| « Sabetta. Summer time | Why working in Russia is no longer beneficial » |
Astana
As I mentioned earlier, we arrived in Astana directly from the Samara – Karaganda train.
We arrived early in the morning, left our belongings at the train station, and went out to explore.
As we later found out, we ended up in the old part of the city, where the architecture dates back to Soviet times and the sidewalks and streets are relatively comfortable.
While we were exchanging money and buying a SIM card, we encountered many Russians in the same places, people were going about their business. Mostly groups of 2-3 guys, which drew suspicious looks from the awakened city residents.
Closer to lunchtime, we headed to the apartment we had pre-booked. There were several times when they couldn't confirm it, as they mentioned the previous tenant was uncertain about leaving. Eventually, they confirmed it.
From the time of booking to check-in, the price had almost doubled, and we were only allowed to stay for 20,000 tenge per day.
Advertisements for accommodations with daily rentals of 3,000 to 5,000 tenge now started at 15,000 tenge.
Kazakhs decided to capitalize on the peak demand. There were cases of evicting long-term residents – Kazakhs – and accommodating Russians on a daily basis. Well, what can you say about that...
A unique feature of Kazakhstan was that even an internal Russian passport allowed entry into the country, resulting in a much larger influx of people compared to other countries.
We arrived in the new part of the city. The scale of construction was astonishing, like a Kazakhstani Dubai.
Each block was roughly composed of 2 by 2-kilometer squares. The quality of construction left much to be desired.
We settled into a newly built apartment, a one-bedroom unit. There was almost nothing for daily living there, only the most essential things.
However, we didn't plan to stay in the country for long, as the 30-day limit and accommodation prices didn't allow for that option.
Originally, we had a plan to go to Georgia right away, but the ticket prices were too high. So, we decided to wait a couple of weeks and eventually purchased tickets at a somewhat reasonable price (still high, but not as high as during peak sales).
I continued working remotely. The kitchen table was transformed into a workspace.
I set up a monitor on it, which I had brought along. Overall, it was convenient. Many fellow immigrants work from their laptops, but I don't prefer that approach.
Since work took up the entire day, we only had a chance to go for a proper walk during the upcoming weekends.
When we first arrived, the weather turned bad – there was even a bit of snow, but it cleared up by the weekend. We decided to take a walk around the city on foot and see Astana from various angles.
We reached the very center. Along the way, we passed through several more blocks of residential areas.
The sidewalks in some places were terrible. We witnessed them re-laying the tiles on the nearby street multiple times, but it didn't seem to help – the next day, they would still be falling apart.
The state of construction left us with a sense of disgust toward the new areas of the city. Construction debris was scattered everywhere, the quality of work was low, and the massive roads made it feel like a city designed for cars, not people.
I was also surprised by the lack of proper public transportation. The nonexistent light rail system and overcrowded buses were what Astana offered its residents.
In general, while strolling around the city, it became evident that without a car, you're essentially at a loss in Astana. The city unmistakably made that point at every intersection.
Arriving at the government quarters, we found ourselves surrounded by "luxurious" buildings. Gold and extravagance were everywhere. Gigantic structures, grandiosity, and... cops 😊
By the way, in the government area, the sidewalks were somewhat better, but even there, we didn't encounter many people.
However, we did come across a musical pedestrian crossing button!
On that day, we returned home by taxi.
We also noticed another feature of Astana when we were out walking in the evenings on weekdays.
During those days, it was windless, but already cold. Even in our courtyard, which belonged to the newly constructed area, there were old village houses, and throughout the city, there were whole blocks of private buildings.
Many, if not all, of these houses were heated with coal, resulting in a smoky atmosphere in the surroundings. After a few evening walks, I started sneezing and coughing; it became difficult to be outside without a respirator due to the air quality.
In general, Astana left a rather negative impression.
The only positives, especially for people from Russia, were the numerous services like Ozon and food delivery, which are less developed in Georgia, for example. However, overall, the city seemed more suitable for those with a car and strong respiratory systems.
No feedback yet
