How is life in the Pacific Coast of Russia? (work, England, climate)

[erasure]

PS.

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.

Culturally - yes, they identify themselves as "Russian" but ethnically - they know very well that they are not Russians.
Just think about it in terms of African Americans in the US - how do they identify themselves primarily, what's your thought on that?

[jeffpv]

Originally Posted by erasure

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)

The rate of people immigrating is highest in the Russian Far East. The kind of people who are immigrating are the kind who can afford to.
In Siberia, most of the people trying to go abroad are students who want to study in other countries. Russia's system of higher education is struggling mightily and people recognize this.

[jeffpv]

Originally Posted by 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?

There is not a large expat community here (at least not a large English-speaking one; there are thousands of Chinese and North Korean laborers). In fact, just last night the US Consulate held a Thanksgiving dinner for all Americans in the city. There were fewer than 10 Americans who showed (there are maybe three or four more who didn't come). Out of those 10-14, there are perhaps 5-6 who are permanent residents. There is a smattering of Brits here as well. Compared to other cities around the world I've lived (L'viv, Monterrey, Buenos Aires, Bangalore), however, this is surely the smallest expat community I remember.

[jeffpv]

Originally Posted by erasure

PS.

Culturally - yes, they identify themselves as "Russian" but ethnically - they know very well that they are not Russians.
Just think about it in terms of African Americans in the US - how do they identify themselves primarily, what's your thought on that?

Well, as an African-American (I generally dislike this affection, but anyway), my thought is that ethnicity and nationality are two different things. As far as I've seen, Irkuts and Buryats are not fighting to have their own country, etc.
However, you pointed out a very basic difference between the US and Russia: For example, African-Americans, in general, identify themselves as Americans, as do Irkuts in Russia...BUT, other Americans also generally identify those African-Americans as Americans first; other Russians typically do not. Russians will usually first identify that person as Irkut.
In fact, up until some years ago, a person of Korean descent (for example) whose family had been living in Russia for generations actually had "Korean" written in their Russian passport. Imagine a black person having "Ghanan" in their American passport. This helps to illustrate the huge gap in conception of culture/ethnicity/nationality between Russia and the US.

[jeffpv]

OyCrumbler,
Sorry, missed the second question: Yes, many people travel to China and Korea for holidays. China is more popular because of its affordability. In fact, there's a place called Sufenhei (sorry, can't write it in Chinese for you) which, to me, is nearly the spitting image of Tijuana on the US/Mexico border. Both places are in some weird purgatory between the countries, and anything goes. Russians in this area love Sufenhei because it's cheap shopping (clothes in Vladivostok are very expensive...Levi's start at around 3000 rubles ($100)), cheap food and, of course, cheap booze. It's a bizarre and intriguing place, particularly because there's a grudging (dis)respect between the two parties: Most of the Russians don't particularly like the Chinese (but will buy their stuff), and most of the Chinese don't seem to like the Russians much (but will take their money); with that knowledge in hand, the situation is even funnier.
Flights to Beijing, Seoul, and Dalian are very common here. As are flights to Bangkok for those who can afford it.

[destinedtodave]

I wanted to visit Vladivostok when I was living in Seoul. One of the reasons I didn't make it was that I couldn't find a flight under around $800, which is absurd for the distance. Aeroflot could have taken me to Moscow and back for that price.

[Davy-040]

Originally Posted by decafdave

I wanted to visit Vladivostok when I was living in Seoul. One of the reasons I didn't make it was that I couldn't find a flight under around $800, which is absurd for the distance. Aeroflot could have taken me to Moscow and back for that price.

WOW!
I booked a ticket 2 days ago from Amsterdam to Phuket with a layover in Singapore, cost me 900$.
Going on holiday in Patong Beach from Feb 25th to March 16th.
Never been to Thailand, wanted to go to Bangkok-Pattaya first but with the floods they have right now it will cost months to bounce back i think.

[destinedtodave]

Originally Posted by Davy-040

WOW!
I booked a ticket 2 days ago from Amsterdam to Phuket with a layover in Singapore, cost me 900$.
Going on holiday in Patong Beach from Feb 25th to March 16th.
Never been to Thailand, wanted to go to Bangkok-Pattaya first but with the floods they have right now it will cost months to bounce back i think.

Nice! Yeah, flights to Thailand from Korea are much cheaper than to Eastern Russia. I paid $350 round trip. Have fun down in Thailand, try to take a ferry to Ko Phi Phi from Phuket.

[jeffpv]

Yes, flights in/out of Vladivostok are very expensive (though this is changing). From what I could gather, this was because VladAvia had a virtual monopoly on the airport, and colluded with Korean Air to make any international flights as absurdly expensive as possible. However, the gov't stepped in and now VladAvia has to share. Since then, they have (all the sudden) become a low-cost airline, and one can fly to Beijing, Harbin, and even Seoul for about the prices they should be (Seoul is still $600 or so round-trip).
When I fly somewhere abroad, I generally go through Beijing. A one-way Vladivostok-Beijing flight with VladAvia is usually around $100, which isn't so bad. Last year, I flew to Minneapolis, from Vladivostok (via Beijing), for about $1000 round-trip.
What's weird is that prices to Japan (about a 90-minute flight) are still crazily priced. The last I looked it was about 22,000 rubles round-trip, which is about $700

[MalaMan]

Originally Posted by jeffpv

OyCrumbler,
Sorry, missed the second question: Yes, many people travel to China and Korea for holidays. China is more popular because of its affordability. In fact, there's a place called Sufenhei (sorry, can't write it in Chinese for you) which, to me, is nearly the spitting image of Tijuana on the US/Mexico border. Both places are in some weird purgatory between the countries, and anything goes. Russians in this area love Sufenhei because it's cheap shopping (clothes in Vladivostok are very expensive...Levi's start at around 3000 rubles ($100)), cheap food and, of course, cheap booze. It's a bizarre and intriguing place, particularly because there's a grudging (dis)respect between the two parties: Most of the Russians don't particularly like the Chinese (but will buy their stuff), and most of the Chinese don't seem to like the Russians much (but will take their money); with that knowledge in hand, the situation is even funnier.

It sounds very interesting... A "Chinese Tijuana" for Russians...