Is it possible to move to Sochi for permanent residence - my review and impressions
It looks like Sochi is the best city in the country in terms of a combination of factors. I would not say that I am ready to move there, because the borders are still open and there are other countries, but if there was a choice only within Russia, then I would go there. There are pros and cons, but it all very much depends on what a particular person needs. Therefore, I will try to tell you what I noticed for myself while we lived in Sochi and Adler for 4 weeks. I agree, the term is short, but it is already sufficient to draw the first conclusions and decide whether or not to try to live here. All the same, everything becomes clear for sure, only after 1-2 years of residence, not earlier.
Traditionally, my comparison will be mostly with Moscow, since so far this is my main city. Someone may disagree with something, everything can be. We are all different and everyone's perception is also different, this is normal. I write only my specific opinion, my impressions. They can be wrong, they can change over time, but so far for me everything is as I wrote. I ask you to share your reasoned opinions in the comments, it will be very interesting for me to read and compare.
The content of the article
Impressions from Sochi
Architecture and aesthetics
The first thing that catches your eye is the appearance of the city. Not Europe, but even after Anapa and Gelendzhik (we were traveling from Anapa), the difference is visible. In Sochi, indeed, it is cozy and cute if you compare it with non-resort towns. There is very little devastation, especially in the center. Good roads (talking about asphalt), a lot of greenery, lawns, flower beds, there are almost no shabby houses, some of the sidewalks are tiled. Along the embankment of the river and some streets, even bike paths have been made. How they did it is a separate question, but they are. To be honest, it was a pleasant surprise, because some cities are depressing by their appearance alone..
I liked the Central District and Zarechny the most, they are the most well-groomed and flat. Perhaps it is «plane» played a role, because as a person who has lived all his life on the plain, it would be unusual for me to live on a mountain: the problem with parking, everything is narrow, constant elevation changes.
If you move to Sochi for permanent residence, then you can look at the mountains for a whole year
Or at sea, who is closer to something
Square on the river embankment
Outdoor exercise equipment is a good tradition
The bike path is just drawn on the sidewalk
On the outskirts, the same approach that it exists, that it does not exist
What is not Europe?
But in vain he washes the Fairy yacht
Avid fishermen near the seaport
Diamond Hand Characters
The promenade stretches along the entire municipal beach
The beaches are free, but pay for sunbeds and swings
The sea soothes..
They try to make money on everything
Nice square near the embankment
Plagiarized 7/11 minimarket in Thailand
Russian Post and palm trees look rather unusual together
A street in the center of Sochi
Large school with stadium
There is a lot of greenery, sometimes it forms whole corridors
Home will soon be swallowed up by the local jungle
Tsvetnoy Boulevard in the Zarechny District
Looks like the coolest playground in town
Laundry is free to dry outside
Private kindergartens - beautiful, but self-occupation
Street in Sochi
Sochi from above - Svetlana and Central district
Sochi from above: the districts of Jan Fabricius and Bytkha
In Sochi, there are many old-built houses, the feeling that half of the entire housing stock is Khrushchev, or, as I was told here, Brezhnev houses. Although judging by the comparisons, there are Khrushchev buildings, we are talking about five-story buildings. In the city center, all the houses are painted and look normal, but in Makarenko there are also shabby ones. We thought that there are much fewer old houses here, but apparently the area does not allow building massively new buildings, and there is no point in demolishing the old ones. There is also a lot of private sector here, but this is quite expected and applies to the entire Black Sea coast. By the way, the private sector is pretty nice. The street in Adler, where we lived after Sochi (just a solid private sector), from some angles resembled some kind of Spain.
Khrushchevs in the center. On many houses, advertisements for the sale of apartments
Authentic private house in the center
Makarenko. There are few new houses, the old ones are tiled
Playgrounds are very modest
Barbecue near the house, as if not in the city :)
Cherry Street area - almost at the very top
A separate story - garage development quarters
They build 2-3 floors over the garage and live there
Crossing under the railway to the sea in Adler
Another feature of housing in Sochi is samostroy, these are small one-way houses (4-6 floors), which are built in violation of GOSTs, and where, then the ventilation does not work, then there is a problem with the sewage system, then the residents are fighting with the developer for some reason. I was in two of these houses, and there were just such problems. Judging by the reviews on the Internet, on the forums, you need to be very careful when buying an apartment in Sochi, it is not always worthwhile to buy an apartment at a low price, so as not to get problems on your head later. And even there is an opinion that it is better to buy an apartment on the secondary housing in Khrushchev, they say, it is better to have an old house, but according to GOST.
