Living in Almaty

[tdaley26]

I've had a couple of interviews for a job here and I wanted to know if anyone has any experience of living in the city. Not looking for school info, more info about life there in general.

[PsyGuy]

Avoid regions that end in 'stan'.

[jimmycajun]

Almaty is a cool place to be for a while. Mountains, skiing, and hiking a short bus ride away, decent public transportation, western amenities, good expat scene, and a wide variety of entertainment options (bars, clubs, arts, etc.). Getting more expensive with the falling oil prices and devaluing currency but if you're paid in foreign currency or equivalent, it will be very affordable. Air pollution can be an issue in the winter as many houses use coal for heating. Overall a fairly green, increasingly cosmopolitan city and a great jumping off point to explore Central Asia. Bishkek is 4 hrs by bus and a new low cost airline has made things easier to travel around the country. Still very Soviet in many ways and if you're into the language and history, you'll enjoy more.