About Annelove

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Female

Currently Lives:

Almaty, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Citizen Of:

United Kingdom

Some Forum Posts:

Kazakhstan: Moving to Aktau:

Aktau, is a small underdeveloped place. Until recently there were no expatriate women who were not Russian speaking however there is a small junior school which has recently opened and there may now be a few expat families. I think your wife will need to be very resourceful and you very supportive. In the summer there is the beach and there is supposed to be a new big hotel with a marina opening shortly. I think you should stock up with as much home entertainment as possible and if possible bring in as much of your favouirite foods as possible. You can get basics, meat, rice, sugar etc. but western things in jars and packets are probably not available. There is a local SOS clinic, which is like a GP surgery but beyond that its a flight away for any better medical assistance. Most companies operate Aktau as rotational posting and families don't come. I hope you are being VERY well paid, I think this will be a very testing posting for you and your family. Good luck

Kazakhstan: bringing a computer to Kazakhstan:

I have been back and forward with my laptop in my bag and no one has been the slightest bit interested. When we moved to Almaty we brought in 3 desktop computers and again there was no problem. My husband works for a big company so that probably helped but other people have not mentioned anything about computers its more likely customs will want a bribe to release your shipment generally, they seem to usually claim you TV is new. Try and bring everything in in plain boxes new stuff attracts tax of a random amount.

Kazakhstan: UK Expat Taxes:

Consult your local UK tax office and look at the websites there is loads of clear information. As far as I know as long as you are non resident, Out of the Uk back less than 90 days a year you should be fine. But you need to sort all this out in advance much easier than after the event. Or you can pay an accountant but you don't need to the tax people are really helpful.

Kazakhstan: Women club meetings:

Hi come and join us this Wednesday. We have over 200 members from over 40 countries and there is lots to do and many of us are in the same boat needing friendship and company so people always welcome new faces. Normally the meetings aere in the grill toom floor 8 but occasionally the hotel move us so just check at Information in the hotel. E-mail me and Ill send you this weeks whats on annelove2003@hotmail.com We also have a website http://www.almatyclub.org When you arrive wander over to the membership table and youll get introduced. Look forward to meeting you Anne love

Kazakhstan: Cities in Kazkhstan:

Almaty - lovely climate, wonderful scenery, big expat community several international schools, expensive but good. Astana - interesting new city, dreadful climate freezing winters -40C plus wind chil factor Sept - April and hot muggy summers. Vast majority of accomodation apartments will be good but noth there yet. Surrounding country side flat and dull. Aktau - very small and issolated, Caspian shore good in the summer May to Sept No international school no non Russian speaking Expat women. Expats are limited to men on rotation.

Kazakhstan: Almaty is an expensive place:

Virtually everything in Almaty is is imported so things are very expensive, more than Europe and much more than the states. In the winter fresh vegetables are poor quality and madly expensive. Only cabage, beetroot and carrots are Ok about 2$ a kilo oranges 5$ a kilo. A weeks worth of mixed veg in the winter about 60$ for 2 people. Rents are about London prices a house 7-10,000$ a month. The only cheap things are petrol and the opera. Clothes and shoes no choice and really expensive. You need a really big salery to live here and inflation is a serious issue rents have trippled in 2 years as have food costs.

Kazakhstan: moving to Almaty:

Yes there is a very active expat community here, centered around the Almaty International womens group see http://www.almatyclub.org and despite its name it includes men. There is a newsletter plus a lot of networking. There is a German group with in it. To reduce the pollution you need to live up the slope to the south of town towards the mountains a popular area is Gorney Gigant or Koktobe 2 but then you really need a car. The driving is a lot worse than the pollution

Kazakhstan: Atyrau:

From my understanding from friends Atyrau is a very difficult town. Really check out the facts before you consider going. One thing I do know is the accomodation is really expensive and scarce. Cheveron are building a big self contained camp but its not complete yet and people are living in hotels. So far there is no international school and generally not yet considered a family posting. Best of all go and look for yourself.

Kazakhstan: Life in Almaty:

Almaty is a great but expensive place. The outdoor life is wondeful, spectacular mountains 25 mins from the city. Walking, skiing 3 resorts, cross country skiing several places. Good fishing and generally a lot of lovely open space. Rents are expensive 4,000 us a month for a 2 bed apartment in a nice place. Food and drink and eating out all considerably more than Europe. As is the internet and eveything I can think of. Lots of Expats lots of bars. The local people are pretty sophisticated and very attractive, lots of people speak some English. The worsed aspect is the traffic which is very congested and the driving is a nighmare as is crossing the road. Look on www.youtube Almaty crashes. I like the climate but because Almaty is in a bowl the pollution is bad and getting worse as more cars come on the roads. Over all most people like it here.

Kazakhstan: Housing:

I have not been to Kazakhstan yet, but my husband has been a lot in the last 18 months. Basically Almaty is the only nice place to be, however it is expensive, he has just rented a 2 bed fully furnished apartment which is very nice but costs $4,000 a month this includes heating and lighting and internet. He looked at other places starting at $1,800 but said they were deary with horrible, old brown funiture and he would have hated to live in them. Astana the new capital in the North is full of concreate apartment blocks, the climate is really harsh, very very cold in the winter and boiling hot in the summer. Its in the middle of a completly flat plain and there is nothing to do. The towns on the Caspian are really the wild west, the nuclear reprocessing plant is abandoned and rotting and the housing is seriously poor, not a fun place. Most of the westeners are on rotation. There are lots of postings on this site about Almaty read all this information. Anne

Date Joined:

1/6/2006

Total Posts:

16

Posts/Day:

0.00