A Megacity Woman Finds Real Life in an Altai Village
Valeria Paramonova, 25, traded a city of over a million for the Altai Republic. She grew up in Novosibirsk and long believed her life was tied to the big city. But the pandemic and a hitchhiking trip to Sakhalin changed everything.
The heroine has lived in the Altai Mountains for six years now.
The young woman admits that at every point along the route, she felt drawn back to Altai, where she had vacationed with her parents since childhood.
«The only place I was drawn to was Altai. When I returned, I realized I didn»t even want to go back to Novosibirsk. I sold my apartment there and finally moved to the republic,« she says.
Valeria now lives in the village of Chendek (Altai Republic), works in real estate, and helps people buy land in Altai. According to her, village life has proven far richer than city life.
«Life is bustling around you. Here, everyone talks to each other. Personally, I»ve made far more acquaintances than in the city. There«s no rush to achieve »successful success« here,» the Siberian shared.
True, she had to adapt to rural living from scratch. At first, she lived in a house without amenities: an outdoor toilet and wood stove heating.
She also tried her hand at farming—raising cows, goats, and chickens. For her first milking, she showed up with long French manicure nails and spent two hours «struggling» with the cow until neighbors taught her how to properly care for livestock.
For more on how village life changes values and why she doesn«t plan to return to the city, see NGS22.RU.
