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	Create New Topic   My Posts   My forum buddies   Invite friends   Private messages Russian brides > Main Forum > what it cost to live in russia Author Post IceChaos Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 10:50:10 AM   http://www.therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=5437 check out the article. IceChaos Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 10:57:06 AM   THE RUSSIA JOURNAL :: Society || Articles Exercise in frugality: Balancing the cost of living with meager Russian salaries Alexander Kondorsky According to official statistics, we are living in conditions of moderate (by Russian standards) inflation (nearly 20 percent in 2001), and the price of the so-called "staple consumer basket" currently equals 1,141.3 rubles per person per month. This basket includes the food, clothes, household goods and services a person needs in order to survive. So, if you believe my government, we need $36 a month to live. However, 27 percent of Russians, 40 million of them, earn less than the minimum wage of 1,524 rubles. The average per-capita income in Russia currently equals 2,978.1 rubles (slightly less than $100; the dollar this week is worth about 30 rubles) per month and the average pension is 1,013 rubles per month. In this column, I will look at the cost of living for ordinary Russians and how they get through these difficult times. Of course, evaluating the cost of living depends on such factors as a person's age, sex, size, lifestyle, habits, etc. Since I consider myself to be a more-or-less typical example of a Russian survivor, I will try to provide a fairly objective view of the situation. To begin with, a family of four occupying a modest two-room apartment in a Moscow suburb pays around 1,000 rubles (that's about $30) per month for water, heating, electricity, trash removal and house maintenance. And commuter trains and urban transport eat up another 300-400 rubles per person every month. This makes up almost half of the average income. Provided the family is lucky and has two breadwinners, 3,500 rubles will be left over for food, clothes, goods and services, which means a daily budget of 150 rubles. ($Yes! That's only $5.) What can you buy for that? Fifteen kilograms of potatoes, 20 300-gram loaves of bread, 10 packets of the enormously popular Korean noodle soup Doshirak, 12 one-kilogram packs of buckwheat or three 0.5-liter bottles of vodka to drink yourself into oblivion – or, if you like it slower, fifteen 0.33-liter bottles of beer. More on the miracle of Russian survival, next week… [18 Jan 2002] Jeff M Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 11:05:55 AM   Ice, good thread. While I knew that russians survived on much much less than we do (we americans waste so much), your stats are shocking. Makes me think I need to buy return envelopes for my lovelies from now on! what do you mean you are average russian survivor? I guess I missed the early threads with your background TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 12:56:01 PM   20% We in England I thought we had it bad when ours was 6% !!!! And guys, be certain that their salaries Do Not go up by even close to 5% let alone 20% !!! And at least in the UK, when ours was at 6%, most of our incomes went up at the same rate !! I hope reading this article will show many new comers to this forum that there are a lot of Russian women who scam not simply for greed, but out of necessity, it isn't all done for bad reasons !! (although of course it is wrong to deceive for money whatever the reasons) one must at least feel a little compassion for the ones who have little or no other way to raise anything like enough money to live even a half decent life !! Jeff: Wakey wakey mate !!! :o) You are not paying full attention again are you ? ;o)) Its an article that Ice found and put here for us to read :o)) Jeff M Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 1:00:43 PM   TIM!! I am wakey wakey, though I had a long night answering letters to lovelies!!! I know where he got it ya 'git', I was just commenting!! LOL crashnsplash Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 1:03:06 PM   American women would evaporate in those conditions. Hell, I would evaporate if I had to live like that. The cheapest employee I have makes close to $100 a day!!! TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/2/2004 1:06:22 PM   Me too Crash !!!! I was paying my employees $$0 to $60 a day 15 years ago !!! :oP to you too Jeff ;o)) IceChaos Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 12:11:51 PM   i am american born and raised. i just found that article on the net. i wasnt trying to make russian women seem bad for wanting to leave their country but to give some of us an idea how hard life is there. i am sure that it is not bad for the elites. it made me realize just how good the poor here have it. and they still bitch and moan. ice TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 12:46:55 PM   Ice: There are a group of very rich and affluent people in Russia, they are called, rather cynically by the not so well off, as the "New Russians" and trust me, they are not liked and are very much resented by almost everyone else. Mainly because they made their money by either nefarious, immoral, illegal or violent means. There are a small group there who live far better standards of living then we do, but they pay the price of having few friends for it other than each other, its almost like they are a country and a race all of their own !! Life for 97% of the population is neither easy or good, and almost 80% live below the poverty line, with the other 17% not doing that much better but at least having enough to eat a fair decent home and possibly a car, if only an old one, but they live in fear Every day that they may lose what little they do have, for one reason or another. Stability of life and income there just doesn't exist for many. Until