Looking to move to Almaty - Some basic queries

Hi Angela,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Thank you for this intro. Please do not hesitate to have a look at other topics on the Almaty forum as well.

Just on the " ... 3 room villa in a quiet, secure residential area ...", you probably need to be aware that except for the quite rich and above, a " ... 3 room villa in a quiet, secure residential area ..." is probably going to be a bit of a shock to your bank account ...

I'm unsure of what your circumstances are or whether you've done any investigation into living in Kazakhstan, but apartment living is generally what people do ... it can range from relatively cheap to outrageously expensive.

Are you thinking of relocating permanently, or just on a job rotation type of an arrangement?

Cheers, Peter

Hi Peter

Thanks for your response. We are going to move for a 3-yr deputation. I am beginning to investigate and this was one of the very first steps taken. I hear what you are saying, and will keep that in mind.

Any other tips, especially on schools?

Regards

Schools, unfortunately not (my daughter was educated in Australia and is living happily there ...), although from what I understand from friends and acquaintances in Almaty (I am in Ust-Kamenogorsk, about 1000km to the NE, near Siberia), there are quite reasonable schools for expats and if your children are doing the IB (International Baccalaureate), then I'm sure you'll have no problems.

https://www.ibo.org/school/001828/

Getting a car might be a bit of a shock for you too, all cars, both new and old (even 20 years old) are quite expensive in comparison to the prices in most western nations.

The same goes for any quality items, you either pay outrageous prices for items that at home you may only pay 10% of the price for, or be resigned to buying cheap Chinese items ...

Public transport is quite reasonable, if you stick to the large buses and the better quality taxis. Avoid the little vans that act as buses, there have been too many accidents and serious injuries caused whilst in these.

If you do drive, once on the roads, you will be at risk from people that may, or indeed may not, have any idea of road rules, a license, or how to actually drive that huge Landcruiser (or any other vehicle for that matter) trying to push you off the road.

The weather can be quite cold at times during winter, sometimes dropping to -25C this year (not quite as cold as Ust-Kamenogorsk which has dropped to -55C in 2012 ...), but in summer can be quite humid ... Smog too is a problem here ...

The mountains are close and spectacular, but expensive to ski at ...

Be prepared that you may not find all the foods you prefer (horse is a big thing here, milk in a plastic bag too ... who knew?), although in Almaty, there are a number of shops that you will find a reasonable array of European foods (even, bizarrely, Australian berries and wines ...).

Interfood have shops throughout the city and have quite a good range of European foods and items at not always exorbitant prices, Esentai Mall has a food section downstairs (Esentai Gourmet) that has a mouthwatering range of foods at eyewatering prices, but is sometimes the only place you can get the exact item you want ... http://www.esentaimall.com/

Also be prepared for a life of obtaining stamps on little bits of paper, spending hours in public notary offices and having documents translated for just about anything that you wish to do. Don't leave the office until you have carefully read through any translation into English of a document. There are many (including government offices) that just use Google Translate which will mangle English names so as to make absolutely no sense. It took 4 goes to get my name on my credit card to be correctly rendered in English ...

The city itself is reasonably safe, probably no better or worse than many large cities worldwide. Generally, people are not out to do you down or assault you, but like any large city, there will be some who are (although I've not met any).

Don't expect to be able to speak English with many people, try to learn a few phrases and words in Russian and don't be afraid to use them, even if mispronounced (many native Russians misuse and mispronounce their own language, so don't beat yourself up about it), they will generally smile and be happy that you are making an attempt .

It is a cash economy, small change is common, don't expect to pay for your bus fare/bread/milk with a 5 000 tenge note, you are even pushing it with a 500 tenge note. Keep a purse with as much small change as you can.

It is a pretty European city in feel (in many respects), but customer service is not yet really a "thing" yet in Kazakhstan (and many of the former states of the Soviet Union) and you will often come up against the bored Komsomol girl that is intent on making life difficult for you in one way or another ...

But apart from that, I find that most of the general public are quite helpful ...

Hope that this will give you a bit better flavour, cheers, Peter