How is life in the Pacific Coast of Russia? (nationality, Chinese, speaking)

[jeffpv]

P.S. IMO, Russians are not European, nor are they Asian. I would say that the Russian Orthodox cultures on their own are unique; this Church has shaped this culture in so many ways. I also lived in Ukraine for two years, so I'd say I know the area pretty well. JP

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

This thread has gotten a little off-track. However, I'll chime in.
I'm actually sitting in Vladivostok at the moment; I have lived here over six years.
I've met Tiger Beer, we went out and had a few one night.
Vladivostok is a unique city in many ways, with its plusses (the sea, mostly), and myriad minuses (traffic, weather, prices, etc).
I moved here because I have always been one of those "map-lookers" who romanticized about places that were "remote". Thus, when I got the chance to move here, I took it. I ended up staying because I've started a family in Vladivostok.
I have traveled extensively in the region; I've been to Kamchatka, Yuznko-Sakhalinsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Khabarovsk, and Novosibirsk many times. The only place I haven't hit up is Magadan, but I've been here long enough to know that it's just a neat-sounding, remote-looking place on a map. I'd still go if I had a free ticket, though :-)
If you have specific questions about Russia in general and the Russian Far East specifically, I would be happy to try my best to address them.
Stchastlivo!

Here's the person to talk to about Vladivostok!

Yes, that's right as well, I did have a beer with Jeff up in Vladivostok on my visit a few years back.

He knows the city well!

[erasure]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

This thread has gotten a little off-track. However, I'll chime in.
I'm actually sitting in Vladivostok at the moment; I have lived here over six years.
I've met Tiger Beer, we went out and had a few one night.
Vladivostok is a unique city in many ways, with its plusses (the sea, mostly), and myriad minuses (traffic, weather, prices, etc).
I moved here because I have always been one of those "map-lookers" who romanticized about places that were "remote". Thus, when I got the chance to move here, I took it. I ended up staying because I've started a family in Vladivostok.
I have traveled extensively in the region; I've been to Kamchatka, Yuznko-Sakhalinsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Khabarovsk, and Novosibirsk many times. The only place I haven't hit up is Magadan, but I've been here long enough to know that it's just a neat-sounding, remote-looking place on a map. I'd still go if I had a free ticket, though :-)
If you have specific questions about Russia in general and the Russian Far East specifically, I would be happy to try my best to address them.
Stchastlivo!

I have couple of questions then - did you travel to other small towns in the Russian Far East and do you speak Russian?

[jeffpv]

Sure, I've been to many small towns in the area, like Ussurisk, Nahodka (well, small cities), and we own a country house (not a dacha) in M'nogu'odobnaya (not exactly sure how to spell that in English).
And, yes, I speak some Russian--though I'm no expert. It's not really that tough lexically, but the grammar is a bear. A serious bear.

[erasure]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

Sure, I've been to many small towns in the area, like Ussurisk, Nahodka (well, small cities), and we own a country house (not a dacha) in M'nogu'odobnaya (not exactly sure how to spell that in English).
And, yes, I speak some Russian--though I'm no expert. It's not really that tough lexically, but the grammar is a bear. A serious bear.

How small cites are doing comparably to bigger ones - Irkutsk, Khabarovsk? ( In terms of infrastructure, jobs, population?)

[other99]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

This thread has gotten a little off-track. However, I'll chime in.
I'm actually sitting in Vladivostok at the moment; I have lived here over six years.
I've met Tiger Beer, we went out and had a few one night.
Vladivostok is a unique city in many ways, with its plusses (the sea, mostly), and myriad minuses (traffic, weather, prices, etc).
I moved here because I have always been one of those "map-lookers" who romanticized about places that were "remote". Thus, when I got the chance to move here, I took it. I ended up staying because I've started a family in Vladivostok.
I have traveled extensively in the region; I've been to Kamchatka, Yuznko-Sakhalinsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Khabarovsk, and Novosibirsk many times. The only place I haven't hit up is Magadan, but I've been here long enough to know that it's just a neat-sounding, remote-looking place on a map. I'd still go if I had a free ticket, though :-)
If you have specific questions about Russia in general and the Russian Far East specifically, I would be happy to try my best to address them.
Stchastlivo!

do you like living there? Well here in Australia there are so called places around that are considered remote especially in the outback and some Americans here have taken the opportunity to move there.

Is the cost of living expensive there too?

[jeffpv]

I'd like to say that the Yakuts and Buryats I know most definitely identify themselves as Russian first, and then Irkut/Buryat (whatever). However, most of them were college-age, and that's to be expected with younger generations, I guess.

Small towns in the Russian Far East are hurting very badly on all counts: infrastructure, jobs, population. The gov't is trying to attract young, educated people to those places with various schemes (such as higher wages for teachers), but to little avail. Fact of the matter is that no young person wants to live in a place with outhouses, little or no entertainment (apart from vodka), and a small chance of meeting a partner.

This area is quite expensive, especially Vladivostok. For instance, a studio apartment ("gastinka"--usually no kitchen and about 18-20 sq. meters) will run $500-600/month, which is quite a lot when a mid-management wage might be $1000-1500 (even less for a new graduate; many people in their 20s are making $500-700).

What is happening? People are leaving the RFE in droves; either they are going to western Russia or immigrating overseas. I know this well, because my job is connected to helping people go abroad.

[erasure]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

I'd like to say that the Yakuts and Buryats I know most definitely identify themselves as Russian first, and then Irkut/Buryat (whatever). However, most of them were college-age, and that's to be expected with younger generations, I guess.

Small towns in the Russian Far East are hurting very badly on all counts: infrastructure, jobs, population. The gov't is trying to attract young, educated people to those places with various schemes (such as higher wages for teachers), but to little avail. Fact of the matter is that no young person wants to live in a place with outhouses, little or no entertainment (apart from vodka), and a small chance of meeting a partner.

This area is quite expensive, especially Vladivostok. For instance, a studio apartment ("gastinka"--usually no kitchen and about 18-20 sq. meters) will run $500-600/month, which is quite a lot when a mid-management wage might be $1000-1500 (even less for a new graduate; many people in their 20s are making $500-700).

What is happening? People are leaving the RFE in droves; either they are going to western Russia or immigrating overseas. I know this well, because my job is connected to helping people go abroad.

What kind of people are you helping to go abroad and why may I ask. Are they for from Russian Far East specifically or any part of Russia? ( (Thank you for answering my first two questions)

[GlockUnderMyKilt]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

I moved here because I have always been one of those "map-lookers" who romanticized about places that were "remote".

We're kindred spirits! I ended up where I am now on the outer reaches of the Isle of Skye for precisely the same reason.

The sheer distance of Vladivostok from everything, at least if the centre of your world is in the W. Hemisphere, is awe-inspiring. I remember taking a bus trip from Finland into Russia once, after over 12 hours of driving over spine-jolting roads we stopped at a grim little stolovaya. I recall looking at a map of Russia on the wall and being astonished at how little of the distance I had covered from it's western frontier to the Far East.

[OyCrumbler]

Is there a large expat community in vladivostok and other far east russian cities? Also, how common is it to travel to parts of East Asia for kicks and vacations?