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Expat Advice: Relationships in Moscow, Russia

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Moscow

What is your current status? Are you single, dating, in a long-term relationship, married or divorced?

Married w/ children

What is it like in your country of residence for someone with your relationship status (married/divorced/dating)? If you're single, how do you meet other people? Do English-speaking people tend to gravitate to certain parts of your city?

It can be fairly isolating when you first arrive in Moscow if you come as a spouse. The people on the street are not very friendly and if you don't speak Russian it can be quite daunting. That said, there are still a million great things to do in this town and the night life is fantastic. I would say this posting is better for people who are single or married couples without children, because you most likely will live in an apartment and it is not a very child friendly city..Children under the age of 6 months are really not seen on the street and when I see a small child in the grocery store, I know the parents are definitely foreign.

There really is no English ghetto so to speak, though there are a couple of suburban townhouse communities that house a lot of Embassy people, etc. out by the international school, but it is quite far from the center of town.

If you have children, what advice would you give to others making a similar transition to your country of residence?

I would say that if you have children, you should try to get in touch with one of the local pre-schools or the international school right away, since there tend to be long waiting lists. The International Women's Club has great resources and a very active baby group. There are more specialised restaurants opeing up for kids, and indoor play places for winter time when you just have to get the kids out of the house.

You can buy everything here - though it tends to be even more expensive than New York - so we do all of our shopping when we go home to the states.

Nannies are wonderful and the going rate is about $4 an hour. It can be difficult to find a nanny that speaks English, but if you can't it is just one more incentive to learn Russian!

If you do not have children, do you generally spend your social time with other expat couples? If not, what else do you like to do as a couple?

We do tend to socialize with other expats - though the expat crowds is very diverse. We also know several couples where one partner is Russian married to a foreigner.

We like to go our to eat, see movies in English at one of the three theatres in town, stroll downtown, and in the summer enjoy the sidewalk cafes. There is SO much to do here- it never gets boring!

If you are a single parent, what advice would you give to others considering moving abroad?

I think this could be a fairly decent place to come as a single parent just because it is not too expensive to have help and public transport is good, plus it is relatively safe feeling and the schools are quite good (at all levels).

What would be the best advice you could give someone with your relationship status that lives in your country of residence? Any other thoughts?

I think the main thing would be to get involved as much as possible in something - anything, because the winter here is quite severe and long. The days become very short and there is not much sunshine for a large part of the year. It can be quite depressing. It has helped me to work part time and there is a lot of work here for teaching English as a Second Language( which I am doing).

Also, I have to reiterate that it makes all the difference in the world if you can learn some Russian.

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William Russell
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