Vladivostok through a newcomer's eyes: Blogger's emotional critique

Anastasia, a blogger from St. Petersburg, has harshly criticized Vladivostok and the quality of life in the city a year after moving from Russia«s northern capital. She published a series of videos on her blog sharply criticizing the urban environment, services, and quality of life, admitting she was »shocked« by the reality in the Far East.

The blogger began her address by stating that she tries to find positivity in everything, but in Vladivostok, according to her, this is difficult.

«I want to live without sun, but in civilization. I am willing to sacrifice sun for civilization,» she stated, explaining that she expected a different level of comfort from the city.

She began her story with everyday problems that, according to her, were a real shock to her. One of the main irritants she named was grocery delivery.

According to her, the service formally exists but works inconsistently: items may disappear from the order without warning, and the nearest delivery time is several hours after placing the order, usually in the evening.

The blogger described how in freezing cold and strong wind she had to walk one and a half kilometers (about 0.9 miles) to the nearest store in search of ordinary cabbage.

«How in the 21st century do they not deliver groceries here?» she exclaimed, without specifying which exact district of Vladivostok she lives in.

Separately, she focused on delivery times for goods from online stores. According to her, orders from popular marketplaces often take from one to three weeks, especially if shipment is from central Russia. This, the blogger claims, deprives one of the ability to «order things for tomorrow» and forces large purchases in advance. A similar situation, she asserts, occurs with cosmetics delivery.

In the second part of her video story, she touched on the climate and winter in Vladivostok, calling it «snowless, windy, and very cold.» However, at the time of preparing the news, January 25, the city still had snowdrifts after December-January snowfalls, and citizens« complaints about uncleared sidewalks had only recently stopped pouring into the city administration en masse.

Among other drawbacks, the blogger named the high price level — both for food and for beauty and sports services. According to her, the cost of manicures and pedicures in Vladivostok significantly exceeds the prices she is used to, and fitness clubs are often in a «tired» condition with high membership fees.

Thus, a manicure with coating, according to her, costs about 4,000 rubles (approximately $44 at current rates), a pedicure — 5,000–5,500 rubles (approximately $55–$60), and annual memberships at DDX gyms start from 30,000 rubles (about $330). For comparison, the blogger cited St. Petersburg, where, she says, she attended a new fitness club of a similar chain with a sauna for 17,000 rubles (about $187) per year.

The girl also pointed to, in her opinion, low salary levels in the local job market and the high cost of flights to central Russia. City infrastructure and the transport situation also came under criticism. Despite Vladivostok«s relatively small size, the blogger noted serious traffic jams, comparing the city to Krasnodar.

Summing up, the girl gave a harsh assessment of the coastal capital: «The most ordinary city. In the 2000s it would have been a good city, but not in 2026. Sorry.»

Earlier we wrote about a married couple from Moscow who set off on a walking journey to Vladivostok directly from Red Square on January 19. The newlyweds have been walking for six days already and plan to reach the capital of the Far East in about a year.