Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
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.
When we rent a flat we count all the rooms that are available there, living room is very often used as an additional bedroom. When you rent a 2-room flat you will have a living room with a convertible sofa and a bedroom, that's all. If they say they have a 1-room flat for you, there will be the only room indeed (with a convertible sofa again, they are very popular here =) The rooms will be a bit bigger than people usually have in Europe (because we have less of them in our appartaments) but not much, and if the building is a so called Khrushchyovka than the rooms will be tiny, dirty and you will know everything about your neighbours in no time without meeting them at all.

The renting price of acceptable 1-room flat starts from 600$. The renting price of flats you described starts from 1000$ a month, the closer to the center the higher price will be. Moscow is a huge citty, people living far from the center spend two hours to get to job and then two more hours to get back home in the evening. Of cause people would prefer to live closer to their jobs and there are no vacant land for building apartaments there, that is why the flats in the center cost a fortune.

Unless it is a new and expensive residential compaund (like this one) the houses will be old. Some new areas are being build up at the edge of the city but the houses there are of bearing-wall construction and they don't have any soundproofing at all, that is why Russian people like carpets that much.

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