Solid squatter construction on this street. Looks good, but quality is unknown
Roads and parking
The second thing that catches your eye is the inability to park. We rented an apartment, we drove up to the house, as usual, and I couldn't even stop there, because another car was breathing in my back. Narrowly! It was impossible to part in the courtyard, as well as to stand somewhere on the side in order to let the one who was coming after you. I'm used to the fact that a yard road runs along several entrances along an ordinary multi-storey building so wide that cars could stand there. But in Sochi everything is different, the road is exactly the width of the car. I agree, not in all districts, but in Tsentralny, Zarechensky it is like this.
Complicating parking self-capture. All the spots where the car could stand are already fenced off with a chain or blocked by metal structures with locks. On the one hand, impudence and lawlessness, on the other hand, these are local realities. There is a whole problem with parking in the center, and if you live there, then it will be problematic to park your car, the place will be always occupied by those who came to the office. There are paid parking lots, at 500 rubles per day, but these are ordinary streets along the road and there is no place there either. By the way, such a life hack - a parking ticket does not come to nonresidents, and if it does come to locals, then it is also possible not to pay for the time being, fines do not go through the traffic police, since parking is not entirely legal, someone has not agreed with someone else.
Yard road exactly the width of the car
Wherever you can get up, self-grabbing
Wherever you can get up, self-grabbing
Here at once the entire entrance to the courtyard was blocked off, why waste time on trifles
Parking genius - this is how you have to learn if you move to Sochi
Paid parking in the center of Sochi 50-500 rubles
I also made a special trip to the Makarenko area, it is simpler, wider, and there are clearly more places for parking. But mountainous terrain. However, this will be noticeable in the area of Vinogradnaya Street, Svetlana and so on. And where there are mountains, there you will again find a place for figs. In general, fans of large cars and spaces will have to get used to. I haven't gotten used to it in 4 weeks. But I personally did not like something else most of all - not every store can be driven by car. If this is a large hypermarket, for example, HyperMagnet, then no problem, and if a small store (for example, an ordinary Magnet, or some kind of grocery store), then there will be nothing like a parking near it and you will have to go somewhere to spin around the area to find a place. And if there is a traffic jam, then the search is delayed. In general, Sochi discourages the desire to travel to small shops by car. There was a good store in Zarechny, but the nearest parking lot is not clear where, given that you can't get up in the courtyards, we walked to it, combining it with a walk, I could not stop there by car.
In the Makarenko area with parking is much better
But somewhere it is better to park in a car with a high ground clearance.
It seemed to me that the traffic rules are violated more often, but at the same time they are somehow easier to concede on the roads when someone leaves the yard or dulls. Although they can also nervously press on the horn. There are enough flying jigs, but I did not notice a large number of riders. In general, driving in the city seemed more relaxed than in Moscow..
The authorities are fighting for places for people with disabilities, it is better not to get up, they will take away quickly. Locals solve this issue by sticking a sign of a disabled person on the glass, so there is almost every second «disabled person». However, they can stop and ask if there is a right to hang a sticker.
Separately, I would like to mention the modern highway-backup, which permeates the entire city and along which you can drive it in 20 minutes. Despite the traffic jams, getting out of the city is pretty easy. At rush hour, I traveled from Sochi to Adler in 30 minutes. After Moscow, Sochi traffic jams are not traffic jams at all. I do not deny that there are collapses, but we also have enough of them, we are talking about the rest of the time. Only in the summer, I think, everything in this regard is very bad (remember, we were in October), both with roads and with parking.
A modern backup helps to quickly get somewhere
Interchanges are also modern
But far from the highway, the road surface is so-so
Public transport
There is public transport - mostly buses. Moreover, most of them are minibuses (large minibuses), which cannot be entered with a sidecar because of the narrow entrance and high steps. We have to fold it, and a fragile mother in one hand drags a stroller, and in the other a child, if he does not walk yet. It is clear that our people are accustomed to not such difficulties, but I cannot call such a method of transportation comfortable. If you are with a small child, it is better to drive a car. Moreover, at rush hour, there are quite a lot of people on these minibuses..
The buses are comfortable, but the minibuses are not very
Accessible environment
After the Olympics, the whole city is confused about the accessible environment. This is manifested in the fact that almost everywhere there are stickers of people with disabilities near the entrance to buildings, calls for calls, electric lifts in crossings, tactile tiles on the asphalt. Something looks pretty silly, for example, all the shops have pasted stickers all over the place, instead of making a ramp or at least removing a step. Apparently, it is assumed that the man drove up to the entrance in a wheelchair, saw the sticker, yelled about the need for help (there are not calls everywhere), a loader came out of the store and dragged him up the steps along with the wheelchair. How electric ramps work in crossings, I can only judge by reviews. They say you need to make a phone call and wait 15-20 minutes for someone who can turn on this thing to arrive. We ourselves once wanted to use the elevator near Riviera park, but it did not work, they did not call. Later, they learned from the park employee that the whole thing was mostly ostentatious, and even during the Olympics itself, the toilet for the disabled did not work in the Riviera, as there was a warehouse in it, although the toilet flaunts it (it still does not work, so and did not complete it).
