Russian's are generally cyinical. Regardless of what they have, they will bitch and moan to all ends. I know a couple here who generally are unhappy.
Like most middle aged Europeans perhaps?
The ones who leave though, I find are cowards
For me it was the hardest thing I've ever done.
Being far away in the place I don't know wasn't easy. Took me to find my way around.
I imagine that Canada would be even more stressful than UK.
A family that is still in motherland is a depressing, especially if You love them to bits.
I'm not a sissy, but some moments I thought I could snap and cry like a girl.
What I noticed with Russian's is that they love overpriced crap like iPhones, BMW's, Mercedes, Jewellery, Massive screen TV's, etc. They think that is somehow the life that indicates a high standard of living, but it isn't.
And somewhere in my head I still have Soviet mentality when we had deficit - so if I want to get something I get best thing possible. New Iphone? I'll buy iOS developer license too, just in case I'll become app dev! Yeah, Galaxy S4? Why not, forget the iphone.
And I rather buy older car with full leather interior, big engine and not the new one with tiny engine.
Our values are really fucked up if You think about it. Give it a time I guess. Your Cossack ancestors probably were riding horses with golden horse-shoes and encrusted diamond teeth too.
Still good car is something all us Eastern Europeans want. Lithuanians were busting their balls buying damaged, flooded cars from USA, shipping them to Lithuania and fixing them till they looked like new. Russians went to Lithuania to buy INOMARKI, hell it was an economy back then, Russian hunger for BMW's and MB's saved my family from real hunger.
If you cannot do good for yourself in your own house, you will not do good for yourself in another home.
Not the case in my situation. Wage differences amongst two countries are such enormous that my head starts to spin.
I have a live example of my brother, being all talented and not wasting time in serving in certain institutions... Only his love of his life keeps him in the country. His wage is pathetic, he works with 5 things and get paid 1 wage.. He was in UK for 6 months and managed to earn for new car. In Lithuania he earns money for fuel and maintenance and parties. No plans for the future. He gets 1100 USD/pm when in UK he earned around $5000 (about £40000 p/y is standard wage for programmer)
What a high standard of living is having a decent roof over your head, and being able to afford the basic necessities like food. Which, there are many here who do not have that
And I know families of mafia men who have built themselves palaces but got jailed or killed and left decent roof over their heads(it has double meaning in criminal slang). Living standards are more than a place You sleep.
The wealthy in Russia will move away to splurge whatever they have, and hate the country where they made their wealth from, because they mostly stole that money and are being repremended for it so thety flee.
Sounds like revolutionary rhetoric
Putin is not a poor man, how many homes could You build just by selling his watch collection? It doesn't mean he hate the country. Not all rich people in Russia hate the country, don't paint them them with one brush. They might dislike poor people, but not the country.
My wife is from India. She knows first hand that what they tell you about the west when over in the east, is usually different than what it really is when you get here
My wife can tell that pastures are definitely greener here, well even literally speaking. She loves Britain and enjoys it. For her fragile character it was place where she was reborn. She is even able to make money by doing art and it's not possible to do that back our country. She couldn't drive car in Lithuania as people are rude drivers. Plus she is glad that there is less profanity in communication and people are more polite. Fuck sounds so easy compared to "nakhuy blet" etc. )))
I personally even spice my english with russian words "what nah?"
Now many people regret moving here, and realise that life was not much better than home.
For me it was flight of fight. Invisible enemy. In army where they pay You about 500 usd per month (!!!) with no real prospects. Sure some people have bright future in my country even in military, but I made right choice. Seen how dumb are certain people who only spend their lives in military. Doing only 1 thing in their lives. I'm proud of my service, but it doesn't change the fact that military service does make people zombies, it really stomps Your IQ down to a well trained dog. The way officers treat You is ridiculous as You can here incompetence and idiocy. Not saying that our army is retarded, but it does have retards in some warm places. People who were really interested in military have joined weekend warriors/volunteers and continued their everyday lives, real army sucks in long term. I married to a woman and eventually had no place to live and it was uber ridiculous.
Only problem here that I find myself out of place. Maybe I don't want to integrate, not really fond of mainstream western culture and have almost nothing in common with people I meet everyday. Their problems, needs and activities seems alien to me. I was never a loner, but here I don't even like to meet my own countrymen, most of them usually ask for help any ways.
But not every western country is safe or has many dangerous areas.
You are right, but dangerous or not it's usually not a criteria for Eastern Europeans not to move in.