Moving to Russia to work

[Partizan]

Hi folks,

I dont know if this is the right place but here goes. next year I will be moving to Russia for a couple of years to teach English in a city in the Urals. I have contacts and friends there, close ones and they are looking out for job placements for me. I plan to move there in September 2013. I have been working in contract work here in Ireland for the past 4 years and it runs out next August. I am beginning my Russian language classes and i am going to start CELTA in January. By the time I get there I will have put together around €20K-25K in savings (I have 12k so far) to get me started. The cost of a nice apartment in the city will be around 12,000 RUB per month near the centre. I lived before in a non English speaking country so I know what the culture shock is like. I have been to Russia but only once back in 2009 where I enjoyed my holiday alot and made a few friends.

A bit about me, I am 34, outgoing, in good shape, no kids, no wife, no mortgage, no debts and I feel its time to get moving. I am taking some time out and I think its time to do it before I settle down and get older. For the guys who are from or have been to Russia, what kind of advice would you offer to me. Culture, local customs, bureaucracy, visas, what to expect from the ladies etc. I would be grateful for such. 

[Eduard]

what to expect from the ladies? LOL! I assume you will be in Ekaterinburg or Chelyabinsk region? You can expect being a kid in a candy store 

[Partizan]

what to expect from the ladies? LOL! I assume you will be in Ekaterinburg or Chelyabinsk region? You can expect being a kid in a candy store 

 

I will be in Ekaterinburg.

[Vasilisa]

What to expect?!
It depends on what you are looking for and what you find normal.
You may end up being married and have 6 kids and live in a Siberian village.
You may end up marrying a RW , moving in Ireland and then you will live happily ever after or she leaves you for another guy there or moves back to Russia.
You may end up being completely spoilt by women's attention and just keep coming to Russia 3 times per year after your contract is over untill you die  posting trip reports here
You may hate Russia and just move back and marry an Irish woman, etc.

[CanadaMan]

Vasilisa is my kind of woman!
She tells it like it is. 

And in many ways she is right on this one. The OP's question was very open-ended.

[Muzh]

Partizan:
 
Have a contact back home to send you monthly shipments of Viagra. And rubbers. Don't forget the rubbers. 

[Partizan]

Partizan:
 
Have a contact back home to send you monthly shipments of Viagra. And rubbers. Don't forget the rubbers. 

Sarcasm detector turned on. 

[Partizan]

Vasilisa is my kind of woman!
She tells it like it is. 

And in many ways she is right on this one. The OP's question was very open-ended.

In what way was it open minded? I am simply asking people of their experiences of having spent a period of time in provincial Russia and how I would be perceived among locals.

[Vasilisa]

In what way was it open minded? I am simply asking people of their experiences of having spent a period of time in provincial Russia and how I would be perceived among locals.

It said open-ended, not open-minded.

[Gator]

Partizan,
Many RWD men before you have taken the path you are intending to follow.  Many taught English, some did IT consulting, some made investments, some started small businesses, some did this and that, one was in medicine, one went there for elective surgery, etc. 
 
What  is your purpose for moving to Russia?  Your experience will depend upon what you seek.    If as Muzh implies you are doing this for sexual experiences, then you will have plenty.   If you are doing this as an entrepreneur  to make money in a Cowboy environment, be careful as  Russian businessmen (and Russian bureaucracy) will take your money fairly quickly.
 
I gather you are still roaming the globe and do not want to settle down.  Fine.  I did the same at your age and joined the United Nations WHO for a couple of years.  I did not go for the ladies but went for the experience of immersing myself in an ancient culture (the Middle East, not Russia), making some new friends, seeing the sights, deliberating my future, practicing my profession, and enjoying the life of a vagabond.  I suggest that you adopt the same as your mission - focus on the joy of the total travel adventure, not the ladies.   . 
 
I suggest that you read some Russian literature and history over the next year, and participate in RWD discussions.  Read all the posts by the RWD member Mendeleyev, an American who resides in Moscow.    Search the archives.  You are wise to learn Russian before you go.   
 
Adjustment to the inevitable culture shock could be difficult dependent upon the amount of change you are undertaking.  Although I did not go to Russia, my move surely had many similarities.   My adjustment was dreadful because I had experienced too much change before moving.   I had just divorced an AW wife, gave away my dog, sold my house, walked away from a high salaried job, and reduced my life to two suitcases one of which was lost by PanAm.  I felt isolated because there was no local English TV nor the Internet then.   Depression hit, but I soon made some friends, and at my worst moment a MD gave me a powerful sleeping pill.  The next morning I never looked back with regret.   
 
