The main barrier to doing that until now has been getting pensions, social security, etc. payments to Russia but it now looks like those barriers will be removed in the coming months. Also getting medications which are only available in the US was an issue, but actually you can get most medications here anyway, but now that relations are mending, they can probably be shipped from US if necessary.
Charles, many of these cities have some great eateries. Velikiy Novgorod has a fantastic place called Zavod. It makes vodka, and offers an interesting authentic menu at its restaurant and tasting room. Moscow, of course, is a world of its own. But let me name a few fun places to try: Thali Curry on Tverskaya (an Indian restaurant in a green house with pink lights); Istambul (a coffee shop on Pyatnitskya, where they make Turkish coffee on wood and serve it in a candle light atmosphere). What else? Black Angus! A steak house, with several locations and extremely appreciative clientele. In Smolensk, we stayed at Bridge and Sands of Time. Both are pretty cool boutique hotels and their own restaurants that offer free champagne to their guests. But there're many quality restaurants in the city, too: Well-fed Racoon, Fire, Caviar, Chocolate and the Mayakovsky Bar are among the ones we've frequented. Oh, and each of these cities has several Irish pubs. Irish pubs might be closing down in Ireland, but they're popular in Russia.
Are all of those restaurants in Velikiy Novgorod? Irish pubs are weirdly popular in St. Petersburg, too. It's about football culture, I think - a good place to watch matches.
Approaching my third anniversary, I'd definitely say relationships with 🇷🇺 people supersede in importance everything else. Monasteries are wonderfully accessible for worship. Every little local church equally so!
Your article was interesting to say the least. I am American and have lived in Ufa (the capital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan) for 25 years. All you really spoke of in this article was American standards. Too bad. If this is your full knowledge of Russia, you sir are very lacking.
I don't take that to be the author's full knowledge of Russia. I've lived in Russia longer than you and the list of considerations is a decent starting point for someone considering moving here or (more especially) moving within Russia once they've found feet here.
I was born in and grew up in the U.S., and have lived in Russia mostly for the past thirty years.
#21 (proximity to nature) really only applies to Moscow.
We've lived in St. Petersburg mostly. As the kids are leaving home, we're talking about moving away from the city. Belgorod is the top of the list so far. Somewhere on the Black Sea is also possible, like Anappa or Galendzhik. Property there is expensive, small in yard sizes, and the whole environment is tourist town (lots of people in summer and deserted in winter). I'm looking for ideas! Much further east is not attractive.
I would have really liked to retire to Odessa if the SMO hadn't happened. It seems to score high on all the factors you listed (which mirror more or less my list with some changes).
I've had a few acquaintances from both Sakhalin and Kamchatka. Both have a strong Asian/Japanese element. Everyone I've known from both places worked in some way with Japan; importing Japanese cars, doing translations, things like that. Nearly all of the cars in both places are right-hand drive. Most people in both places have spent time in Japan.
I'm American. I lived in West Germany for about five years before moving to Russia, around the time of reunification.
I can't speak to the nature of corruption and rule of law at the top levels. I believe there is a lot of corruption in the U.S. involving state legislatures and the Federal government and have seen / heard about some of it. It seems to me that that corruption in the U.S. doesn't involve executive branch employees much, like prosecutors being bribed and similar.
I've watched the issue evolve here in Russia enormously over time. The comments below are mostly from things I've heard from reliable sources or observed. I've also had two friends who held high-ranking positions in militsya/politsya (police).
In the 90s it was endemic and just outright criminal in nature. You couldn't avoid it - the only way to accomplish certain things was paying bribes, and you couldn't defend yourself from it easily. I had an advantage because the worst of it was scared to directly go after western citizens who could raise hell about it at their embassies, and get an airing of the issue at a high level.
There was a joke at that time. A guy gets a job with militsya. He meets his polkolnik (lieutenant colonel) and is told he has to pay some large amount of money to the colonel each month. The man complains: I need a job that pays! Colonel says, we've given you a gun and a car. If you can't make money with that, I don't know how to help you.
In the 2000s it became "institutionalized". There were set prices for different things. It also changed so that it was always optional - you could choose to do things the "straight" way, or pay a bribe. It also moved away from affecting "serious" things. By that I mean, for example, in the 90s you could pay a bribe to the food inspectors and have them completely overlook and just sign off on restaurant inspections, or fire inspectors for construction that wasn't safe. That came as a result of various tragedies that resulted, and the government vigorously prosecuting everyone involved instead of turning a blind eye.