People in wheelchairs meet in Sochi
Steps and drops, but there is a sign
Even small tents with fruit pasted signs, although there is no smell of accessibility here
Here at least there is a bell and a ramp along which you can start the stroller
Very steep exit, only for prams or disabled people with an escort
In all underground passages there are ramps, in order to turn on you need to call (by phone or in a call)
However, in general, along the streets of the Central and Zarechny districts (if you do not take into account the shops), as well as along Kurortny Prospect, it is comfortable to walk with a baby carriage. I suppose it's harder on a wheelchair, but also real. Everywhere there are ramps, almost no off-road. Not to say that everything is thoroughly thought out, but again everything is known in comparison: it is not inferior to Moscow, to Munich, as to the moon, and Thailand was not even close. I think this is a step towards meeting people with limited mobility, and I really hope that this is just the beginning. In other districts of Sochi, the situation is worse, in Makarenko, for example, there are solid staircases, but there is also a mountainous area, it would be too serious to be confused about the accessible environment. Also, in the city center, streets are signed in English, and at pedestrian crossings at traffic lights they announce with a voice when to cross (just as in English).
District Makarenko (not the center) - and how to get here even with a baby carriage?
Food and food
Didn't like the assortment of products in small magnets. Little choice and a lot of overdue or close to it. It may be better in winter, but in September-October it was not very good. We were unable to buy frozen fish and seafood, all expiring. For example, it can be stored for 1 year (depending on the product), and there were only a few days left until the end. Someone told us that they are trying to sell such goods at the end of the season, like it will go away. But I don’t know whether it’s true or not. In any case, you must always check the deadlines and be careful, especially freezing, although we bought milk more than once spoiled, although the deadline was normal. I also did not like that the curd mass only with a bunch of E and disgusting in taste, there is no curd in it at all in terms of the composition of the curd. The watermelon was somehow bought rotten. Rice is only Krasnodar and you will not find Jasmine and Basmati. The conclusion I made is that only HyperMagnet, it has everything, but what is not there, for example, pumpkin oil, will have to be ordered by mail from Moscow.
But the situation with fruits and vegetables is much better when it comes to markets. Early cherries, delicious tomatoes, good watermelons, persimmons. In summer and autumn, everything is fine, everything is local and did not lie in the warehouse for a long time and did not shake for a week in the truck. You can buy not only in the markets, but in small shops, only the price will be slightly higher, especially in proximity to the sea.
There were 2 days left before the expiration date - and such a whole refrigerator!
Inedible curd mass without curd in all Magnets
Persimmon from the tree is something!
Leisure
That’s why it’s worth moving to Sochi, so it’s for the sake of all kinds of activities. Almost all year round, you can go on one-day trekking and hiking in the mountains for several days. Moreover, you don't need to get to the starting point for a long time, a lot is half an hour away, take at least Yew-Boxwood Grove or Akhun with Agursky waterfalls. And this is great! Because sometimes you need to leave Moscow for 2 hours, which discourages all the desire to go somewhere. You can also go cycling and rollerblading almost all year round. And after you go around the outskirts of Sochi itself, you can travel around the Krasnodar Territory, both along the coast and inland. I remember me Guam gorge liked it and Lago-naki plateau.
Besides the mountains, there is the sea. It is available for swimming only in summer and half of autumn, but in principle it is also not bad. In addition, the people are engaged in surfing, spearfishing, sailing on boats, yachts and jet skis. I myself like to watch the sea, but not very much to swim. An apartment with a sea view would inspire me :) Although a view of the mountains would also suit.
Well, and of course, winter holidays. An hour's drive away is Krasnaya Polyana, about which I will never sit down to write. Great resort! I liked it there very much. True, I was in the warm season, so I cannot appreciate the service for skiers / snowboarders, but I think everything is in order. Only, they say, very expensive.
In my opinion, there are no more places in our country where there would be so many things.
Ride your bike, swim, go hiking
For some, the sea alone will be enough to move
Climate
At the moment, I was in Sochi only in the summer and autumn (in the spring I was in Gelendzhik). Autumn was to my taste, warm and with a little rain. In October it was still possible to swim and sunbathe. The water temperature was already lower than desired, but it was even hot in the sun in calm weather. October is generally a wonderful month, because most of the vacationers have already left, there is no crowds in the city, but at the same time it is almost summer. Roughly the same sensations are caused by May and June. But from the middle of July and in August, there can be a specific hell and at the same time the city is overflowing with people, not for everybody..
