2023 | standard of living
Whatever the cost, we still allow ourselves to spend money in some way.
We own no cars now, whereas in Russia we both owned one with no loan. We usually use a bus or taxi to go somewhere in Almaty. Thus we have no way to make out-of-town trips and there are many interesting and beautiful places around Almaty to visit.
For me renting a flat is more convenient than owning, it gives more freedom. As far as I know, Lena prefers to live in her own flat. Our way to give our own apartment for rent and to renn another one for ourselves is not very effective now, since rental prices inside Russia are falling, and outside, especially in CIS, are rising. We rent for $990 but only get $750 in rental income (at today's rates). We also have to pay a mothly mortgage of $220 in Russia.
A quality vacation is not available for us, too expensive. I'd say any kind of vacation is too expensive in Almaty. Girls wanted to visit SaintP for Christmas, to see their friends and relatives, but we could not pay for the flight (this is the only cost of visiting SainP compared to any other vacation scenarios). No warm seas, no tours around Europe. We have not been to foreign countries (ouside CIS) since 2019, that's a pity (before because of the pandemic, then because of sanctions, now because of money).
So, It's safe to say that our standard of living has dropped significantly comparing to 2022 in Russia and especially comparing to 2019 before COVID and the war.
Sometimes it feels like some intermediate stage between "good life in 2019" and "the future good life for us somewhere someday", but could it be...