Consumer market in Russia is growing. Western retailers are flourishing in the cities and a wide variety of goods, from premium to budget, are offered by familiar world brands.
Living standards and costs vary greatly. For expatriates, renting an apartment is more common than buying. Those with families prefer to rent townhouses in residential compounds in the suburbs. There are English, German, French, Japanese and other foreign language schools catering to expat children in Moscow and St. Petersburg (as well as some other cities).
Personal safety is not a problem. Moscow and main cities are as safe as or safer in terms of street violence than other major Western cities.
Qualified medical services are available. While there are many qualified doctors in Russia, expats often prefer doctors who speak English or their native language. Medical clinics that have foreign, foreign-trained and/or foreign language-speaking doctors are available.
Find out why others decided to make the move, by reading some of our people profiles.