[doombolt]

Bad parts: Yes, there is disrepair since the owners do not care about any common property. Everything outside their doorstep is not their concern. They expect "city" or "state" to take care of it. They care even less about the area surrounding their compound.

Good parts: People do not mind gentrification. All those people who would be pushed out of their rented homes instead happy and gay that their property rise in price and worth more if they decide to rent it out. Note: avoid telling those people that they are gay

Weird parts: In Moscow, renting an one bedroom is ~$400/mo. There are a lot of jobs in public sector or small business which pay around $400/mo. How do people manage on that kind of salary? You guessed it right, they're homeowners, so they pay $50 in utilities and they're all set. So you can say that a lot of jobs are still subsidized by late USSR's construction boom.

[zhte415]

Renting a somewhat modern one bedroom apartment in Moscow for $400/month seems pretty cheap.