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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

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Original poster

Move to Moscow?

44 replies

BioSuisse · 12/08/2014 13:00

DH has been offered a job in Moscow. I don't want to say who it is with, just it is within ths financial/commodities sector.

I don't know what to do. The company is Russian. I am very uncertain about whether we should accept.

DH wants the job, it is very very good.

DH is mixed race but does not look it. He appears to be white, especially as he keeps his hair short. He put ethnic origin White European on his job application. DCs are 5 and 2. DC2 really does look mixed race. As she grows up people are starting to notice and ask questions and comment (always nice comments but i am white and everyone assumes DH is white so some friends are surprised at DC2's afro hair, darker skin and facial features).

So two things concern me

1: is it a good time to move to Russia, what with what is going on politically?
2: i am concerned about encountering racism, what with DC2 appearing more mixed race than white as she grows older. Am i worrying unnecessarily?

DH has only been to Moscow once for an interview. We have never been. DC1 is starting school in less than two weeks so no time for us to visit before we make a decision.

OP posts:

mateysmum · 14/08/2014 14:42

Just seen your last post. MOSCOW IS NOTHING LIKE DUBAI. Not in any way shape or form. They are polar opposites in expat life - not just in the weather.

There are far fewer expats in Russia and the society does not accommodate them as anything different - why should it? In Dubai I drove myself and in 30mins could be more or less anywhere I wanted to be. In Moscow it was 19km to school and the record was 2.5 hrs and a minimum was 50mins and all the time the driver was there.

In Dubai everything is pretty much of a high standard, English is the second language, there is lots of housing to choose from, there are lots of western style supermarkets and shopping. None of this is true of Moscow.

In Moscow the British school was crap, in Dubai it was excellent.

I felt safe in Dubai. I never felt truly safe in Russia.

I could have lived in Dubai for years, I couldn't wait to get out of Russia after oooh about 6 months and in that I was not unusual.

ShatterResistant · 14/08/2014 14:43

Yeah, I wouldn't touch "come, we give you what you want" with a barge pole...

ShatterResistant · 14/08/2014 14:46

Just to pile on, I've heard terrible things about the international schools in Moscow. Correct me if I'm wrong, matey, but I think all the foreign staff at one of them had their visas revoked recently, effectively closing the school down just like that. And standards weren't good, certainly 5 years ago, although they may have improved.

mateysmum · 14/08/2014 14:48

Shatter - you and I are on the same page! When were you in Moscow?

OP - Do not trust anything they tell you till you have it in writing and even then you need to see the whites of their eyes.

Please don't let you or your DH think we are just a few whinging women. Shatter and I and others speak with the voice of real experience.

mateysmum · 14/08/2014 14:53

You're right Shatter. I don't know about the recent visa issues and my friends have now all left or their kids are older, but I would not have wanted DS to attend secondary school there. As the OP's kids are very young they should be OK.

The American school is better I think but we really didn't want DS to go into the American system as we knew we would be returning to the British system in a year or two.

mateysmum · 14/08/2014 14:59

Just looked and there seem to be lots of new international school. 6 years ago there were only 3, so perhaps things have improved.

ShatterResistant · 14/08/2014 15:17

I left in 2009, matey. I had some wonderful times, met my DH there even, so I owe it a lot really. But wild horses and all that!

mateysmum · 14/08/2014 15:37

Shatter we left in 2008 so we overlapped a bit.

ShatterResistant · 14/08/2014 15:38

Perhaps we have met. How funny!

Original poster

BioSuisse · 14/08/2014 21:42

Quarter to eleven and no decision made. But thanks for the ammunition on Dubai! Off to bed.

OP posts:

ShatterResistant · 15/08/2014 08:00

Best of luck, bio, whatever you decide.

Laptopwieldingharpy · 16/08/2014 02:32

Good luck Bio.
Just to reiterate what i said earlier, its a very specific mindset. Hope your DH knows how to function in that environment.

pupsiecola · 16/08/2014 08:17

It sounds to me like it's one of those real hardship postings from days gone by when the package needs to be truly amazing and life changing. Still a very tough decision though. I think even the softest, fluffiest expat posting can put a strain on a relationship with the different challenges it brings to each person. I would imagine that this sort of location could be very tough on a marriage, especially if one wants to be there and one doesn't. Good luck.

pupsiecola · 16/08/2014 08:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mateysmum · 16/08/2014 10:42

Morning BioSuisse. I hope you're making progress in your decision and that whatever you do it all works out. Do let us know.

Emmylooagain · 19/08/2014 03:48

I lived in Moscow in 2007-2009 working as an expat with DH. Very very difficult place to live. Incredibly hard. I could never do it with children.

I found it a depressing place with very little to do on the weekends. It's a bit of a concrete jungle soviet style, although there are beautiful buildings around. It's incredibly hard to get things done. You will need a driver. I also used my secretary at work to do personal administration as unless you are fluent in Russian it's very hard.

We moved from Russia to Scotland and it was like returning to a normal land again. So much better. Don't understand things like no TV in English, no movies in English, no English magazines. Supermarkets selling western goods are incredibly expensive.

I wouldn't recommend it. But that's just my experience. Others enjoyed it.

Hope that helps.

Dvushka · 15/09/2014 07:00

I am currently living in Moscow and have 2 kids that have attended the lycee here and now are enrolled in local russian schools. They have adapted very well and like their schools but they are still in primary school so I dont know about older kids.
This is our third time living in Moscow over the past 15yrs. We don't live in an expat bubble though I have friends that are ok with it. I find Moscow a very liveable city not at all like the stereotypes. A lot has changed over the years and especially recently to make it much like other capitals as far as conveniences. It's also very easy to get around on the metro so you don't need to be in a car all the time unless you live in one of the expat complexes near the international school. There are loads of things to do here if you take the time to plug yourself into the local expat groups (BWC, IWC) or just look at the newspaper (the Moscow Times) for happenings.
Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

Lanamlava · 06/03/2018 15:04

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

PrincessDallion · 25/01/2019 12:53

We moved to Moscow 4 years ago and the problems came when children began their studying... I spend a lot of time at work so I don't have enough spare time to learn Russian and it was literally painful to help my children with their homework. But it's alright now, found a good tutoring site: homework-lab.com/ and they come up with the results everytime I need it. Moreover, I started getting into Russian and understand it by my instincts... Everything is else is just fine, I guess, though Russia is a little weird place to live.

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