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The adventures, observations, and struggles of an expat in Moscow, Russia...
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Responses to “Expensive Moscow”
June 27th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
This is very true, Nick; In Moscow, you can choose to live the way average Muscovites do, or you can eat your imported Oreo cookies in expensive flats or at Rosinka. But the point of this survey was to compare the same items that expats use worldwide, and in that respect Moscow still somewhere at the top of the list -if not at the top- especially concerning real estate.
The survey isn’t without it’s flaws, of course. Even decent coffee at a nice cafe won’t set you back $5.75… Comparing the price of compact discs is a little difficult since 95% of media in Russia is pirated, but for licensed stuff, I’m guessing the price isn’t too far off…
June 28th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
My point was not that it’s a faulty survey for it’s intended purpose - rather, that’s it’s a specific answer (compensation for ex-pats) sometimes accidentally presented as a broad one (”Most Expensive City in the World”).
June 26th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
Note “..trying to replicate the housing they had at home.” That’s the part that determines how much it costs to live in Moscow.
In Moscow, you have a choice to buy the expensive, imported product or the cheap local product. London’s housing market was similar, but you had no cheaper version of food and other consumables to choose from, not to mention transportation (tube day pass = $8.50/225RUR and even 1 one-way bus ride cost $2.75/75RUR).