Sometime in the early to mid 2010s, there was a reform effort to raise the pay of government workers - especially those in jobs where corruption was notorious. The police force turned over and there was a big effort to improve the quality and culture of cadets at the police academies. Corruption remained; but for most people, the previously "institutionalized" approach became hit or miss.
I remember being in the car on a long trip to our summer house, and my wife was driving. She sped through a village and was pulled over. For years at that point, it had been that for infractions like that, you could pay the "quick way" (put a banknote in your passport when you gave it to the police officer) or the "normal way" (get a ticket and pay it). The price of the "quick way" was fixed and everyone knew what it was. The officer apologized, and said that they were being very strict now and he couldn't do the "quick way".
That's when I knew it had changed. You used to be able to break rules and pay to fix them. Now you can't.
I don't think there is much corruption at the level of everyday life for normal people. I'm sure it's still there at a higher level - maybe starting from the mayor of a town or higher level, and businesses that have hundreds of employees or more. I don't know.
Rule of law is a different matter. The courts are nobody's friend. There's just not a culture of settling disputes through civil suits. On the criminal side, I think it's pretty much the same as any northern European or AUKUS country.
In general, it's seems like I expected. The Russians are good people, and it's a beautiful country, as far as I can see. Although I'm more of a mountain guy.
With bribery and lack of Rule of Law - as I expected. It is what it is. That would be a huge obstacle for me to move there.
Did you know, East German kids pre 89 had 6 years of Russian Language leraning in school, everybody?
In general, we Easterners are eager to make peace and good friendly relations to the Russians again. Most of us hate the western liberal warmonger hacks in govt. and the political establishment. They disgust me! You can do me a favor, please, ant tell that all of the Russians you meet: The German politicians do NOT speak in behalf of the German people. Greets and all the best!
Great information! Can you possibly write about retiring in Russia?
The main barrier to doing that until now has been getting pensions, social security, etc. payments to Russia but it now looks like those barriers will be removed in the coming months. Also getting medications which are only available in the US was an issue, but actually you can get most medications here anyway, but now that relations are mending, they can probably be shipped from US if necessary.
What kinds of issues are involved for you in deciding to retire to Russia? Your question is pretty broad.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/basic-cost-for-113820775
Charles, many of these cities have some great eateries. Velikiy Novgorod has a fantastic place called Zavod. It makes vodka, and offers an interesting authentic menu at its restaurant and tasting room. Moscow, of course, is a world of its own. But let me name a few fun places to try: Thali Curry on Tverskaya (an Indian restaurant in a green house with pink lights); Istambul (a coffee shop on Pyatnitskya, where they make Turkish coffee on wood and serve it in a candle light atmosphere). What else? Black Angus! A steak house, with several locations and extremely appreciative clientele. In Smolensk, we stayed at Bridge and Sands of Time. Both are pretty cool boutique hotels and their own restaurants that offer free champagne to their guests. But there're many quality restaurants in the city, too: Well-fed Racoon, Fire, Caviar, Chocolate and the Mayakovsky Bar are among the ones we've frequented. Oh, and each of these cities has several Irish pubs. Irish pubs might be closing down in Ireland, but they're popular in Russia.
Are all of those restaurants in Velikiy Novgorod? Irish pubs are weirdly popular in St. Petersburg, too. It's about football culture, I think - a good place to watch matches.
Approaching my third anniversary, I'd definitely say relationships with 🇷🇺 people supersede in importance everything else. Monasteries are wonderfully accessible for worship. Every little local church equally so!
Your article was interesting to say the least. I am American and have lived in Ufa (the capital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan) for 25 years. All you really spoke of in this article was American standards. Too bad. If this is your full knowledge of Russia, you sir are very lacking.
I would saw in the author's defense that he was writing to inform his audience who are American.
I don't take that to be the author's full knowledge of Russia. I've lived in Russia longer than you and the list of considerations is a decent starting point for someone considering moving here or (more especially) moving within Russia once they've found feet here.
Thank you - this is very useful! More on this front, please.
I was born in and grew up in the U.S., and have lived in Russia mostly for the past thirty years.
#21 (proximity to nature) really only applies to Moscow.
