Thread: work for americans in Russia - prestigious-->humble

Originally Posted by Pavel_B

Why didn't anyone mention renting price in Moscow? Smallest and dirtiest condo in Moscow outskirt costs about $1000 a month. A foreigner from Germany, who works in our company, have to pay $500 a month for the small room in the two bedroom condo which he shares with alcoholic owner. Food price is slightly higher than in the Europe and clothes is also costs more than in Europe. I haven't been in the US but my coworkers who been there told me that cost of living is lower in the US while the incomes are higher.

Ok so what is the rent for a nice flat 2 bedrooms (not luxury but clean and renovated) in a good area?
Do Russians count bedrooms only when describing flats, i.e a "two bedroom" flat has three rooms because there is also a living room? Or do they count all rooms, i.e "three room flat" which includes the living room?

What is the age of most houses is Moscow and what is considered good vintage for a house? I.e. good soundproofing between flats, high ceiling, no plumbing problems etc.

People who move to other countries need to find out what to expect before they move, if not be prepared to put up with the unexpected without complaining! Anyway, as far as I am aware the housing situation in Moscow is infamous going back at least 50 years if not a decade. I.e. a shortage of houses. How could anyone not have heard of it. The prices you are describing are still better than London, and from what I understand - New York, Tokyo and lots of other industrialised cities of the same size.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Ok so what is the rent for a nice flat 2 bedrooms (not luxury but clean and renovated) in a good area?
Do Russians count bedrooms only when describing flats, i.e a "two bedroom" flat has three rooms because there is also a living room? Or do they count all rooms, i.e "three room flat" which includes the living room?

What is the age of most houses is Moscow and what is considered good vintage for a house? I.e. good soundproofing between flats, high ceiling, no plumbing problems etc.

People who move to other countries need to find out what to expect before they move, if not be prepared to put up with the unexpected without complaining! Anyway, as far as I am aware the housing situation in Moscow is infamous going back at least 50 years if not a decade. I.e. a shortage of houses. How could anyone not have heard of it. The prices you are describing are still better than London, and from what I understand - New York, Tokyo and lots of other industrialised cities of the same size.

We count all rooms except kitchen, toilet and bathroom, livingroom included. "Clean and renovated" flat in Moscow with two bedrooms and a livingroom would cost you about $2 000 - $3 000 to rent a month and about $ 700 000 to buy. But this kind of flat is considered a luxury. The same flat in typical "commieblock" neighbourhood would cost slightly less: about $ 1 700 -$2 000 to rent and about $ 500 000 to buy. The same flat in the town where I live (50 km east from Moscow) will cost about $700-$1000 a month to rent and about $200 000 - $250 000 to buy. Note that the average monthly salary in Moscow is about $1000-$1500 a month (in my town it's $500-$800 a month), so most people just can't afford to rent a flat. "Working class" people live in flats wich they inherited from their parents/grandparents or have to rent just a room. At the same time most "blue collar" jobs in Moscow occupied by Middle Asia immigrants who usually live in sewers, attics, garbage cans or rent a 1-room flat for 20-30 people.

Moscow buidings you could classify by following categories:

1) Old houses (pre-revolutionary era) - extremly expensive but at the same time often in bad condition, if not recently renovated (wooden beams in overlaps and such things), most of them are not used for living anymore but remade into offices and other public places.




2) Stalin era buildings - very expensive and usually good (high celing, big rooms, houses are elegant and located in prestigious neigbourhood). These houses were built for Soviet elite of that times.




3) Khrushchev era buildings - most ugly ones, with very small flats, usually has 5-floors and without an elevator. Could be pretty expensive if located in "prestigious" neghbourhood (near metro station or so). There is an urban legend that Soviet builders have "borrowed" the design for these from Nazi Germany architects who designed it as a barracks for their future "slavische untermenschen" slaves. The bitter irony is that the people who defeated Nazis often lived in worse living conditions at that time.




4) 1970-1980 era buldings - slightly upgraded versions of "krushchevkas", has more floors, an elevator, rooms, kitchen and facilities are bigger, every flat has a balcony. I live in such a flat.




5) Modern "economy class" buildings - ok flats, but often are built with a very bad quality.




6) Modern "luxury class" buildings - pompous and very expensive, quality of building can be bad too (leaking pipes, сracking walls, etc.)