you have been there it all sounds rather unreal, but once you have seen it you will see that what you hear about is the truth. tony1234 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 5:38:15 PM   Ice The poor bitch and moan, and 90% of them have evertyhing to moan about. I'm not at all familiar with the welfare/social assistance programs in the US, but from my understanding it is comparable (eventhough our population ratio is about 15:1 Us:Can). The poor are poor because there are no opprotunities up here for them to break out of their situation. Only the most adept and opprotunistic can escape this affilction, and that is what it is. Sure, they probably can live like middle class with their income in the FSU, but lets keep in mind that everything is relative to your environment. Example, as the article said, a two bedroom apartment in a moscow suburb costs the equivalet of $30 US/month, in Toronto (comparable Canadian City) the same apartment costs in the neighbourhood of $2000/month Canadian or about $1600/month US. Social assistance doles out about $600/month, plus about $150/child in baby bonuses. Not to mention the cost of food. My next door neighbour is from Michigan and moved up here last year, he said food costs are higher in canada in the range of 30 to 40% to the US... Now I wonder what the difference is between US and FSU nations..... Don't even get me started defending the homeless.... I don't mean to be forceful of my opinions but it is a topic dear to me. TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:01:22 PM   A flat in Lugansk wil typically cost $20 a month rent, heat electric and water inc, your $30 for Moscow sounds a bit low Tony, but I guess there must be some cheaper places there as well as the up market priced ones. It is said that Moscow is almost as expensive now as London !!! And the reason for this, the "New Russians" and all the money they can afford to spend !! tony1234 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:08:47 PM   Tim, I just took it out of the article that was posted here. TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:12:18 PM   Ah Ok :o)) I want being argumentative mate, just that I know Moscow is quite expensive for all. You dont think someone got it fuddled and it wasnt sposed to be $30 a week ? That would sound more realisitic for the Big M city :o) TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:14:42 PM   Ahhhh I just read it myself, but you might note it doesnt say that amount includes rent, probably because many own their homes as they gained ownership when the CCCP collapsed. basically they were sitting tenants and became sitting owners. I think this article refers to one of these cases and the $30 is just for utilities. My X`s mother and grandmother both own their own homes (dont pay rent to anyone) but they still pay about the same as that for utilities ($30) tony1234 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:14:57 PM   No worries Tim, maybe it was a typo on the writer's part, but even $30/week works to 1/10th the cost of rent or a mortgage (The two terms are interchangable inToronto, rent is that rediculous). My point still stands I think. tony1234 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:16:24 PM   Damn, even in this energy market? $30 utilities? Hell, that's only half my basic phone bill. Astonishing. TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:35:47 PM   "The two terms are interchangable inToronto, rent is that rediculous" With mortgage rates as they are Tony, rent here is more expensive pound for pound on house values than a mortgage !!! That why I have changed my original plan to rent when I sold my cottage and have bought a big house for 100 pounds a month less than many I tried to rent !! I spend $60 a week on cigarettes and the $100 on petrol !! Makes $30 a month for all utilities (phone not included) sound really good, but then you realise they only earn maybe $60 or $70 a month and it puts it all back into perspective !! Did I tell you Tony that my X`s grandmother lives on $21 a month pension ? And the lady who hands her her moeny each week, who is in her 40`s gets paid $37 a month for doing that job !!! It is not good mate :o/// TimH Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:38:27 PM   I have never talked about money with Natasha, but it would not suprise me if she only earns about $80 a month or maybe less, and she works very hard and is often tired, but she still does it !! That has to be admired, and also the fact she paid for 4 weeks for her letters too, no wonder I am endeared to her :o)) tony1234 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:46:57 PM   From what I remember rent in London is absolutely absurd. I passed by several agents to see how feasible it would be to have a London address... Rent was something along the lines of 600 pounds per week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I was in mid studder from that astonishing number. when one agent saw the look on my face I think he said something like, "I hear Ireland is turning quite beautiful." tony1234 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 4/4/2004 6:51:31 PM   Tim, she sounds great from what you've been drooling over th last few days :) It really makes me think how women like her will take to living in the UK, or any other developed country. But I can understand now why many experience changes in personality. environment affects mentality as much as ones mentality affects reality. Going from where they are to where we want them to be (Geographically and Sociallt speaking)has REALLY got to be a punch to the gut. But then, in Canada, the cure all is always a side of bacon. Mmmm bacon tastes good, Pork Chops taste good..... Tarantino is Canadian at heart. Your Reply: Your name:   New Registration Password:   Forgot password?   refresh Code:   Russian brides > Main Forum > what it cost to live in russia
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