help moving to moscow with new born

[lucih]

help, we are moving to moscow, we have a new born baby, does anyone have any tips on were to live, shop, groups to join, baby stuff. Please help as I am going crazy.

You can do it lucih!

There's the expat ru site you could have a look around. www.expat.ru/

Maybe you could try the British Women's Club once you get there too just to make some contacts and find out where to go and what to do:

www.bwcmoscow.co.uk/

Louise2004 is really nice and she is in Moscow already.

I'm from the u.s but have lived in london for 3 years now. is there any way to get intouch with Louise2004 as I would love to get advice on were to live etc.

Thank-you so much for the web sites

Hi there lucih, I know it's called the British WC but you wouldn't be the only non-Brit there. You could also consider registering with your embassy when you arrive, they're bound to have toddler groups somewhere you could probably join.

There is a possiblity to contact members on MN. I don't know how it works, it's called CAT. I can see if you press on the envelope icon at the top of each message, it's possible to do it. Will look into it and let you know if I figure it out.

There's a forum for English teachers in Russia which might help with questions like where to shop etc. I'll get back to you with it. How long are staying in Moscow?

lucih I'm sorry I can't find that forum I mentioned. I deleted it from my links some time ago but it might not have been too relevant for you.

I'm sure you'll be fine in Moscow. When are you moving?

Hi lucih, I've been living in moscow for 10 years and love it. been back in the UK for the past few months to have my dd, born may and i can't wait to go home (a few weeks - as soon as the visas are done). drop me a line and we can talk about moving there. it's a crazy, exciting, fun and frustrating place to live.

Hi Luchih, I'm afraid I don't have any tips for moving to Moscow but I did move countries with a new born. My only tip to you is sit down at every opportunity you get with your little one and let everyone else do the shifting and lifting. How exciting, a new life with a new baby, best of luck to you

Hi Lucih - I don't check Mumsnet very often, but I hope you've used the weblinks given by SSSandy2 and that you've been able to contact swerve (she's lived here longer than me, so might be more help!).

To get you started on the expat groups:

If you're American, you might interested in joining the American Women's Organization - their next meeting is next Wednesday (15 August) from 10.30-12.00 at the Hard Rock Cafe on Stary Arbat. (If you can't make that meeting, they meet there every 1st and 3rd Wednesday.)

All the others start in September. The biggest group is the International Women's Club (www.iwcmoscow.ru). They don't meet during the summer, but their next informal Happy Hour will be next Thursday (15 August) at Sky Lounge (I think - best check on their website!).

The British Women's Club holds their formal monthly meetings at the Embassy, so it's only open to British passport holders or those married to British passport holders, as you've probably found out already, but they do meet informally every Tuesday at Cafe Guylian from 10-12, and these meetings are open to all nationalities (members and non-members) - check www.bwcmoscow.co.uk for full information.

One good person to contact is Barbara Spier. She's lived here for ages and works for Allied Pickfords. She's also very active with the IWC and writes a "Living in Moscow" relocation book that's sold at the AWO meetings as well. You can contact her via www.livinginmoscow.ru to be added to her "Fun Stuff" mailing, which is an excellent source of information in addition to her book.

I hope this helps!

In terms of where to live, expats are generally divided into two camps - those who live out of town in the compounds and those who live in the centre. We live in the centre, because we like to go out a lot in the evenings etc. and it's also convenient for our son's school. Those who live out generally do for two reasons: 1) they want some outside space (although all the compounds only offer shared gardens) and 2) their children go to the international schools in those areas (the Anglo-American School etc.). Really it's up to you, but I can recommend Evans as a very good estate agent, with English speaking agents and reasonable prices (www.evans.ru).

Shopping is a lot easier now. There are the large Mega Malls, which are on the MKAD (the outer ring road), along with Ikea and Auchan (inexpensive food shopping). There's also the new'ish Europesky Mall by Kievskaya Metro and the older Stockmann's by Smolenskaya Metro.

You'll get plenty of advice from the expat groups I posted last night - they all offer newcomer tours and meetings, and the BWC offers an active Family Network for families with children of all ages. The IWC also has a baby group now, which you can sign up to join at their September meeting.

Sorry I didn't finish my post last night - too tired! Hope all this helps and that you settle down quickly and relatively painlessly! There's a lot to do and see here in Moscow, so you won't ever be bored - and there are lots of indoor playrooms now for younger children, which will keep you sane during the winter! During the summer, you can visit all the large parks and estates around town or just pop into your local parks/gardens wherever you decide to live...

If you let me know whereabouts you're living and how long you expect to live here, I can maybe make some more suggestions to help you, like kindergartens etc.