Newcomers Explain Why Sochi is for Vacation, Not 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. And that is a catastrophe. Because officially, 561,610 people are registered in Sochi. That means 500,000 are not accounted for, yet they use schools, clinics, kindergartens, roads, water, and electricity. This is exactly what the local population lacks. Russians are drawn to the warmth, that«s understandable. But besides the sea and sun, the resort city has little to offer. We asked new Sochi residents what they are missing.
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 life; 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 is a big misconception.
«Winter should be winter. With a little 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 it does snow in Sochi, there is a collapse. And if there are heavy rains, then there are floods. The storm drains in the resort have long been unable to cope with the flows, and the 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. You barely have time to do repairs. Even if it doesn»t flood, after three years the walls get covered in mold and the wallpaper has to be changed,« says Alena. In Sochi, there are very few houses with centralized heating. Mostly, people heat with split-systems and underfloor heating.
«We pay 9,000 rubles (about $100 at current rates) a month for a 45-square-meter apartment in winter and we»re still cold,« claims Alena. She has put her apartment on Resort Avenue up for sale. She decided to move to Moscow. She says she would gladly come to Sochi to visit her parents for 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 small children. Now they have grown up and it«s time to think about entering universities. They started looking at the ratings of Sochi»s higher education institutions and realized they wouldn«t study here. So they decided to move.
«The 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 rented 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, 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 is civilization there — shopping centers, theaters, museums, life is bustling. But 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 for vacation,» says Marina.
Those «Chelyabs»
Albina Protasova, who moved to Sochi from Chelyabinsk 10 years ago, misses culture. She lives in Adler, and it«s problematic for her to go to Sochi for performances that visiting artists show in the Winter Theater.
«And I don»t really want to, mostly it«s cheap commercial productions at not so cheap prices. The theater doesn»t have its own troupe, so we have to take what they give. It«s good that in Sirius (the Sirius educational center) there are now regular classical music concerts, famous performers come. It»s like a breath of fresh air. The city«s events are amateur performances, not cultural life,» says Albina. She has long visited all the museums, there«s nothing more to see there.
And she also misses a culture of communication. The girl is surprised that in Sochi they have a special attitude towards those who moved from Chelyabinsk. Sochi residents dislike them more than others.
«The level of upbringing of the local residents leaves much to be desired. I have been called a »Chelyab« with contempt more than once. It»s a phenomenon. I work part-time as a taxi driver in my free time. I was riding with a local man, we were having a pleasant conversation until he found out I was from Chelyabinsk. He said: «These »Chelyabs« have taken over and ruined the whole city.» Personally, I haven«t ruined anything, I pay taxes here,» says Albina. In general, 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 at the resort. The girl is very athletic, goes to the mountains, has visited all possible routes in the national park and nature reserve. And she doesn«t plan to move for now.
Everything is Twice as Expensive
Newcomer from Chita, Pavel Kutaev, builds houses and renovates apartments in Sochi. And he really misses 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 is no choice and everything is twice as expensive. Here there isn»t even a «Leroy Merlin PRO» (a chain of DIY stores) as in normal cities. It seems like local stores buy everything there and sell it to us at three times the price. Why chain stores don«t come here is unclear. They build a lot in Sochi, the demand for building materials is high,» says Pavel.
By the way, the lack of large shopping centers and chain stores in Sochi is complained about by many newcomers, especially from big cities. And also the shortage of doctors. In city clinics, it«s impossible to get through to specialists, appointments are booked months in advance. For some, the problem is the difficult terrain. Houses are on mountains, and the forest too, you can»t just go for a mushroom-picking walk. I have a friend who stopped driving in Sochi because of the narrow and winding roads. But a special category of complaints is about housing. People who didn«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 is a lack of water and electricity. Or in houses on landslides. Hundreds of thousands of newcomers have found themselves in such a situation.
