Working in Moscow

Ask yourself : Why would anyone hire you ? You have no qualifications, cannot speak Russian, so what do you have to offer to a Russian employer ? You might get an occasional translation job but I don't see any chance of getting a work visa. As for working illegally : again you don't have anything to offer that the many illegal Central Asian and Caucausian immigrants wouldn't do for much less than you'll be willing to take.

What skills or job experience do you have? Moscow used to be an easy place for foreigners to get jobs back in the 90s but things changed consdierably after 1997. Now there are plenty of young Russians whose English skills are good, whose business training is decent and who take many of the jobs that were offered to foreigners.

Cheap living space is VERY difficult to find unless you have connections or some Russian friends to help you. As a foreigner you definitely won't find it easy to even find a place that is decently located or reasonably priced. The minute they see you are foreign the price will be doubled and they won't believe that you don't have the money to pay any price they ask.

Bottom line: forget this idea as it's very unrealistic.

Ruth

Hal,

if you are ready to take it as hard adventure why not to try? But always remember that in many ways Russia is much closer to Europe then to Asia... Moscow is such hospitable to moneyless foreigners as London is. But much colder and bit wilder:)

Small private language schools continiously need english natives and sometimes they require nothing besides your western nationality. May be you are lucky enough. But they hardly help you with getting work permit.

Cheap accomodation in Moscow is 200300 USD per simple room (not studio) per month in student hostel or in private appts (shared facilities anyway). Note that searching for wages and for cheap living space may take you not weeks but months.

Take care.

Thanks for the advice, guys. It is exactly what I wanted to know. I don't doubt that all of what has been said is true; it does seem like a daunting task. But, why not try? Actually, I might just get lucky. I have been browsing of ESL sights and have been in contact with a company that is looking for an English teacher and, although he knows I have no real qualifications, he wants to interview me by phone. Who knows?
Thanks,
Hal

Hal, that old adage that nothing in life is free is never more true than in Russia. If you're having fun, goofing off, you're young, are experimenting with your gap year, etc., than by all means go for it. But... have a plan in case it goes to shit. There are hundreds of stories of ESL teachers getting in serious jams because they didn't know any better. I'm quite confident that you will do smashing on your phone interview and will be offered a job. And then... what? Oh yes, you'll somehow be separated from your passport once you get where you're going. Oh, of course, it's only temporary - we need to process it, apply a stamp from the school to the visa, whatever. Great - now you're on the ground working long hours for little money in pretty crappy conditions with no passport.

Your profile says you have a degree - it won't take much for you to get a TEFL certificate and get hooked up with a legit TEFL group.

You'd do much better, imho, to find an American firm that will value your fine arts degree and get them to set you up as an expat working in Russia. They would, without a doubt, set you up with more money than you'd be making teaching TEFL in Russia. Go find an international firm and finagle a position as a curator of their art collection or the local community affairs officer. Yes, I know, I know, easier said than done.

It would be neat to hear where you land.

:)