Winter, as I understand it, is rainy, but it is almost never below zero. And if it snows, it will melt immediately. Moreover, it is only necessary to wait out February, it is the most unpleasant. In the rest of the winter months, more or less, it can be sunny and + 10 + 15. The only thing, I was told that in some houses in the winter, problems with mold begin, it is too humid. But this is evident in those houses where there is no central heating, or cold walls. Also, due to humidity (during prolonged rains), some children become stubbornly ill. But, if we talk about children and the environment, it is much better to live in Sochi than in a metropolis called Moscow. True, Sochi also has serious problems, with garbage, with sewerage, with storm drains, etc., all this is easily googled..
In mid-October, you can still swim and sunbathe
People and mentality
This is a holivar topic, but with the mentality in the south it is not very ... I will speak for all the coasts at once, because I did not see much difference. During the tour season, everyone is trying to cut down as much dough as possible, because you have to earn for the whole year ahead, and this is felt very strongly. Now it seems to be better, but the service is still at a low level. Until now, housing is offered in such a way that one wonders, although it is presented almost as a luxury with a corresponding price. I may have a heightened sense of aesthetics, but the era of wall rugs and furniture a la «came to visit grandma» took place in Moscow for a long time. Let it be a simple ikea-style, let the bed be with a cheap, but orthopedic mattress, and not what can sometimes be seen in ads. Well, it’s true, I don’t want to live in an apartment where the furniture, which usually goes to the country house, is kind of a pity to throw away, I don’t want to at all. And the position of the owners, they say, take what they give, also does not add enthusiasm.
Not without treating you as a wallet, especially if you are from Moscow. Like visitors are doing us a favor that they are allowed to rest on the Black Sea coast. Immediately I remember Soviet films, when they almost fought for housing in the private sector, there was no alternative, so it was possible to rent a barn, anyway, people would take it off, they had nowhere to go. Something has remained in the mentality since that time. Something like that «all at once ...» and «hawai what they gave». Not everywhere, already much less (I almost visit every year), but there is. Plus, apparently a common feature of all southern peoples of all countries is laziness. It's easier to score and not do it, and it will do. I once wrote about this whole post.
They probably work illegally. Their colleagues in a nearby park tried to cheat me for money
On the other hand, Moscow is clearly not an example to follow either. A large city of biorobots, each on his own, neighbors at the entrance do not know each other and do not greet each other, everyone is obsessed with money and work. Okay, let's omit that, I'll tell you what conclusion I made for myself about Sochi. If a person at work or in the specifics of his activity has to intersect with a large number of people, in the service sector, with authorities, then it is not a fact that he will like it in Sochi. Especially if he does not know how to quickly acquire connections and do everything with the help of them. Nepotism is flourishing. But it seems to me that now only in Moscow / St. Petersburg laws work more or less on ordinary issues, when you can come to the head physician of the hospital with a correctly drawn up statement and resolve your issue without bribes and connections. Yes, I have no experience with Sochi specifically, but there are forums, there are stories of other people about the same hospitals in the regions, and I have no reason not to believe them. And how in Moscow, I already know from my own experience, with the authorities on simple issues, a lot can be resolved precisely according to the law. Everything, of course, so to speak, is at the bottom level, but we are at the top and do not enter, so at least this way.
If an ordinary freelancer goes to Sochi, who sits at home most of the time, and the rest of the time goes trekking in the surrounding mountains, then he has no place to intersect with either the authorities or the Caucasian service. Yes, and after all, you can put up with a lot, it's one thing they messed up in a car service and you got money (the next time you just won't go to them), it's another thing to go to talk with the chief doctors of hospitals and try to defend your rights, on which the child's life depends. So, everything is very individual. While I had neither children, nor individual entrepreneurs, I generally did not intersect with any structures, and in this regard, it was the same for me everywhere.
Work
I added this item so that they just don't ask questions. Since I work remotely, I do not consider cities from this side at all. As far as I know, with a permanent job in Sochi is not very good. In the summer, yes, a lot of temporary work, all sorts of waiters, animators and other staff are required, but in winter it is calm. I also know that a lot of people apply to real estate and become realtors, someone is engaged in buying and selling, someone is renting.
Again, in my opinion, it is possible to do tourism there, even though everyone is engaged in it. Make a normal website / blog, gather groups for certain walks (cycling, trekking, etc.) and organize them. I met the guys from Krasnodar, they are doing just such things, and things are going well for them. But they are doing everything right: Instagram, social networks, beautiful photos during the trip, everything is as expected, in step with the times. If you look at what antediluvian sites are made by the local, then you will understand that there is still room for development..
Video
Perhaps someone has not seen, so here are 3 small videos for you about our life-being in the Krasnodar Territory: Vityazevo, Sochi, and Adler.
P.S. To summarize in a few words, if we do not find a place for ourselves abroad, then I will seriously think about moving to Sochi, or at least living in two houses with living in Sochi, at least in autumn and spring.