I lived outside the walls of Western enclaves, even buying my vegetables (and hash hish) from a traveling peddler with a donkey.    The two years were a joy, and I undertook such adventures as going to Afghanistan by public bus for pleasure.    And there were plenty of ladies - some adventurous Euro souls who taught me much, and a couple of Westernized locals.  I played tennis at an American club which gave me enough exposure to my language.
 
I eventually realized that the world was round so I returned to where I began - America.  I  married and started a business.  The business is still going.   
 
So again what is your purpose for moving to Russia?

[Partizan]

It said open-ended, not open-minded.

sorry Vasilisa, my mistake.

[Partizan]

Partizan,
Many RWD men before you have taken the path you are intending to follow.  Many taught English, some did IT consulting, some made investments, some started small businesses, some did this and that, one was in medicine, one went there for elective surgery, etc. 
 
What  is your purpose for moving to Russia?  Your experience will depend upon what you seek.    If as Muzh implies you are doing this for sexual experiences, then you will have plenty.   If you are doing this as an entrepreneur  to make money in a Cowboy environment, be careful as  Russian businessmen (and Russian bureaucracy) will take your money fairly quickly.
 
I gather you are still roaming the globe and do not want to settle down.  Fine.  I did the same at your age and joined the United Nations WHO for a couple of years.  I did not go for the ladies but went for the experience of immersing myself in an ancient culture (the Middle East, not Russia), making some new friends, seeing the sights, deliberating my future, practicing my profession, and enjoying the life of a vagabond.  I suggest that you adopt the same as your mission - focus on the joy of the total travel adventure, not the ladies.   . 
 
I suggest that you read some Russian literature and history over the next year, and participate in RWD discussions.  Read all the posts by the RWD member Mendeleyev, an American who resides in Moscow.    Search the archives.  You are wise to learn Russian before you go.   
 
Adjustment to the inevitable culture shock could be difficult dependent upon the amount of change you are undertaking.  Although I did not go to Russia, my move surely had many similarities.   My adjustment was dreadful because I had experienced too much change before moving.   I had just divorced an AW wife, gave away my dog, sold my house, walked away from a high salaried job, and reduced my life to two suitcases one of which was lost by PanAm.  I felt isolated because there was no local English TV nor the Internet then.   Depression hit, but I soon made some friends, and at my worst moment a MD gave me a powerful sleeping pill.  The next morning I never looked back with regret.   
 
I lived outside the walls of Western enclaves, even buying my vegetables (and hash hish) from a traveling peddler with a donkey.    The two years were a joy, and I undertook such adventures as going to Afghanistan by public bus for pleasure.    And there were plenty of ladies - some adventurous Euro souls who taught me much, and a couple of Westernized locals.  I played tennis at an American club which gave me enough exposure to my language.
 
I eventually realized that the world was round so I returned to where I began - America.  I  married and started a business.  The business is still going.   
 
So again what is your purpose for moving to Russia?

Cheers Gator and many thanks for sharing your own experience with me. I currently work in project administration in primary health care on a contract basis at a medical college. I have been employed there for the past 4 years on a contract basis and my contract runs out in August next year. Having been in Dublin now for nearly 7 years, I feel it is time to move on and try something new with my life, a change as you say for a couple of years. I lived before in Bulgaria as an exchange student and experienced the culture shock. I got depressed, lost my appetite but gained the strength to climb out of my shell and made friends. At moment, I am a bit of a restless soul with no intention to settle just yet. My grandmother before she died gave me some useful advice about going out see the world, travel and come back home at 40 to get married and settled down.

I went to experience the real Russia, the culture, language, customs etc. I was there before in 2009 for 2 weeks and had a blast. I have also been to Belarus and Ukraine to see local friends whom I met in uni who live there. Regarding languages, I never had a problem. I grew up bilingual (Irish and English) and excelled in French in school. I am preparing at the moment, doing the groundwork regarding scouting accommodation, saving, cost of living, beaurcracy and utilising my contacts in Russia to do some job scouting. I want to be fully prepared to what life there can throw at me. I will be staying around here picking up advice.

[newjason]

It said open-ended, not open-minded.

and he wants to teach English. 

[mendeleyev]

Partizan, I like your handle!

As you probably know, the Partizans were groups of mostly middle aged, elderly, and female Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians who battled the Nazi invaders from the shadowy forests and backwoods villages across the CCCP. They sacrificed much and were mistreated by both sides, their women, livestock and crops plundered by both the Red Army and the Germans depending on whichever happened to be in control of the region at the time. At times untrusted by their own government and persecuted by the Nazi's, those folk kept up the good fight by battling the Germans from the rear and many paid for their lives in defense of their country. Their efforts helped win the war.

