What is the "best" place to live in the FSU?

[BrianW]

By best I mean highest standard of living for an American, say teaching English. Thanks.

[janic]

Mostly guessing: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev.

Kiev I know from my own experience. You can live there very well, if you have sufficient funds.

[docetae]

By best I mean highest standard of living for an American, say teaching English. Thanks.

If I had the opportunity, I will choose one regional center (500 000 - 1000 000 pop) . Price will be less than in very large cities (at least 1/4) and you will be able to access the same services and I would have less concurrence from other expats (Lviv , Mikolaiv,  I know only Ukraine)

[Vaughn]

My first thought was either St Pete or Moscow with respect to standard of living, but
since you mentioned teaching English - I'm not quite certain that a larger city with its
expenses could match the standard realized in a smaller city... that is, level of income
is all important. I'd rather be living very comfortably in Izhevsk than just scraping by in a
metropolis.

I taught English in my wife's former school where she taught - the students were 13-14
years of age. Their impeccable behavior reminded me of 1950's parochial students, and
it was a very brief, albeit rewarding experience. No compensation beyond the thrill of
testing the waters - my conclusion was that classroom instruction suited me well.

Vaughn

[BrianW]

Could you guys recommend specific cities for a person with a modest income to live decently on while teaching English? How hard would this be? Also, a place with good prospects for good women. Thanks.

[kievstar]

Brian, have you taught before?  Also, teaching English is becoming harder to do as many people have graduated with English master degrees in past 2 years and are taking the jobs.   

What is a modest income?

[ECOCKS]

You’re asking a very difficult question Brian. I would say there is really no one answer to it.

The jobs for native English-speaker teachers are mostly in the major cities where organized schools exist. However, you need to remember this is a Catch-22 situation since the larger cities have more students (and more potential teachers) but smaller cities and towns usually will have lower cost of living. Also, the schools rarely pay more than a subsistence wage and working visas are increasingly more difficult to obtain without a sponsoring employer. Most English teachers discover that getting the work permit is the first important step, followed by being scheduled for enough hours to pay one’s bills and begin establishing a social life. While non-enforcement of the visa laws and illegal work status have been extremely common among teachers, the environment has changed over the last two years in both Ukraine and Russia. The other areas of the FSU (Poland, Czech Republic, etc.) went through this cycle and it is repeating itself as it moves eastward. After a few months, most begin adding on private students and the upper echelon of teachers develop a mix of school classes (often with multiple schools) and private students (who usually pay cash and meet in their own locations or your apartment). A mix like this gives you some cushion against one school or owner messing up your schedule or income yet complicates your weekly scheduling.

The money will never make you rich, that’s a given.  It does let you live slightly above middle class compared to the locals and can allow you to experience life in the FSU from a non-tourist perspective. You’ll discover the excitement and the frustration of expat living.

My advice is to pick the target country you want to go to and then begin looking over the teaching opportunities. Gauge the opportunities and then you’ll be better able to make your choices on this issue.
To research becoming a TEFL teacher, try these sites:

www.eslcafe.com – a clearinghouse for jobs and teacher forum/support site

http://www.teflworldwideprague.com/ - a training program in Prague, CZ which gives some interesting information about becoming a TEFL teacher.

Best of Luck and don’t hesitate to ask specific questions through posts and PM’s.

[Turboguy]

Well, When VWRW and I were actually thinking of a place to live together since we were having trouble getting her visa Sochi was the place we consdered the most.  We spent some time there and didn't like it that well however.

I think if I were considering moving to Russia with no particular reason, such as a woman, to pick any particular place I would think about St Petersburg but probably pass because of weather.  It is a very pretty city however.   I would probably consider Rostov which seemed like a nice city when I was there.  I would proably consider Nizney Novgorod even though the city is not as modern and clean as Rostov but if is a cool city with a lot of interesting things and a cost of living that is not high.  I would probably consider Barnaul which is my wife's city.   It is out of the way with fewer Americans, not quite as modern as Rostov and not quite as interesting as N.N. but still a great city with beautiful women and fewer men going there to meet them.  I really liked it there.

If I were considering moving to Ukraine I would probably think about Kiev which is a city I always enjoyed.   I would also consider Dniper which was my other favorite city.  Actually when I was there and meeting women my thoughts were how someone could leave it.   That is my two cents worth.