Job Discussion Forums

YAMARI · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 247 Location: shanghai

I have been offered a non-teaching job in St. Petersburg. I will get 1300 a month plus commisions. She is not being clear of the amount of comision and says my apartment will cost 1000 a month.

So with 300 left over and a uncertain amount of comissions I am having second thoughts.

How much does it cost to live there a month. Is 1000 for a flat a usual charge. How much bond do you pay?

Is St. Petersburg safe for a single non Russian speaking guy to walk around most places.

expatella_girl · Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:15 am Post subject:

Whatever it is, this *offer* is a scam. Everything you said reeks of fraud. Don't touch it.

YAMARI · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 247 Location: shanghai

The job is not a scam. My question was how much does it cost to live in St. Petersburg? I will have 300 left after rent plus commisions. When I start out I will have low commisions so I was asking how much does it cost to live per month.

I also wanted to know how safe it was?

expatella_girl · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:29 am Post subject:

So you've been offered a 'job' in St. Petersburg with a net profit of $300 a month.

No, you absolutely positively cannot live on $300 a month.

expatella_girl · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:32 am Post subject:

And uh, I suppose you have a Russian work visa, right? This company is going to sponsor your visa? Or if they don't, how do you plan to stay in St. Petersburg long enough to pay the $1,000 rent?

maruss · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 1145 Location: Cyprus

Don't even think about it!Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, but even then it would have been low.These kind of jobs with hardly any salary and supposedly super commissions are dodgy even in the West-going to Russia on this basis is more than risky,especially with the new work-permit and visa rules there etc!
Do they expect you to sell time-sharing or maybe real estate which has not yet been built(and probably never will be!)And why is the rent for the appartment so high?In Moscow it would be reasonable for a basic place in the suburbs but not in St.Petes unless its very good quality and central.

rusmeister · Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 867 Location: Russia

It could only makes sense to rent an apartment that runs over 75% of your net salary if you are earning at least a 6-figure salary.

Even then, it doesn't really make sense.

I can't believe that people don't get that you can no longer live here on that kind of money. It's like talking eagerly about a $600/month salary in New York, and paying $500 for a tiny studio and then starting to babble of how wonderful it will be, how you'll pay off your debts, etc...

Even a single dude with no kids needs at least a couple of hundred dollars a week for expenses after paying for the apartment - and that if he spends most of his free time staring out of their apartment window at smoke stacks or dirty, crumbling apartment buildings across the way.

YAMARI · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 247 Location: shanghai

It is a job as a chiropractor. So usually our comissions are like 10-20 bucks a patient. My questions were about cost of living while building clientelle.

So how much does it cost to live there? Is it safe? I guess there are places for less that 1000 a month?

magelarocque · Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 10 Location: Yukon, Canada

St Petersburg is an expensive city. You will be able to find a cheaper apartment but it will be in a state of disrepair and you will have to pay a real estate agent about 20,000 Roubles and pay a deposit of at least 1/2 a month rent. You will also have to pay for Electricity and a phone

There are no laundromats so be sure your apartment has a washing machine. I knew no one who had a dryer so you will have to have space to hang your laundry around your apartment unless you live somewhere where you ARE paying LOTS for an apartment and it does have a dryer.

A transit pass for a calendar month will cost over 1000 Roubles

You would be hard pressed to live decently there without a guaranteed salary that is more than at least twice the amount an apartment will cost you.

Naponroy · Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 3:05 pm Post subject: Real costs in SPB

No one here has a brain.

So, costs are as follows: $500USD and up for appartments. $500 will get you a small one room out of the centre in moderate to bad condition.

If you cook at home, and just normal expenses you can get by on $100 a week. If you like a few drinks and the once or twice a month restaurant foray that will start pushing it up.

Look to spend $20 and up at any restaurant.

Cheapest beers in town are $3, but more likely $5. Cocktails are always more than beer. Cinema in the centre is $10. Metro 75 cents a ride, bus about 66.

I spend about $150 on groceries, and a good $50 on transport, unless you can walk to work. Add to that your incidentals.

$1000 a month appartment is way over done, you can get a decent appartment in the centre for $700, and you can get a roommate.

If you rent a room from an old woman, the going rate is $300-$400.

Commission can work, but it is not tips right? ANyway, this is an old post so I guess it's a moot point, but incase someone else reads this, I worte it in 2010.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Non-Russian speaking chiropracter in St. Petersburg...
Is this a job you can do without local language skills?
I guess at a clinic for expats, but it does seem as though the clientele would be limited.

Anyway, the thread's two years old, right? Why revive it (and revile regular posters in the process)?