We've lived in St. Petersburg mostly. As the kids are leaving home, we're talking about moving away from the city. Belgorod is the top of the list so far. Somewhere on the Black Sea is also possible, like Anappa or Galendzhik. Property there is expensive, small in yard sizes, and the whole environment is tourist town (lots of people in summer and deserted in winter). I'm looking for ideas! Much further east is not attractive.
I would have really liked to retire to Odessa if the SMO hadn't happened. It seems to score high on all the factors you listed (which mirror more or less my list with some changes).
I think east Russia is cool. What goes on in Sakhalin, or Kamchatka?
Amazing natural beauty, volcanoes. Very far from big cities, but some might like that. Easy access to Japan + Korea.
I've had a few acquaintances from both Sakhalin and Kamchatka. Both have a strong Asian/Japanese element. Everyone I've known from both places worked in some way with Japan; importing Japanese cars, doing translations, things like that. Nearly all of the cars in both places are right-hand drive. Most people in both places have spent time in Japan.
Thank you very much!
I'm East German. I was in Moscow at age 18 in1985.
For living in Russia, what I'd like to hear about the most is this: Rule of law. Corruption.
I'm American. I lived in West Germany for about five years before moving to Russia, around the time of reunification.
I can't speak to the nature of corruption and rule of law at the top levels. I believe there is a lot of corruption in the U.S. involving state legislatures and the Federal government and have seen / heard about some of it. It seems to me that that corruption in the U.S. doesn't involve executive branch employees much, like prosecutors being bribed and similar.
I've watched the issue evolve here in Russia enormously over time. The comments below are mostly from things I've heard from reliable sources or observed. I've also had two friends who held high-ranking positions in militsya/politsya (police).
In the 90s it was endemic and just outright criminal in nature. You couldn't avoid it - the only way to accomplish certain things was paying bribes, and you couldn't defend yourself from it easily. I had an advantage because the worst of it was scared to directly go after western citizens who could raise hell about it at their embassies, and get an airing of the issue at a high level.
There was a joke at that time. A guy gets a job with militsya. He meets his polkolnik (lieutenant colonel) and is told he has to pay some large amount of money to the colonel each month. The man complains: I need a job that pays! Colonel says, we've given you a gun and a car. If you can't make money with that, I don't know how to help you.
In the 2000s it became "institutionalized". There were set prices for different things. It also changed so that it was always optional - you could choose to do things the "straight" way, or pay a bribe. It also moved away from affecting "serious" things. By that I mean, for example, in the 90s you could pay a bribe to the food inspectors and have them completely overlook and just sign off on restaurant inspections, or fire inspectors for construction that wasn't safe. That came as a result of various tragedies that resulted, and the government vigorously prosecuting everyone involved instead of turning a blind eye.
Sometime in the early to mid 2010s, there was a reform effort to raise the pay of government workers - especially those in jobs where corruption was notorious. The police force turned over and there was a big effort to improve the quality and culture of cadets at the police academies. Corruption remained; but for most people, the previously "institutionalized" approach became hit or miss.
I remember being in the car on a long trip to our summer house, and my wife was driving. She sped through a village and was pulled over. For years at that point, it had been that for infractions like that, you could pay the "quick way" (put a banknote in your passport when you gave it to the police officer) or the "normal way" (get a ticket and pay it). The price of the "quick way" was fixed and everyone knew what it was. The officer apologized, and said that they were being very strict now and he couldn't do the "quick way".
That's when I knew it had changed. You used to be able to break rules and pay to fix them. Now you can't.
I don't think there is much corruption at the level of everyday life for normal people. I'm sure it's still there at a higher level - maybe starting from the mayor of a town or higher level, and businesses that have hundreds of employees or more. I don't know.
Rule of law is a different matter. The courts are nobody's friend. There's just not a culture of settling disputes through civil suits. On the criminal side, I think it's pretty much the same as any northern European or AUKUS country.
Thank you very much for the large answer!
In general, it's seems like I expected. The Russians are good people, and it's a beautiful country, as far as I can see. Although I'm more of a mountain guy.
With bribery and lack of Rule of Law - as I expected. It is what it is. That would be a huge obstacle for me to move there.
Did you know, East German kids pre 89 had 6 years of Russian Language leraning in school, everybody?
In general, we Easterners are eager to make peace and good friendly relations to the Russians again. Most of us hate the western liberal warmonger hacks in govt. and the political establishment. They disgust me! You can do me a favor, please, ant tell that all of the Russians you meet: The German politicians do NOT speak in behalf of the German people. Greets and all the best!