Job Discussion Forums

runninandjumpin · Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 1

I was just curious to know if anybody has had any experience living and teaching in Kaliningrad or the surrounding oblast'. There really doesn't seem to be much information out there about it. I haven't been able to find any info about private language schools. How can this be? A more southerly, warmer Russia near the Baltics. Surely the demand for English is high, and teachers would be willing to go.

Due to its central location, Kaliningrad seems like an ideal region for teaching or tourism. But strangely, the internet only offers a few scattered anecdotes of Christian missionaries. Has anybody visited or lived in the area? What was your impression? Were Kaliningraders any different than their mainland-Russian counterparts? And, perhaps most importantly, is it possible to make it teaching English in the region?

canucktechie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 343 Location: Moscow

jonniboy · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:36 pm Post subject:

Yes I've been to Kaliningrad, but it's a poor place in every sense of the word even by Russian standards. The reason there is no information or feedback from people there is that there is no one willing to pay any sort of decent cash for English teaching. There's few tourists apart from a few elderly Germans visiting their ancestral home so even in the limited tourist/hostelry industry people don't speak English. I'd suspect that you would be lucky to get even 4 euro an hour for private classes.

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

Unless you are World War 2 history buff and enjoy living in unusual places,I would hardly recommend it either.Even though there is supposed to be a 'developing economic revival' underway there,it is still wretched in many ways with some of the highest figures for drug-addiction,AIDS etc. in Russia.
If that doesn't put you off you could go to Svetlogorsk on the Baltic nearby where nobody swims,even in summer because of the abandoned remains of German soldiers dating from 1945 which still litter the sands there!You can still see the shreds of their uniforms etc. ostensibly out of hatred or just because nobody has bothered to bury them properly!

gregoryfromcali · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:20 am Post subject:

That sounds cool. I'd like to check that out.

Thanks.

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

Let me know how you get on if you can find a job there and all the best.

Seeker of truth · Joined: 01 Sep 2005 Posts: 146

Anyone care to update this thread about Kaliningrad? Question

KendraBP · Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 3

Sure, I'll try to update....

I'll say right now, I've never lived there (only Moskva) but, i visited - just the city, not the oblast. It was really .... different.

People were much friendlier than in Moscow, but, I think you'd find a transition like that from NYC to Omaha Nebraska.

It's provincial... I think that's one of the best ways to describe it.
It's got all those things you like about small town living, and all the things that make it really inconvenient. (Pros - by the sea, friendlier people, you're quite the 'novelty' being possibly the only foreigner... Cons - probably will have to sacrifice some of the more 'worldly' things: all the shops and etc that make Moscow life a bit more western.)

But, that said, I only visited the town for 24 hours, and felt that i had explored all there was for me there as a tourist. I've had some friends who visited the oblast, and they said it was really quite nice.

And, as for jobs... I've not heard of any, really. And, while I can't imagine that you'd make much money, I can't imagine that you'd have too much to spend it on, and cost of living is likely to be much more affordable.

And, if you ever get sick of it, you don't need a special visa for Kaliningrad, it's considered a domestic flight within Russia, and like previous posts said, you're so close to the EU, you can escape any time you want a little 'westernisation.'

So, hopefully this comes off as positive or neutral... cuz, that's how it's meant.

Oh, if people are visiting, I recommend checking out the Cheripakha (Turtle) hotel. It's really nice, and most rooms overlook the Zoo. (which in 1945 was the 3rd best zoo in the world...)

Kootvela · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 513 Location: Lithuania

Living in Kaliningrad might be tricky for you'd need Russian visas and most likely work permit. I wanted to visit a friend there and I was told that one can stay visa-free for 3 days only. As far as domestic flights from/to Russia mainland are concerned, that might be expensive. For other cross-border activities you'd need transit/tourist visas, most likely.

I think those who need English and can afford have emigrated, leaving their fmailies behind to pursue a career.

Seeker of truth · Joined: 01 Sep 2005 Posts: 146

Any more updates now that a couple of years have past? Someone mentioned christian missionaries in Kaliningrad. Can someone suggest weblinks of organisations they are familiar with? Thanks for the replies.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:08 pm Post subject:

Went there for a weekend about a year ago. Quite on the grim side of things. I wouldn't go as far as some of the other comments on this thread, but apart from a few Hanseatic-style buildings, the city is just grey concrete, crumbling, seemingly forgotten by the outside world. People are friendly. Service marginally better than Moscow. Still no smiles though.

And for some reason the airport police believed that flying from Moscow to Kaliningrad is somehow international travel and made a point of checking every possible document - including Moscow registration, which they have no authority to check. Never happened on any other domestic flight.

Not much to recommend it, I'm afraid.