Whats it like in Russia

Hello everyone! Im Nicci, im from south Africa and basically I am saving so I can do my TEFL to teach English in Russia, what I want to know is if it will be the right move to make as I have two little kids aged 3 and 7months. This move will probably only happen within the next two years, but still is Russia a good place? Is the alcohol really that bad? Lol ive heard a lot of stories. Also on what site can anyone recommend I look for houses or apartments that are to rent, the sites ive seen all just advertise rooms, and I cant rent a room with a bunch of people and my family, it would be chaos. Also what schools would want a foreign English teacher? Any south Africans currently living there, how big of a difference is the cost of living in Russia compared to south Africa? And since both my kids are still in pre-school, how hard is it to find a decent caring pre-school or day care where my kids can stay while I work? Oh and how was the transition from African  weather to those cold snowy winters? I know! a lot of questions xD


Thank you all in advance!

Hi there,

I am currently in Moscow. You can follow my social media to know everything you need to know about South Africans in Moscow. Send my a private message. The first thing I can tell you about Moscow is that you will never meet such friendly people. The Russian people are extremely helpful and friendly. The are very civilized and will show a lot of care towards you. Not all Russian people speak English but they will most certainly try to speak it. There are a few things you should know about Russia:
1. Always keep your passport and immigration papers on you at all times! This is very important.
2. At the airport you will not find anyone who is a taxi driver who is not going to cheat you out your money, however there are information desks to get help and yes they speak English. The average ride if you are traveling in Moscow is about 1000 Rubles.
3. Russians do not ride bears or drink so much.

They are very welcoming to South Africans. Not all Russians drink and it is a huge myth about the gangs or mafia. They are simple people and all the stereotypes you have ever heard about is not true. It is good to learn some Russian before you come here, simple things like greetings. One big question (if you are white from South Africa) you will get a lot is "are there white people in South Africa." This is a big shock for them but they totally get it if you explain the history a little bit.

Moscow is quite expensive with regards to things like rent, transportation and take away food. However if you find some work in Moscow make sure that you have travel insurance, because the hospitals are only "free" to Russian citizens. You can apply for English teaching jobs but I would advise you to do all your research on the job you apply for. The companies may not hire you if you apply from South Africa first, they do like to meet you face to face.

The best thing to do is to first come over to Moscow for like two weeks or something that you get a feeling of everything here. It is a very clean place here and honestly they don't want to rob you, rape you or kidnap your kidneys. Get rubles before you come here because it is expensive to use your local cards. It is pretty safe here and people are genuine. I really enjoy the company of Russian people because they are not like what the media has said about them.

I hope that gives you some in site into Russia. You can PM me if you have more questions

Xxx

Thank you so so much this helps alot and yes i am a white south African and my american friends give me the "is there white people in Africa??" all the time lol but i will definitely pm you xx

Thanks