Moving to Russia to Find Work

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You might have got it.

I tend to take people at their word and not to see what they say as blowing off steam.

Sigh. The most boomer take ever. I literally told everyone here that America doesn't hire my type anymore.

Uh huh sure you are. Hows the process of getting a visa going?

Russia? Seriously?

Not somewhere I would want to be. Knowing me, I would be Novichucked on a daily basis.

Nah, they'd just throw you into the meat grinder so you die as a proud Russian, with Ukrainians to your front and Chechens to your rear.

FWIW, I wouldn't generally recommend moving to a place where there's a mass exodus in process without having a really good reason for it. From what I can tell, there's been about a million Russians that have fled the country since the start of the war in Ukraine and the country doesn't even have enough young people left to press into service to replace the ones the ones that are being killed or going missing in action.

Moving countries to try to find work is always a risky endeavor even under the best of circumstances. A change in your employment status can take with it your permission to be in the country at all, and if you are there with a visa, there's varying rules about the degree to which you can change employers without having to leave the country for a period of time.

For those that haven't ever lived in an authoritarian country, it can be extremely hard to understand just how invasive that can be and even if they aren't outright harassing you and threatening to kick you out, it still gets in your brain that certain things are not to be talked about and certain people are not to be associated with far faster than you might imagine.

I haven't personally been to Russia as there really hasn't been a point in time where it was a great time to go there, but I'd really suggest a certain amount of caution, given that the country's own citizens are fleeing i such large numbers. The country remains in no danger of running out of people, but they have largely exhausted the people that are available for military service and things could get extremely ugly very quickly if Putin loses the support of enough of the oligarchs for a regime change to happen.

MatchboxVagabond: Very well said.

Dear lord, people younger than me spouting off boomer style nonsense on Russia. Like stop watching Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. Stop being propagandized and do your own research. I plan on getting a tourist visa first, then a work visa eventually. As far as being under an authoritarian state, as long as you play by the rules, and don't do anything stupid, you will be fine. And if you have to ask what exactly constitutes being stupid, well, you're beyond hope. And don't travel outside of wherever you live, because it's clear you plan on doing something stupid to justify your own biases.

Let us know when you get there!

Hmm - pot, kettle I'd say...

"Hmm - pot, kettle I'd say... "
Oh. You definitely voted for Kamala. I can already tell.

Seems to me that America and Russia are both countries with minimum social support systems. The American medical system, with it's 'accept bankruptcy or stay away' model, is a joke to the rest of the West. So if you want to make it in Russia, good luck.

But success there won't just be handed to you there anymore than in USA. If you can't make it work in the country where you speak the same language, what makes you think you'll succeed elsewhere? Christians say, 'If you're not a missionary at home, don't expect a plane ticket to suddenly make you one'.

Or you can think of it like if you crash while driving a car, there's a good chance you can get out and walk away, but if your boat sinks a hundred miles out to sea, just how good a swimmer are you?

Maybe treat each state in USA as a foreign country. I'm sure Maine is quite different to Alabama. Do your research and find a state that's better suited to your needs.

I'd be buying American body armour before you go.
You don't want to end up with a wooden flak jacket

Huh?

Hospitals and doctors often settle for pennies on the dollar.

I had a recent out-patient surgery. On paper, it probably all came out to about $80,000, but the actual payments by insurance came out to about $5,000.

A neighbor of mine was bitten by a rattlesnake about three or four years ago. He was airlifted to a big city hospital for about $60,000 and the treatment was over $300,000. He had no insurance and they settled for about $10,000.

I'm told that if you don't have insurance and have a big medical bill, pay $25 a month on it. After a year or two of that, they will supposedly reach out to negotiate a far smaller payment to settle the entire bill.

Ironwood?