Way to Russia Talk Lounge

ssmaman · Just Starting Joined: 25 Mar 2005 Posts: 3

I'm looking for an inexpensive (300-350 US) short-term apartment in Chelyabinsk (for about ONE month). I'm not sure of the dates yet, but from around the 10 April to the 10 May.

Preferably not too far from the centre, clean, safe and bright (!!)

Can anyone suggest a good contact or website -- or perhaps a real estate agency? I can't seem to find anything here or elsewhere on the internet. Many thanks,

wavetossed · WayToRussified Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 337

Go here and use the contact information at the bottom of the page
http://www.firstdream.com/ourservices.shtml

You can find apartments to rent for a week or two in any Russian city. That is because after Soviet times, many Russians were given ownership of the apartment in which they live. If they no longer need the apartment because they are working in another city or they moved in with a lover, then they often keep the empty apartment and rent it out through an agency. This works because most Russian cities also do not have enough hotel rooms to meet the market demand.

In a way, this is the Russian version of the B&B phenomenon found in European countries. Just like B&Bs, they aren't very well organized and there is no single central source of every available place.

So your best bet is to find a local contact in the travel business, like the one at the URL above, and then explain your requirements. Make sure you practice locking and unlocking the door before you are left on your own. Some Russian (or European) locking systems don't work the way you might expect. Also make sure you know how to turn the gas on and off, in case there are leaks. In my case, it wasn't a real leak. I had somehow jostled the oven control so that gas leaked into the oven whenever the burner was not lit. When I smelled gas, I shut it off at the source and lived like this for a week until I figured out the real problem.