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Well I saw some of the replacement....way more colorful and with a certain minimum amount of flair, green belts around, kids playground, etc...
So basically..
Same blocks of apartment buildings but more colorful lol.
Because where I lived (those "commie blocks") - everything was the same - plenty of greenery, kids playgrounds and so on.
With other words - Soviet "commie blocks" even back then were all different.
Some were very depressing, some were awesome ( other than boring in color.)
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Totally agree...you could not pay me enough to live there.
OP, it's a cliche that no place outside Moscow is worth living in. Ignore.
Russia has many beautiful cities and fascinating regions. Personally, I like the Lake Baikal region in Siberia, Buryatia in particular, but Kamchatka is also nice. The climate in Petro-Pavlovsk Kamchatsky is milder, somewhat similar to that in Ketchikan, AK, though not as rainy. Khabarovsk also is nice, though it's very hot and humid in the summers. Well, much of Siberia is hot in mid-summer, too. Novgorod and Pskov are also nice; very old, historical cities.
Do you speak Russian? That would make a huge difference. The QOL in Russia improves exponentially, when you have friends.
It all depends what you are looking for in life.
I personally wouldn't be able to live anywhere in Russia except for Moscow. ( Not even in St. Pet.)
The kind of vibrancy, the connection with "the rest of world," the social life - it's all concentrated in Moscow. Even St. Pete is not measuring up in this respect.
As for the rest - yes, I am pretty sure there are plenty of other cities in Russia that are quite livable, more affordable and have less scammers around.
But then, again, I am fourth generation of moscovites ( well, used to be,) so we are in the league of our own.
And THAT Moscow, with its old history and traditions is dying out anyways.
By now it's turning more and more into faceless, shiny megalopolis of generic kind.
I strongly advise you to look at the most important cities in Russia and see some video for yourself...for example, Novosibirsk in Siberia, a town that probably not even 1% of Americans know the existence.
Russia is a Nordic country, it simply cannot have the equivalent of San Diego or Florida.....but it can get close to San Francisco (but quite colder winters).
sure there are quite horrible cities....for example Magadan....but there are many horrible cities in the US too....
Yes, I have seen the aerial drone footages especially the winter ones. The cities are beautiful with all the lights reflecting off the snow
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Originally Posted by jerseygent
Keep in mind that some of the places are highly polluted. Places like Norilsk, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Karabash, Novokuznetzk, Magnitogorsk, and Achinsk are to be avoided. Murmansk and Vorkuta are clean, but a nasty places.
But there's life outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Belgorod, Kazan, Sochi, Ekaterinburg, Gelengik are some of them. Many others are improving. These are Vladivostok, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad.
Are you considering a move to Russia?
Oh no, I just like checking out harsh climate environments, and learning how people live up there.
From the vloggers I have seen it seems like the pollution is mostly a smell/odor issue. Its the same with parts of NJ near the refinery. Or even if the waterways are polluted, the NYC waterways are too, and eating the fish is not advisable.
that's because she has gone through FSB training yet.
Many Russians have not experienced the FSB training regime apparently. Russians have a history of being very outspoken regardless of what you may hear. There's been plenty of rioting since WWII. You won't read about it in the west though because it does not fit the wests narrative.
And she is naive. She does not know that nothing would change in Russia for Russian people if Putin and his government were to step down. In fact it may get much worse. I will bet on it.
First of all, Navalny is a moron, wish he would just go away from all references.
Anyway, quite livable, have no idea why anyone would think otherwise.
You have to get to the villages to start finding the lack of conveniences, like in-home water, Internet and possibly even cell service, and and in-home toilet, but they do have electricity. Entertainment options are severely lacking as is medical facilities. If you manage to live in the village center, possibly have cell service.
In the towns and small cities on up in size, it is in general like everywhere, ghetto areas, nice areas, and in between. Where a person finds it livable or not aside from basic services depends on the person and what their "cup of tea" is.
I personally wouldn't be able to live anywhere in Russia except for Moscow. ( Not even in St. Pet.)
Moscow, of course, is a good city, but I would not be able to live there. I somehow like a calmer and more measured life. Moscow with its frenzied pace is not for me. I especially hate traffic jams. We were in Moscow and St. Petersburg last year, and I liked St. Petersburg more, although everything is fine with traffic jams there, too.
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Originally Posted by Scrat335
And she is naive. She does not know that nothing would change in Russia for Russian people if Putin and his government were to step down. In fact it may get much worse. I will bet on it.
It's a pity that few people understand this.
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Originally Posted by k350
You have to get to the villages to start finding the lack of conveniences, like in-home water, Internet and possibly even cell service, and and in-home toilet, but they do have electricity. Entertainment options are severely lacking as is medical facilities. If you manage to live in the village center, possibly have cell service.
You have a rather weak understanding of the modern life in Russian village. In most villages, many houses have both water in the house and toilets. It all depends on the owner. About the cellular and Internet connection..the surprise is not its presence, but its absence. There are problems with communication, of course, but not as globally as you imagine. Most cities and villages in the European part and Siberia are provided with more or less stable cellular communication, well, maybe only except for remote and hard-to-reach corners of Siberia, Yakutia and the Far East.
Here is an example of a coverage map: https://mobilebooster.ru/post/137/ka...on-mts-bilayn/
You have a rather weak understanding of the modern life in Russian village. In most villages, many houses have both water in the house and toilets. It all depends on the owner. About the cellular and Internet connection..the surprise is not its presence, but its absence. There are problems with communication, of course, but not as globally as you imagine. Most cities and villages in the European part and Siberia are provided with more or less stable cellular communication, well, maybe only except for remote and hard-to-reach corners of Siberia, Yakutia and the Far East.
Here is an example of a coverage map: https://mobilebooster.ru/post/137/ka...on-mts-bilayn/
Nah, my understanding and experiences are good, most of my family still live in these things. You are right, it depends on the owner as do most things. My cousin for example has a decent size home, no running water to it though, draw from a well. Shower is out side in a shower stall, and has a typical outhouse as well. My aunt lives in a place you have to walk several meters to get water and bring back in a bucket, lol. Ah, such is the village life. And I am talking about a real village, not a small town, have no idea at the moment what a US equivalent of this would be.
But yet, you can get running water in a lot of these areas connected to your home, but many do not want to spend the money for it. They grew up doing what they do, are use to it, and it is hard to convince them spending money in such a manner is worth it.
Cell coverage map is BS like it is in the US. Coverage is more like a bunch of small, non-overlapping circles. Drive out and your signal strength sucks, data forget about it. Your mileage varies when it comes to this once you leave village center.
However, I cannot stand Moscow, have no idea how anyone puts up with the place. St. Petersburg is my style.
But yet, you can get running water in a lot of these areas connected to your home, but many do not want to spend the money for it. They grew up doing what they do, are use to it, and it is hard to convince them spending money in such a manner is worth it.
You're right, it's all about money and desire. In fact, all this is done quite simply ... if you need a water supply, then drilling a well or connected to the central one, if a toilet is needed in the house, then a simple drain pit is made of three concrete rings.
You have to get to the villages to start finding the lack of conveniences, like in-home water, Internet and possibly even cell service, and and in-home toilet, but they do have electricity.
Electricity powers motors and you make a well with water and pump, boiler for hot water, shower, toilet, good plumbing, sump for dirty water and weekly pumping out. It doesn't cost much. But do you have a job to pay for this? It is main problem for villages.
Internet is also not a problem, if a village is not lucky and there is no 4G, then you can use Internet from a satellite.
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