Thursday, February 14, 2013

How is life in Almaty?




The most difficult question is when someone asks you to describe living in Almaty.
As with any situation, your experiences, personal life, and personal outlook plays a large part in your perception of how a certain destination is like.

For some it might not be harder than any other place that they have lived in before.
For others it is just not easy.. it is just not like HOME!!!

Looking at the facts might put this question in perspective.

Many expats do not choose this destination purely for its metropolitan attraction or quality of life... they choose this destination for career and job opportunities and/or better salaries. Therefore, it can be difficult to compared it to other attractive expat destinations like Dubai, Beijing or Singapore. 
Living costs in Almaty is relatively high while the quality of life is relatively lower than in some other expat destinations.  Of course living in Kazakhstan cannot be compared with living in a developed country nor can you compare it with the top developing countries like South Africa and Brazil.

Many people are divide on the subject about living in Kazakhstan with many educated locals looking for better opportunities abroad and various expatriate and/or their partners/spouses finding it hard to live here, while others see great opportunities for starting their own business or getting a career jump.

There can be various cultural, climatic and other general aspects that might decrease your ability to adapt successfully.  The most important aspect is to make the best of your new destination and emerge yourself into the local culture and try to link into your new community as soon as possible as this will increase your adjustment.  


5 comments:

  1. Very true! I think that your experience of living in Kazkahstan is heavily influenced by where you lived previously. Moving from a more attractive, vibrant, interesting or friendly city can make it quite difficult. My own personal view - I think that the country has great potential, but has a long way to go before it is a 'destination of choice'!!

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  2. I totally agree Melissa, this country has a lot of potential.

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  3. I am a citizen of Kazakhstan living in Almaty. Came back here after living some time in Europe. Even though I love my city I can definitely say that the air in the city center is awful =(

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  4. Dariya, I'm a Canadian (Ottawa) considering a job in Almaty and was wondering what European city you were comparing the pollution to. Would you say pollution is worse than London or Paris? Also, is bicycling a viable mode of transportation in Almaty?

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    1. Hi M. Huot.
      I don't think that bicycling in Almaty is a viable option, as motorists have little consideration for other road users... even at pedestrian crossings this is a problem.
      And I think the air pollution is worse than in London. The city is located at the foot of a large mountain range and air pollution gets trapped here for days.

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