Review

I bought a one-room apartment; it'll do for a start. It's small, but it's my own and the building is new. But I'm under no illusions—it's a tough economy class apartment, the sound is terrible, and the ventilation hums like an airplane turbine.

The door from the developer was foil and opened with a can opener. I immediately threw it out and installed a proper one. I installed the locks myself, so I have peace of mind now, even though there are always some weird guys wandering around the floor.

The neighbors are a complete mixed bag: some are normal families, and others throw discos until the early hours. The building chat is filled with constant squabbles over litter and noise; it's never boring.

The walls here are purely symbolic; I can hear my neighbors talking in calm voices. If someone sneezes behind the wall, I want to say, "Bless you!"—the sound quality is simply terrible.

The apartment was ready, but the renovation was a slapdash affair: the wallpaper was peeling, the laminate flooring was uneven. I had to redo a lot myself, re-attach baseboards, and replace electrical outlets so they wouldn't fall out.

I installed budget appliances, but the washing machine bounces around the bathroom during the spin cycle, but it still does the job. The wiring is weak; if I turn on the heater and iron, it trips the circuit breaker in the hallway.

The internet is the only thing I have no issues with. The optics are working, the speed is fantastic. It's more than enough for playing tanks or watching streams, and the ping is minimal.

The windows look directly into the windows of the neighboring building, so you can exchange glances with your neighbors and see what they're having for dinner. There's little sunlight; the courtyard, like a well, blocks out most of the daylight.

The building is huge, crowded, and the elevators are always busy or broken. The entryways are already "tired," the walls are covered in graffiti, and the plaster has peeled off in places, even though the building is only a couple of years old.

The cleaning lady comes, but with a thousand tenants, there's no time to clean. By evening, the elevator is full of trash and dirt. The trash cans in the courtyard are overflowing, the wind blows bags around, and the view is pretty bad.

There are cameras, apparently, but whether they work is questionable. The intercom is often broken, the door is wide open, and anyone can come in, and there's no security at the entrance.

The courtyard is gigantic, with tons of playgrounds. It's a real blast for kids, with plenty of room to run around. In the evening, it's as lively as Arbat Street: teenagers, moms, music, and the activity continues until late at night.

Parking is practically impossible; the yards are packed three ways, and "parking wars" are the norm. I park my car on the driveway behind the house, and even then I'm afraid they'll knock my mirror off.

The water is shut off regularly once a week, sometimes due to an emergency, sometimes for maintenance. The lights also flicker, and I've installed a UPS for my computer, otherwise I risk burning out the hardware.

The Nauryzbaysky district is new and promising, but there's still construction going on. It's far from civilization; without a car, you're like an island, but at least the housing is affordable.

There's construction going on all around, so the dust is thick, making washing the car pointless. The asphalt was laid recently; before that, we were trudging through the mud with knee-high boots.

Patrols are out and about, a police station is nearby, and it seems quiet, but it's best not to venture into the side streets at night. There are lights on the main streets, but the courtyards are a bit dark in some places.

There's a view of the mountains if you go out onto the road, but otherwise, it's just concrete blocks stretching to the horizon. There's no greenery at all. They've planted some trees, but they're just twigs and offer no shade.

There are buses, but in the mornings they're a massacre, with people hanging off the steps. The ride to the center takes an hour and a half, if you're lucky. They're promising a metro, but no one knows when it'll be back.

Alatau Avenue is at a standstill, and the exit onto Tashkentskaya is hell at any time of day. In the morning and evening, everything here is red, and taxi drivers charge triple the price.