Today there is a underground Metro station named for those brave partizans, Партизанская (Partizanskaya) in NE Moscow. Sadly it took the death of the insane madman Stalin before partizans could be fully recognized on the Metro system as he suspected anyone who wasn't a part of the official army harboured traitorous intentions. The USSR Supreme Council on 10 October 1943 established the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky to give some sort of recognition to guerrilla units.

Getting into Russia is the easy part. Staying legally is more of a challenge but there are ways. The visa regime supposedly changed in September with the advent of new visa regimes between Russia and the USA. Reports are coming in however that the Russians, who announced that they would allow a "dual" regime of leaving the old system in place alongside the new regime for the first year haven't shown much interest in rolling out the new regime and so in many cases the only choice for a tourist visa is the same 30 day visa with little hope of acquiring the 3 year form. Business travelers are being offered 1 year visas instead of the 3 year option.

No matter which visa one obtains, the six month rule remains in place. That means that you may live in Russia for no more than 180 days at a time, then leave for the next 180 before returning unless you have a special visa obtained by an employer or educational institution. (You may wish to register with a University and study Russian while teaching English as a way of managing the visa situation.)

This is on the US Embassy website today:

Limitations on Length of Stay: Most foreigners may remain in the Russian Federation for only 90 days in a 180-day period. This provision applies to business, tourist, humanitarian, and cultural visas, among other categories, and are typically noted on the Russian visa. Those whose visas permit employment or study are not normally subject to this rule. If you will remain in Russia for more than 90 days, consult your visa sponsor to ensure that this is not a violation of visa regulations. Exit Visas: You need a valid visa to depart Russia. If you overstay your visa validity by less than three days you may be granted an exit visa at the airport (at the discretion of the Russian Consular Officer). If you overstay your visa by more than three days, you will be prevented from leaving until your sponsor intervenes and requests a visa extension on your behalf. Russian authorities may take up to 20 calendar days to authorize an exit visa, during which time you will be stranded in Russia at your own expense. You may also have difficulty checking into a hotel, hostel, or other lodging establishment with an expired Russian visa. Again, be sure to leave Russia before your visa expires.

You should consider carefully any advice to sidestep the system as Russia does not allow the Embassy of any foreign country to represent and assist their citizens in visa/migration disputes with the Russian government. You are truly on your own if you aren't aware of and fail to follow the rules.

I wish you the best. 

PS...your Metro station:







 

[CDW]

Hi folks,

I dont know if this is the right place but here goes. next year I will be moving to Russia for a couple of years to teach English in a city in the Urals. I have contacts and friends there, close ones and they are looking out for job placements for me. I plan to move there in September 2013. I have been working in contract work here in Ireland for the past 4 years and it runs out next August. I am beginning my Russian language classes and i am going to start CELTA in January. By the time I get there I will have put together around €20K-25K in savings (I have 12k so far) to get me started. The cost of a nice apartment in the city will be around 12,000 RUB per month near the centre. I lived before in a non English speaking country so I know what the culture shock is like. I have been to Russia but only once back in 2009 where I enjoyed my holiday alot and made a few friends.

What happened if you do not like living there?  All of your savings gone?

[Partizan]

What happened if you do not like living there?  All of your savings gone?

Its a risk we all take if we decide to work/live abroad.

[Gylden]

Funny, I don't detect any Irish in what you write.....haven't seen one fock yet!! 
As an ex-pat myself and one who subjected culture shock on my spouse (twos company for the culture shock bit).
I say at your age and attitude, go for it! Life is a journey and you know what they say about traveling..........it's not about the destination, it is about the journey!
 
Don't forget to pack the sense of humor!

[Partizan]

Funny, I don't detect any Irish in what you write.....haven't seen one fock yet!! 
As an ex-pat myself and one who subjected culture shock on my spouse (twos company for the culture shock bit).
I say at your age and attitude, go for it! Life is a journey and you know what they say about traveling..........it's not about the destination, it is about the journey!
 
Don't forget to pack the sense of humor!

ah fock it you are right. Fock this, i'm off. 

[Eduard]

This reminded me how much flack I got for my video going to Russia with my Irish client who occasionally cussed. I still don't see what's the big deal... by the way, the guy is happly married to a RW from Ukraine via St. Pete.

[Chicagoguy]

It always amazes me how many people have this wanderlust in them. Whereve I have been in the world I run into these people. Many are Americans but others are there also.
Too late for me but I admire those who go. Enjoy !