Migrants Say Sochi Is for Vacations, Not Permanent Living

The population of Sochi is growing exponentially. According to unofficial data, the number of permanent residents in the resort city has approached one million people. And that«s a catastrophe. Because officially, 561,610 people are registered in Sochi. That means 500,000 are essentially unaccounted for, yet they use schools, clinics, kindergartens, roads, water, and electricity. This is precisely what the local population lacks. Russians are drawn to the warmth, that»s understandable. But apart from the sea and sun, the resort city has little to offer. About what new Sochi residents lack, journalists from SOCHI1.RU asked them directly.

Disgusting Dampness and Mold

Sochi resident Alena Yefimova, who moved to the resort city from Irkutsk in 2011, misses real winter. She didn«t choose Sochi for living; her parents retired and wanted to live in warmth. And Alena went with them. She was sure that Sochi had a wonderful climate and no winter, but that»s a big misconception.

“Winter should be winter. With snow, with frost. But here, winter is nasty. Especially this January. Disgusting dampness and mold. Everything at home is damp: the bed, things in the closets. All normal people turn on humidifiers, but we use dehumidifiers,” says Alena. If snow does fall in Sochi, it causes chaos. And if there are heavy rains, then — floods. The storm drains in the resort have long been unable to handle the flows, and houses built over the last 20 years are constructed without any drainage system.

“I live in Matsesta, my apartment is on the first floor. It has been flooded several times during heavy rains. All I do is keep repairing it. Even if it doesn«t flood, after three years the walls get covered in mold and the wallpaper needs to be changed,” says Alena. In Sochi, there are extremely few houses with centralized heating. Mostly, people heat with split systems and underfloor heating.

“We pay 9,000 rubles per month (about $90 at current rates) for a 45-square-meter apartment in winter and still freeze,” claims Alena. She has put her apartment on Kurortny Prospekt up for sale. She decided to move to Moscow. She says she would happily come to Sochi to visit her parents on vacation. But she never adapted to life in the resort city.

And What About Education?

Former residents of Novosibirsk, and since 2010 of Sochi — Marina and Alexander Simonov moved with young children. Now they have grown up and need to think about university enrollment. They started studying the rankings of Sochi«s higher education institutions and realized that they wouldn»t study here. Therefore, they decided to move.

“Diplomas from local universities are not valued by employers. And the choice of universities is small. So we sold our apartment in Sochi and are moving to Krasnodar. We don«t want our three children to wander around rental apartments or dorms and be left to their own devices,” says Alexander. He actually dreamed of returning to Novosibirsk; the Sochi climate doesn»t suit him, and he started getting sick often. But his wife persuaded him to stay in the south.

“Krasnodar is also not a dream city, just look at the traffic jams. But at least there«s civilization — shopping centers, theaters, museums, life is bustling. And Sochi — it»s not even a remote province, it«s a village. We had a good time here, we don»t regret anything, but it«s time to develop. And to come here on vacation,” says Marina.

These «Chelyabinskers»

Albina Protasova, who moved to Sochi from Chelyabinsk 10 years ago, lacks culture. She lives in Adler, and it«s problematic for her to go to Sochi for plays that visiting artists show at the Winter Theater.

“And I don«t want to, mostly it»s cheap commercial productions at not-so-cheap prices. The theater doesn«t have its own troupe, so they have to take what they get. It»s good that in Sirius, classical music concerts are now held regularly, and famous performers come. It«s like a breath of fresh air. City events — it»s amateur art, not cultural life,” says Albina. She has long visited all the museums, and there«s nothing more to see there.

And she also lacks culture in communication. The girl is surprised that in Sochi, they somehow have a special attitude towards those who moved from Chelyabinsk. Sochi residents dislike them more than others.

“The level of upbringing among local residents leaves much to be desired. I«ve been contemptuously called a »Chelyabinsker« more than once. It»s a real phenomenon. I work part-time as a taxi driver in my free time. I was driving with a local man, we were chatting nicely, until he found out I«m from Chelyabinsk. He said: »these «Chelyabinskers» have taken over the whole city and ruined it.« Personally, I didn»t ruin anything, I pay taxes here,” says Albina. Overall, she is satisfied with life in Sochi. She likes that from the local airport, you can quickly fly to Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and visit other countries. Moreover, she really likes the nature in the resort. The girl is very athletic, goes to the mountains, has visited all possible routes in the national park and reserve. And she doesn«t plan to move yet.

Everything Is Twice as Expensive

«Ponayekh» (newcomer) from Chita Pavel Kutaev builds houses and repairs apartments in Sochi. And he really lacks normal construction stores. He has to go to Krasnodar to stock up at chain hardware stores. It«s cheaper to hire a truck and bring everything than to buy locally.

“Consumables and all other materials can be bought in Sochi, but there«s no choice and everything is twice as expensive. Here, there isn»t even «Leroy Merlin PRO» like in normal cities. It seems like local stores buy everything there and sell it to us at triple the price. Why chain stores don«t come here is unclear. They build a lot in Sochi, demand for building materials is high,” says Pavel.

By the way, many who moved, especially from large cities, complain about the absence of large shopping centers and chain stores in Sochi. And also about the shortage of doctors. In city clinics, it«s impossible to get to specialists, appointments are months in advance. For some, the problem is the difficult terrain. Houses are on mountains, forests too, you can»t go for a walk picking mushrooms. I have a friend who didn«t start driving in Sochi because of the narrow and winding roads. But a special category of complaints is about housing. People who don»t know the city and its problems almost bought apartments over the internet. And ended up in self-built houses that they don«t want to legalize, where there»s a lack of water and electricity. Or in houses on landslides. Hundreds of thousands of «ponayekhs» found themselves in such a situation.