Godzillas hostel?

[sense1 0]

If you look at Moscow as a big circle, there's what they call the Garden Ring as kind of a smaller circle within the larger circle. Inside there is the "downtown" of Moscow with Red Square and the Kremlin, etc. The U.S. embassy is in the upper-left portion of the circle, very close to the Garden Ring. There is a Metro stop only a few blocks from the embassy so really anywhere you stay in the city, it's within walking distance of the embassy.

Inside the Ring is more expensive, so situate her inside the larger circle but outside of the Garden Ring. Make sure the apartment is within walking distance of a metro stop and she'll be able to get around the city just fine in about 30 minutes. Most of the websites that list apartments all have the nearest Metro station listed. Use that to figure out where it is in the city.

Also, if any of you are ever going to Moscow, don't worry about addresses so much as Metro stops. Sure, you need to know the building number and which street you're staying on, but the Metro station nearest your place is going to be what you'll use for directions.

Slim,

I found a room 5 minutes walk from Belarusskaja Metro for $80 a night. Is this a good deal? Of course, I would like to find a place that is less expensive (maybe $50 a night) but I need to be realistic considering the time that I have left to get a place for her to stay. It is not easy to find information about Moscow accomodations that are reasonable. I have sent emails to rusgirlfriday and Pasha and have visited waytorussia.net and various other sites. I'm sure that there are many places to stay but they are not advertised on the net. If she were in the U.S. I would just book a room at the local Motel 6 for $37.99 a night Thank you for your help!

[Don E 0]

IMO, you'll be hard pressed to find anything less than $80/night that would be acceptable (to me) in Moscow. Of course, each person has his/her own standards. Is $80/night reasonable for the "room" that you've found? I don't have nearly enough information to offer an opinion on that question. I hope that you've at least seen some photos of what the place "supposedly" looks like?

JMO.......

[slim 1,525]

Jump on that!

$80 is a good deal (non-Muscovite prices) for a small apartment or hotel room. I hope that's what you meant by "room." Either way, Belarusskaja is within walking distance (for a Russian, not for my fat @$$!) to the embassy, the zoo, and even to the Kremlin/Red Square. (Once again, for a Russian it's within walking distance. It took me about 35 minutes to walk all the way down there.) However, jumping on that Metro will take them anywhere real quick.

When I stayed in Moscow, that's the area I stayed in. Pretty nice, actually. If I were you, I'd book it if it was a small apart or hotel room. If it's just a room in someone's house, I'd keep looking. You can find rooms in someone's house for like $30/night. Since she's travelling with her son, it's probably better if they have their own accomodations.

Edited: Almost forgot, if she's taking the train, Bellarusskaja vokzal (the big train station, not the metro, the actual train) is in the same complex as Bellarusskaja metro stop. She can take the train all the way there from her city and then catch the mini-bus or a cheap taxi to the hotel with her bags. Shouldn't be more than a couple bucks. This trip is getting cheaper and cheaper!

Edited April 24, 2008 by slim

[sense1 0]

Today I got an email about the $80 apartment. In fact the $80 a night is only for a room in the apartment. The owner informed me that the whole apartment would be $144 per night. I am disappointed because I thought I had finally found a place for her to stay that isn't outrageous The search continues...

[eekee 182]

would it really be a problem to stay in a room in an apartment?

Today I got an email about the $80 apartment. In fact the $80 a night is only for a room in the apartment. The owner informed me that the whole apartment would be $144 per night. I am disappointed because I thought I had finally found a place for her to stay that isn't outrageous The search continues...

[sense1 0]

would it really be a problem to stay in a room in an apartment?

Today I got an email about the $80 apartment. In fact the $80 a night is only for a room in the apartment. The owner informed me that the whole apartment would be $144 per night. I am disappointed because I thought I had finally found a place for her to stay that isn't outrageous The search continues...

I think it would be fine for her and her son to stay in a room in an apartment. However, from what I have read here it sounds like $80 is too much to pay for a room rental.

[Satellite 1]

I should go back to Moscow and lease a place for a year, furnish it, and sublease it too all the westerners needing a place to house their loved ones during the interview process. Profit can be had! What do you think Slim, joint venture? Leasing a place a for a year would probably only run about $500 - $800 a month. At $100 a day you could recoup that in a week!

[groovlstk 0]

I should go back to Moscow and lease a place for a year, furnish it, and sublease it too all the westerners needing a place to house their loved ones during the interview process. Profit can be had! What do you think Slim, joint venture? Leasing a place a for a year would probably only run about $500 - $800 a month. At $100 a day you could recoup that in a week!

Two years ago this month I spent $70 per night for this place, which is a block from the Belaruskaya metro station:

http://arendakvart.narod.ru/photobkondratevskaya23.html

As you can see the price is closer to $110 per night, now. As a previous poster wrote, you are not going to find a decent place she can stay alone in within the garden ring for $50 per night, not going to happen even if you were a local.

You should also be aware that this whole process doesn't get less expensive once she arrives. Please know that if you're nickel and diming over a few hundred dollars now, you may really struggle when she is here.

[slim 1,525]

I should go back to Moscow and lease a place for a year, furnish it, and sublease it too all the westerners needing a place to house their loved ones during the interview process. Profit can be had! What do you think Slim, joint venture? Leasing a place a for a year would probably only run about $500 - $800 a month. At $100 a day you could recoup that in a week!

Satellite, in all seriousness, after reading thousands upon thousands of posts here on VJ, I've had this thought more than a few times. Seeing the amount of cash men are willing to dole out when it comes to "costs" associated with the VJ process, I've often thought I could make a pretty nice living simply assisting VJ'ers (and non-VJ K-1 guys) out. I even took it so far as helping with adoptions too after my mother had me and my wife help her translate a few Russian and Ukrainian websites dealing with adoptions. It seems to be a similar process. One in which thousands of dollars are paid in associated "costs" necessary to complete the process.

