Cost of living in Almaty

Cost of living

Currently the exchange rate is USD 1 to 150 KZT (Kazakh Tenge)

The following prices will give you a rough idea of what to expect (Dated: Oct 2012)

Bread between 50-150KZT ($0.33- $1)

Milk roughly 150KZT ($1) depending on the brand and type, you get lots of milk products ranging from fresh to curd/ sour and from cow to camel... it can all be a bit confusing shopping for milk the first time.

Meat is more difficult to price as it depends on where you buy it - either at the market or the supermarket and whether it is chicken, beef, lamb or pork (yes, you can get pork and bacon here, but only at selected shops like Bekker, Ramstore and a few other supermarkets). If you are brave enough you could buy your meat at the market, but you need to find a good seller and build a relationship with them to get the best cuts and best quality meat.

During summer, local fruits and vegetables can be very cheap like 300KZT ($2) for a kilo of raspberries and 600KZT ($4) for a kilo of cherries. During the winter the prices are excessive and the quality is really poor where tomatoes and potatoes don’t even last a day or two.

I advise you to check the dates on all products... that is if they have expiry dates... as various food items are still repackaged by the individual stores into smaller clear plastic bags.  And don’t be surprised if you see the whole team of supermarket packers standing around a shopping cart filled with fresh bread packing them with their bear hands into small packets... Hygiene is not a top priority.

Expect your monthly grocery bill to be roughly 100 000+ KZT for a couple, which includes the odd imported product.

Eating out can be every expensive or very cheap depending on where you go. Restaurants that locals frequent are well priced and from my experience the service is much better. Restaurants that cater for foreign tastes are expensive and could easily cost 5 000 KZT ($33) per person for a meal and a drink, if not more. Generally, customer service is very poor and don’t expect starters to arrive before the main meal as they might all arrive at the same time or in drips and drabs. We have also learned to ask for the bill as soon as the food arrives as this can also take a while.  

The monthly rent for apartments in the centre of town range from about $900 to $3000 for a decent apartment. Houses in desirable areas are generally about +- $4000-7000 and above... if you are planing on living in a house you will need to also have a car and I suggest a driver as well... as they drive like maniacs here... expect a two lane road to become a four or five lane road as everyone tries to squeeze in and get ahead of the other.

Internet costs about 4000KZT per month, but even though it claims to be high speed, the infrastructure and amount users on the system slows it down considerably. 

Mobile coverage is good within the city and there are various service providers available like Kcell, Beeline and Activ. Pay as you go is very popular and kiosks are available almost everywhere in densely populated areas.

Am I missing something? Please let me know

I would love to hear from you, feedback is welcomed. Also if there is anything you would like me to discuss please feel free to email me or Facebook

Tulipa Kazakhstan

Tulipakz@gmail.com

The Cultural Divide- part I

Cultural Divide

Your frame of reference will determine how you adjust to living in Kazakhstan. Most Western foreigners find it hard to adjust, especially if you have not lived abroad before, because the cultures and living environment are so dissimilar. Things are just different here... do not expect anything to operate or work in the same way as it does back home.

It seems that even those that come from comparatively similar cultural backgrounds to the Kazakhstani culture can find it difficult to adjust. But again, it all depends on your mind-set, your experience with other cultures and of course the support that you receive from the company, co-workers, community and your family.

The local culture can be described as collective as oppose to most Western cultures that are described as being more individualistic. The welfare of the family is more important than the welfare of the individual. Family members will get an extra job or quite their existing job just to assist the rest of the family... for example when a sister is on maturity leave. Children are also very important to the family, so much so, that girls are expected or even pressured to have children at a relatively young age (19-21years of age). It seems to be culturally more acceptable to have a string of children and divorced by the age of 25, than to be childless and/or unmarried by the age of 28. Having children is so significant in the local culture that some companies even provide unpaid maturity leave for up to 3 years. 

The local society tends to have a high power distance (Hofstede) which means people tend to accept the concentrated of power and decision-making. This large discrepancy between the powerful and the less powerful leads to a greater importance placed on status symbols (according to Hofstede), and explains the unusual fascination with fake luxury goods.  

The culture might be described as high in uncertainty avoidance, which is evident by the complex bureaucratic procedures and the various guidelines and rules existing in each and every aspect of the environment. 

Time is not as important as in some Western cultures and few people arrive on time for appointments or get-togethers. There is also a sense of doing things at the last moment, especially in the work environment. Preparation and future planning are also aspects that are lacking in the local environment and reflect the lack of long-term orientation of the people here.

In most cases each and every aspect will be different for Westerners living and working in Kazakhstan.  I suggest to adjust effectively and quickly you will need a lot of patience, expect that things will take longer than usual and might be done differently than compared to back home. I also believe that some basic knowledge of Russian is key to adjusting in Almaty... as in any culture, people will appreciate it if you can speak a word or two or just say ‘hallo’ in their language.

Living in KZ part 1

Living in Kazakhstan part 1

I enjoyed reading this blog http://www.kzblog.net/2010/12/29/survey-of-expats-about-life-in-kazakhstan/ and express similar sentiments to the author of KZblog. In the article reference is made to another blog and I am sure there are various local bloggers that could provide expatriates with additional insight; however, for us here we are unable to access certain blogs or blogging sites, so I am unable to recommend any of them... more interested in this topic see the link below. http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/kazakhstan-puts-pressure-on-bloggers

I agree with KZblog that the locals can come across as unfriendly and lacking common courtesy to strangers. Although KZblog seems to be living in Astana, I doubt there is a major differences between what they experience in Astana and what we as foreigners experience in Almaty.  And I don’t think there is much that I can add to what has already been said on KZblog.

The police can be a bit of a hassle and having yellow number plates (as foreigners), you tend to be a huge walking (or driving target in this case)... many suggest always keeping 2 000KZT in the car .... These guys are under paid and it is obvious when public holidays are approaching ( if you catch my drift)... luckily I don’t drive or own a car here and am happy with using public transport or taxis. Another thing that might also not be mentioned to newcomers is to always carry identification (passport with registration) with you, especially in the evenings when you are more likely to be stopped by police.

Visa issues - Personally, I am not sure who is to blame for the issues with visas that most foreigners seem to experience. Some blame the confusing laws and others blame the incompetence of the company staff... and in part... maybe it is due to the local employees lack in understanding what a foreigner goes through to relocate to Kazakhstan only to be worried for the next few months whether your work permit or visa will be approved or not. 

Helpful Guides to Almaty for Expats

Guides - Almaty

There are various guides that you could purchase before arriving in Almaty, but many will be designed for travellers as oppose to expatriates moving to Kazakhstan, therefore I have compiled this short list of must have books about Almaty for expatriates.

The most relevant and useful guides (that I am aware of )

The Hedonist’s Guide to Almaty

http://www.hg2almaty.com

This book is also readily available at most bookstores. It is available in English, but I don’t know if it is available in other languages. 

The Almaty Guide

This is an expat guide published by the AIWC (Almaty International Women’s Club). The newest version is only available to members at the moment and not yet for sale. It is filled with very relevant information that goes beyond the touristy stuff, and include helpful hints and tips about various topics like bringing the family pets into the country or taking them back home and other aspects of building a live here in Almaty...definitely a must for expats.

Almaty Today - A Tour guide to the city of Almaty

Another great book also filled with lots of information available in both English and Russian at bookstores. I bought my copy at Book City http://www.bookcity.kz for under 3000KZT and really think it is another useful guide to living in Almaty.