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The next post has been resurrected from the old forum - I thought it was just too good to languish in the 'forum2' directory where nobody would ever see it again...

Some people told me it couldn't be done. Others told me I was crazy.

I decided to go teach English in Russia, but instead of going to Moscow or St. Petersburg, I went to Arkhangelsk. It's a city of 350,000 - with VERY few fluent English speakers. Even the "fluent" Russian teachers at English schools there have a heck of a long way to go...

I had an offer from a university to teach (for the typical Russian teacher rate of about $2 per hour), but I obviously disregarded this and went on my own as a freelancer. It took one ad in a newspaper (a free ad, by the way), and hanging up photocopied sheets with little tear-off phone numbers in two local universities, and I had already found a lot of students. I had to stop advertising by the third week or so, since I was already overwhelmed.

The visa that I used to get there was a student visa. It is possible to pay about $600+ for a full year university course in Russian language (you can choose to not go to school, as I did - the people at the school know that you're not serious about learning, and they're happy to get the money) just to get the visa. This visa can be extended (or changed into a multi-entry visa) for very little cost (I think it was 175 rubles or something). I always thought that this kind of visa extension while in the country was illegal... don't you just love Russia??

The students in small cities are desperate for communication with native speakers. You'll probably be the only fluent, native speaker there (ok, maybe there will be four or five of you in total), so you have a tremendous opportunity to make as much money as you want. If you feel like working longer hours, you'll make a lot more money.

Some people may tell you that small cities are too poor, so nobody can afford to pay a decent amount for lessons with a native speaker. This is untrue. In every city, there will be wealth. Most students speak fluent "textbook English" - that is, they speak English perfectly except for slang, idiomatic expressions, and other things that they just don't teach in universities.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my experiences. If anybody ever tells you it's impossible, just buy a ticket for small-town Russia and prove them wrong.

Dave

Very interesting article. I'm getting more and more excited about getting my visa - once I have that little bit of paper in my passport, Russia is my oyster!

I just had somebody looking for more information about my experiences outside of the big cities. I copied and pasted my answer below. Maybe it's of use to somebody else, too.

I've been meaning to expand on this post for a while. I will get around to it sooner or later.

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Hi! It's incredibly easy to teach outside of the big cities. The biggest thing is getting a visa that will let you stay in the country for a long time, probably. What I did was pay $500 for a half year course at the university in Arkhangelsk, with them fully knowing that my main goal in Russia was to work and not go to school, and didn't intend on going to classes often (it turned out to be *once*). This got me a visa, with a guarantee that they'd extend it.

They say (ie. 99% of people on this or any other site about Russia) that you MUST leave the country in order to get a new visa... not true. I went there with a single entry three month visa, and while I was there, paid about $20 for an "upgrade" to a six month multiple entry visa. I wouldn't count on being able to get this same deal - make sure you ask a million questions about getting visa extensions before you go.

With the visa thing out of the way, I made plans through the university to stay for a week in their "hotel" (just a renovated floor in one of the dormitories, TVs in rooms, etc.). This gave me just enough time to search for an apartment in the newspaper. I bought a cellphone, too. Can't live without one in Russia.

Now, I was in Russia with an apartment, visa, and nothing to do. Luckily, there is a very popular advertising newspaper in Arkhangelsk - it's free to submit ads. I put an ad in there, saying something like (in Russian) "English tutoring, teacher from Canada, all levels. 7-921-xxx-xxxx."

I spent a half hour in a local internet club, typed up an ad with tear-off phone number tabs, and printed it off. I made a few copies and went on my way to two of the local universities (bought some scissors and thumbtacks on the way). All of the universities have various boards for posting advertisements. You just need to get permission (which is easy) and you're all set.

Sit back, wait maximum two days, and you'll start getting calls. You'll need to keep submitting the same ad to the newspaper, and keep going back to the universities every couple days to make sure the ad is still there (some have a bad habit of disappearing).

I went to a local bookstore and bought a bunch of books (cost maybe $30 for a whole bunch of them from beginner to advanced).

After two weeks, I already had the maximum number of students that I could handle. When each potential student would call, I'd arrange to meet him or her (come to think of it, no guys called for lessons - girls there are far more interested in languages) at some convenient place. I'd offer lessons for 100 rubles per hour at my apartment, and 150 at their place. As time went by, I upped the price to 150 and only gave lessons from my apartment. Taking buses to the other side of town takes too long - about 45 minutes, another 45 minutes back - which is time that I could be using with another student at my apartment. I did, though, agree to be a guest at a local English school a couple times a month (for 150p a shot). It was so easy and lots of fun. I'd sit in a chair and just start asking the students questions. They'd ask me questions. I was the first fluent English speaker that most of them had ever spoken with. Very interesting times. Most of my students, though, were advanced. Any English teacher, even the worst Russian teacher of English, can teach the basics of grammar and common words. You'll be in demand because advanced speakers speak English fluently except for slang, phrasal verbs, and so on. I got a library card so I could borrow Cosmopolitan magazines and go through articles with my students. They're FILLED with slang. Real English newspaper articles were also helpful (I'm not referring to stuff in the Moscow News that is written by fluent English speaking Russians).

Now, this isn't going to *make* you any money. I was paying about $200/month on my apartment, buying groceries and so on. You'll have to find a lot of students and work pretty hard to get money coming in. Luckily, my wife found a job there within the first two weeks. I had worked a lot in Canada before going over, making sure that I had a bunch of money in my bank account that I could fall back on. I put our return flights on my credit card.

I was offered a job at the university, but it worked out to be a buck or so per hour. You can do a lot better on your own than that. If you can manage to make plans with the university early enough, you can actually get a room in the student residence for $17 / month. That makes it REALLY easy to make money.

Now, I've got nothing against the schools in Moscow or St. Petersburg. I'm sure they're great, and they've got lots of fans here on the board. But it didn't fit my needs. In fact, I was just killing some time in Russia while we got some stuff cleared up with Canadian immigration, so as soon as we got the go-ahead, we'd be going back. I wanted to avoid a contract at all costs.

Anyway, I'm sure I missed a million things. I had a great time. I love Arkhangelsk. I've got some great friends there that I really miss. If there's anything else, just ask.

Dave