Job Discussion Forums

[canucktechie]

[rusmeister]

The dairy prices are unusually cheap - the others look like the standard inexpensive choices. And for the "hypermarkets" like Ashan there is the problem of getting there and transporting groceries home. If you have a car it's easy, but most one-year teachers don't acquire cars. I suppose if you live on a bus route you could manage it, but how do you carry more than 3 or 4 plastic bags? For most people, that particular option (Ashan, Ramstore, etc) would involve combing the metro (subway) and buses/trolleys, making 2-3 changes along the way, and especially carrying that heavy stuff home with your two hands, in God knows what weather.

In any event, it still doesn't work out to be cheap. On $1,000 a month you're just not going to get far. Even the military offers better options on hardship posts - they offer hardship pay and establish commissaries in the rough spots.

[GF]

[jpvanderwerf2001]

The only beer you're getting for a buck is Tolstyak, or similar swill.

[canucktechie]

[rusmeister]

[kazachka]

I'm vegetarian and I spend in the neighborhood of 2000 rub a week at the Perekrestok near my house. I live 10 min by bus from an Ashan, but it's more hassle to haul the stuff home from there than it is to walk 600m to the Perekrestok once a week. I eat fish, eggs, and dairy though. I have been veggie since 92 and never had any problems with it, but during the 2007 season, I began running like *beep* for no particular reason. I was training as always -not slacking. Early this yr, I saw a specialist/old friend of mine who deals with sports med/nutrition. I was sent for a few more blood tests and my serum ferritin levels ( measure of the protein in the body that stores iron) were in the TOILET! I really hadn't radically changed my diet, but I suspect part of the cause was environmental. It's not the cleanest of environments here needless to say. So I got proper treatment and felt like a human again in a short period of time. So, I would strongly suggest an iron supplement taken with vitamin C to enhance absorption if you are not a red meat eater here. Also, take your B12 and folic acid as well.Folic is found in fresh, green,leafy veggies, but in the winter they are harder to come by here. Also, since iron oxidises in the body, it's good to take an antioxidant like selenium to counter the oxidation effects. Trust me, anemia sucks and you don't want your blood count to drop so low that even when you sleep 10 hours a day you still feel crappy.

Cost of living- if you are paying your own rent, I would say bare bones minimum income should be about 3000$/mo. On 1000$ you will not survive. Groceries have gone up in price quite a bit in the past 3-5 yrs. Up until about 2004, I could eat like a queen here on 100-150$/mo but not anymore!

[anubistaima]

As a woman who dated a local for over a year, I can tell you that you'll definitively run into trouble if you're independent and strong-minded. Women in Russia are expected to be fragile pretty things that can't basically do anything unless they have a man by their side. I've definitively butted heads with a lot of people (not only my boyfriend at the time) over this. Be prepared for a huge culture shock. I think Western men have it a lot easier when they come to Russia.

As for food, I'm a vegetarian and it's NOT easy, especially in winter. The price of vegetables goes up considerably once summer is over (I pay less than a dollar for a kilo of eggplants in summer and almost $7 in winter) and they're definitively harder to come by. Yesterday I saw a kilo of strawberries being sold for almost $15. Needless to say, I didn't buy it. I don't go out much, so I can't help there, but I have to agree that doing so would take a huge chunk of your salary.

I rent my own place, but this is because I have a side income (I work as a freelance writer) and can afford to. Otherwise, I would be stuck living in the apartment the school gave me when I first got here. I'm being nice when I say the place was a dump. I'm being really, really nice. Don't expect schools to find you a nice, comfortable place to live. They'll get you whatever's cheaper. I was never expected to share the place with a roommate, though, so sometimes you have to pick your battles.

[kazachka]

Yes- I can confirm that produce prices here in the winter are the pits and have SURPASSED ALASKA! Alaska has the highest cost of living in the US and I paid roughly double for groceries there than what I did in the Lower 48. Even EGGS are up to 50 rub/10eggs.
My BF and I can jam/ berries from the dacha and it's plenty to get through the winter on. Well, I do the picking he does the canning Yes, he's local too but open minded and well traveled because he competed and raced a lot in Western Europe when he was on the Russian National Team. So he's familiar with different cultures and ways of doing things. But, yes , I hear you about some guys being sticks in the mud, but you can find sticks in the mud anywhere.
Housing- for heaven's sake- if you can afford it, get your own. You will save yourself loads of headaches and hassles.

[anubistaima]

Yeah, I probably should point out that the guy I dated here was great (otherwise, believe me, we wouldn't have been together for over a year). He was also well-traveled, which I agree makes a huge difference. Still, the differences are there. So I don't want to say that Russian men are ALL bad choices. But it's also not a walk in the park to date one of them.

[canucktechie]

[spiral78]

I can't speak for the population in general, but the LUKOil executives I taught were 50% strong, tough women (and 50% strong, tough men). No fragile flowers there - and treated with total respect and equal interaction by the men.

I think at professional level things may be different in general. Though femininity is more generally enjoyed and considered socially acceptable than in the west (my take on it).

[rusmeister]

[coledavis]

I have to agree with Spiral's point that women definitely do not dress down in Russia. Rather the opposite. (Men are another story).