2021-2024- our three years in Almaty, Kazakhstan has come to an end. Arriving in the midst of covid chaos, having been separated by vaccination restrictions over the summer, we are leaving the country in a completely different situation from which we arrived! From the pandemic, to the violent protest of January 2022, from the Russian/Ukraine war, to the two earthquakes, it’s been a time of highs, lows and anxiety for us. We arrived as a family of 4 and left as a family of 5, with the arrival of our daughter in July ’22 adding an extra layer of adventure and chaos into our KZ experience. We decided that it was time to close the chapter on our life in Central Asia as we move back to Malaysia to bring up our daughter in a familiar place with easier access to family.

Kazakhstan has changed in the three years we have been here. The level of English has risen, tourism is very much on the agenda and the country is slowly becoming more accessible and more of a pin on a traveller world map than it has ever has been before. The cost of living has risen dramatically since the Russian/Ukraine war, with rental prices through the roof and housing in somewhat of a crisis within Almaty. Our house, for example, was a DIY, pink make shift house which was barely standing, suffered from an electrical fire and multiple floods and was basically made out of random ladders, pipes and corrugated metal. It set us back over £1000 a month and everything was broken. Everything that broke was paid at our own expense. However, I’ll always hold a place in my heart for that strange house because of how bizarre it was as a first home for our daughter.

The next thing to talk about is food. As two people who love food, we struggled. It is impossible to find imported foods such as cheese, Marmite, salt and vinegar crisps (all the stables of a true Brit), but also impossible to find decent spices, tropical fruit, curry etc which are stable foods for a Malaysian. Between the two of us, we were rarely happy food wise. That’s not to say there isn’t a huge eating culture in the city. You can find many different cuisines to eat out but the supermarkets are a sorry affair. If you like shashlik, horse meat or dill, you’ll be fine. You can find decent Italian, Lebanese and Chinese food but if you’ve lived in SE Asia you will be pining for the flavours. Coffee is easy to find and great, and the selection of teas is vast. The price of food in the supermarket has really risen with the cost of living and groceries are expensive especially if you want to buy imported food. The Green Bazaar is a great place to find fresh fruit and vegetables but if you’re searching the city for baked beans, you might be coming back empty handed.

Kazakhstan has extreme seasons. Winter is from November to April and Summer is from May to September, with a really swift Autumn and Spring. In the winter, the air pollution is horrible but the mountains offer stunning beauty and skiing on your door step. It really was a privilege to be able to ski every weekend at three different resorts for a fraction of the cost of Europe. You can really embrace the winter, or you can hibernate away. In the summer, it’s very hot and very dry. There are many pools to enjoy, horse riding, hiking, cycling, running and everyone eats outside at all the cafes. I enjoyed aspects of all the seasons but found winter long and hard by the end. With a young child, winter can seem restrictive.

What did I love about Almaty? The views, the ease of walking in the city, my job and my friends. I made some amazing friends for life and I really enjoyed working at my school. The salary and benefits are a draw and saving potential is high in spite of the rising cost of living. As an avid skier and hiker, the mountains were an amazing playground to explore. I’ve never seen such beautiful nature. There are definitely very special things about living in Almaty and things I will remember fondly.

What did I find frustrating about Almaty? It’s always easy to work things out due to the language barrier, as an expat there isn’t a huge community around and it’s hard to fly out of (but I believe it’s getting better). It’s a long expensive flight to get anywhere.

Almaty was a life changing experience for us. Having a child, new professional opportunities, a totally different culture to embrace and understand, the seasons, the surrounding countries we explored and the many memories we made with friends have made it a wonderful, exciting, frustrating and adventurous three years. Now we are back in Malaysia, we are ready for an easier life! Thank you Almaty for the ups and downs, the beauty and the challenge.  Kazakhstan is a country that everyone should experience for nature and history.