If you're really interested in doing this, I would love to be the "boots on the ground" in Moscow. I thought about running the business strictly from a home office here in the States, but there's a lot of money to be made from meeting "in person" at the destination. I figure buying/leasing a few units would be a couple grand and I could rent them out at a discounted rate of only $100/night which would pretty much guarantee 100% rentals. I would pay my driver $20 (of the $50 fee charged to the customer) to pick them up at the airport and bring them to the apartment. For a small fee, I would personally show them around the city..... anyway, giving away trade secrets here. Even just spending downtime translating unnecessary documents for $10/page is probably a great way to save for retirement.

Start-up money is the problem now. See you in about three years? Oh, and in the mean time we've gotta figure out how much it's going to cost for "protection."

You should also be aware that this whole process doesn't get less expensive once she arrives. Please know that if you're nickel and diming over a few hundred dollars now, you may really struggle when she is here.

That is a fact. If you have to budget to get the trip done, you're going to have to rob Peter to pay Paul after her arrival. That's a huge strain on the relationship as well. It's easy to be happy when you're both "on vacation" but when you're in the every day grind, and there's no extra money for anything, it gets tough. Ensure she knows where you're coming from.

[aspettando 0]

http://www.russiangirlfriday.com/

She helped us with finding an apartment and arranging transportation.

Hi,

I sent an email to this person but she never answered back. Do you know if she is

still in business?

Thank you ,

Javier

[slim 1,525]

There's been a few people lately who have emailed her and gotten no response. Last I heard, she was away for a while and unable to get back to people in time. That, and she's been extremely busy. As far as I know she's still in business.

[aspettando 0]

would it really be a problem to stay in a room in an apartment?

Today I got an email about the $80 apartment. In fact the $80 a night is only for a room in the apartment. The owner informed me that the whole apartment would be $144 per night. I am disappointed because I thought I had finally found a place for her to stay that isn't outrageous The search continues...

I think it would be fine for her and her son to stay in a room in an apartment. However, from what I have read here it sounds like $80 is too much to pay for a room rental.

Last August, Masha and I stayed at the Sverchkov 8. It cost $80/night for a clean soviet style double room, breakfast (nothing fancy) included. The closest metro station is Kitay Gorod, half way between the hotel and Kremlin (about a 15 minute walk). If Kremlin is your center of coordinates, the Sverchkov is somewhat symetrically opposite to the Arbat district, where the US embassy I believe is located. Let your fiancee call (625-4978) and find out if this suits you. On line: http://www.all-hotels.ru/h116545/hotel/index.en.html and search for Sverchkov 8. Masha's interview probably will be in July, so we will try again with the FridayGirl, but if this person is not avaliable right now, here you have another possibilty. Best to you, buddy Javier

[sense1 0]

would it really be a problem to stay in a room in an apartment?

Today I got an email about the $80 apartment. In fact the $80 a night is only for a room in the apartment. The owner informed me that the whole apartment would be $144 per night. I am disappointed because I thought I had finally found a place for her to stay that isn't outrageous The search continues...

I think it would be fine for her and her son to stay in a room in an apartment. However, from what I have read here it sounds like $80 is too much to pay for a room rental.

Last August, Masha and I stayed at the Sverchkov 8. It cost $80/night for a clean soviet style double room, breakfast (nothing fancy) included. The closest metro station is Kitay Gorod, half way between the hotel and Kremlin (about a 15 minute walk). If Kremlin is your center of coordinates, the Sverchkov is somewhat symetrically opposite to the Arbat district, where the US embassy I believe is located. Let your fiancee call (625-4978) and find out if this suits you. On line: http://www.all-hotels.ru/h116545/hotel/index.en.html and search for Sverchkov 8. Masha's interview probably will be in July, so we will try again with the FridayGirl, but if this person is not avaliable right now, here you have another possibilty. Best to you, buddy Javier

Thank you for your suggestions. I emailed rusgirlfriday too and after 5 days she emailed me back. She is super busy. Must be alot of people trying to get rooms for their visa interviews.

[aspettando 0]

would it really be a problem to stay in a room in an apartment?

Today I got an email about the $80 apartment. In fact the $80 a night is only for a room in the apartment. The owner informed me that the whole apartment would be $144 per night. I am disappointed because I thought I had finally found a place for her to stay that isn't outrageous The search continues...

I think it would be fine for her and her son to stay in a room in an apartment. However, from what I have read here it sounds like $80 is too much to pay for a room rental.

Last August, Masha and I stayed at the Sverchkov 8. It cost $80/night for a clean soviet style double room, breakfast (nothing fancy) included. The closest metro station is Kitay Gorod, half way between the hotel and Kremlin (about a 15 minute walk). If Kremlin is your center of coordinates, the Sverchkov is somewhat symetrically opposite to the Arbat district, where the US embassy I believe is located. Let your fiancee call (625-4978) and find out if this suits you. On line: http://www.all-hotels.ru/h116545/hotel/index.en.html and search for Sverchkov 8. Masha's interview probably will be in July, so we will try again with the FridayGirl, but if this person is not avaliable right now, here you have another possibilty. Best to you, buddy Javier

Thank you for your suggestions. I emailed rusgirlfriday too and after 5 days she emailed me back. She is super busy. Must be alot of people trying to get rooms for their visa interviews.

I apologize for telling you wrong . It was a mental lapsus. We stayed at the Sverchkov but it was actually $150/night. I got confused with a hotel in some small place we went to. I am really sorry for misleading you. Best luck with rusgirlfriday. I think this is the best choice. I hope she answers back to me.

Good Luck