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mikael
Just Starting
Joined: 14 Sep 2003
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2003 2:43 am Post subject: Cost of living |
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How do people manage...I heard of a web designer in St Pete. who earns about USD150 per month. Even if he lives with parents or whatever, how do people like him cope with the cost of living in St Pete. Can he ever have a family?
And what about other parts which are NOt so urban? |
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UsualSuspect
WayToRussified
Joined: 08 May 2003
Posts: 324
Location: The Land of Oz
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2003 4:17 pm Post subject: Living expenses |
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Mikael,
A lot depends on your circumstances. If you want western goods you'll pay western prices +/- 10-15%. On the other hand being a chain smoking alcoholic is easy. Cigarettes are 50 cents US a pack, quality vodka is 3-5 US a bottle. Russian bread is a bargain at 30 cents US a loaf. It's the luxuries in Russia that will drain your funds. Many russians also outright own their flat, which means (to us in the west with a mortgage) there goes a major expense. St Pete and Moscow are very expensive by comparison with a lot of places in Russia. I would say for St Pete he is earning below average for that city, but if he's in a group flat or with his parents he can live OK, if frugally.
Regards
UsualSuspect |
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waytorussia
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 2:49 am Post subject: Fully agree... |
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Fully agree with UsualSuspect.
Besides, official stats tend to lower the real numbers... But $150 is enough if you have a place to live. Even $100 would still be enough. For comfortable life (without renting an apartment, which is minimum $300/month in Moscow or St.Pete) you would need $300-$400. In smaller cities you save only on apartments. |
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mikaels
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 7:57 pm Post subject: apartment? |
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Okay, even if this guy were to make twice as much say USD 300, he would NEVER be able to afford to rent his own apartment, and certainly never be able to buy one in his lifetime.
Also, there seems to be a lot of divorce activity..what happens then? Does the one party have to go back to his/her parents...even at the age of say 35-40?
Probably difficult to understand the situation from a west european perspective, but Im trying.
Another thing...What is the Russian ethos all about...Yes, you are Europeans...but also Asians..Is the culture of the Asian part very different? |
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waytorussia
Frequent Guest
Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2003 11:22 pm Post subject: Apartments etc. |
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Mikaels,
That's the thing: most people in Russia don't have any housing spends, because there was one good thing left from the Soviet times: nearly everybody has an apartment of his/her own (which were privatised in the 90s).
So, the rest 150 US goes on food, and then you're able to manage.
As for the national identity, I think most Russians associate themselves more with Europe, than with Asia (in the Asian part there are 25% of the population living, most of them are Russians - about 90%). So that is a rare case when even as far as Far East (which is very close to Japan) you find people who claim to have European mentality. However, there's also something "Russian" to every Russian that is a kind of mix of European and Asian attitudes. That's where the "unique Russian character" comes from...
The divorce part: yes, usually a woman takes the children and goes to live with her parents. |
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