Cost of Living
In 2008, Moscow was named one of the top three most expensive
cities. This can be a challenge for expats as in 2006 the Mercer Management
Consulting named Moscow the world's most expensive city for expatriate employees.
This is ahead of Tokyo, due to the stable Russian ruble as well as increasing
housing prices within the city.
One of the biggest factors in Moscow's high cost of living is the cost of rent.
For an average 1 bedroom apartment you'll spend about $2,500-3,500
in the centre of town. However, these straightforward numbers can be
confusing. After the fall of communism, many inhabitants received ownership
of their apartments. These means that many Muscovites live rent free and just
pay the utilities.
Typical prices for 1 person living in the city per month:
- Telephone local - 10 EUR
- Telephone long distance - 50 EUR
- Mobile Telephone (only local calls) - 50 EUR
- Internet (6 Mbit DSL - Stream.ru) - 30 EUR
- Shopping/Groceries - 400 EUR
- Taxi - 180 EUR
- Car: Gas/Insurance/Driver - 250 EUR to 1000 EUR
- Metro / Subway - 20 EUR
- Health Insurance - 230 EUR
- Clubbing (4 outings) - 400 EUR
- Restaurants/Bars (4 outings) - 200 EUR
- Rent - 2500 EUR
These are merely examples as prices vary widely depending on where people live
and their individual choices.
Lodging in Moscow
The Soviet policy of providing mandatory housing for every citizen and the
rapid growth of the city during these times led to the construction of enormous,
plain housing blocks. Many of these buildings have been poorly maintained and
are fairly unattractive in both style and function.
It costs about US$2500 per month to rent a 1-bedroom apartment and about US$1500
per month for a studio in the centre of Moscow. In the past, landlords have
raised prices mercilessly year after year. This is being monitored now and is
less likely to happen.
A typical one-bedroom apartment is about thirty square meters (323 sq ft),
a typical two-bedroom apartment is forty-five square meters (485 sq ft), and
a typical three-bedroom apartment is seventy square meters (753 sq ft).
High city prices have driven some residents to cope by staying in dachas
(country houses) outside the city and renting out their apartments for much
of their time.
Flatsharing
An important trait in any roommate situation is having boundaries and a clear
understanding of what each roommate requires. To protect yourself against potential
problems should the worst happen, try to arrange it so that your roommates co-sign
the lease. This makes all the roommates responsible for whatever happens to
the property. If the worst was to happen, such as your roommate losing their
job and not being able to pay rent, they should be held financially responsible-
not you.
FLATSHARING : A NEW WAY OF LIFE
Instead of living in a pokey attic room with huge rent, why not try
shared accommodation? Frequently associated with students, sharing is
spreading nowadays towards older established workers and covers people
from 18 to 49 years old. Without falling into a community style of life
such as in the 70's, you can choose to share an accommodation in Moscow for a
bigger space, less expense.
Flatsharing is a way to meet more and more followers who choose to
break a lonely life, save money or just find an affordable acommodation
in a difficult market. This way of life has numerous advantages in term
of money, practicality or social life. EASYEXPAT
in partnership with EASYROOMMATE
number one for flatsharing, offers this service to its users to present
all the chances to find the ideal flatmate or to join an existing household.
If you've got a room to rent in Moscow, you can put a free ad for house/flatsharing.
If you look for a room or a flatshare in Russia, it's free to search into
the database with thousands of offers.
|
Community forums offering places:
Other websites to find a roommate:
| |
|
|
| |
|
Copyright EasyExpat Ltd © 2012. All rights reserved.
