).

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1009/42/370768.htm

[ontheroadagain]

Why do they always have to remind us over and over that local teachers take home 600, 700 USD and don't have free accommodation.

For 1200USD they are asking me to work 45 hours/weekly, and 'm doing allkinds of tape recordings ...... on the top. WTF ? ? ?

[canucktechie]

I am paying 23,000r for a one room apartment at the end of the metro, and that was a recent increase, so I would think it's the going rate.

Food costs are comparable to Western countries. It depend on what you eat of course, if you're into bread you'll do very well.

[Red and white]

[tjhoult]

Right,

I'm British and don't think I'd have any trouble getting by on around half the prices quoted here living in London. I know Moscow is expensive, but if it's true that a an of corn costs over 30 Euros, i won't buy corn.

I'd like to think, two people earning a combined $4000 will be able to save money in Moscow. If the accommodation wasn't flashy.

Would anyone agree that's the case?

[canucktechie]

A single person paying for his own apartment in Moscow can live on $2000/month and that includes eating in restaurants (sometimes) and entertainment. Been there, done that, last year.

[rusmeister]