Moscow Apartment. The Basic Facts.

The first thing to understand about living and renting in Moscow is that if you want to live in the city it's almost a certainty that you'll be living in an apartment. There are very few houses or town homes within the city. Most expats tend to rent apartments, unless their firms have purchased a house or apartment for their use.

In Russia, residential properties are first of all described by the total number of rooms. For example, a three-room Moscow apartment is an apartment with a living room and two other rooms. Kitchens and bathrooms are not counted in this description.

The next descriptive category is floor area. Moscow apartment size is usually given in metres (10.7 sq feet to the sq metre) and the area may be expressed either in total metres (all rooms, plus hallways, and toilet), or total room metres (all rooms including the kitchen). Floor area for houses (usually referred to as cottages) is described in total floor area.

Yet another thing to think about is the type of building. Moscow apartment buildings range from late 19th/ early 20th century art nouveau style buildings, to modern Soviet high-rise blocks built from pre-fabricated panels. There are also town homes available in gated communities catering to expats and the Russian noveau riche, as well as well-built apartment buildings erected since the fall of communism.

Unless you are on a tight budget, try to avoid the five-story "Khruschevki" buildings. So-named because these buildings were developed when Nikita Khruschev was in power, the apartments in these buildings are generally small, there are no lifts, and the construction quality is very poor. Also, many of the Khruschevki are now being razed to make way for larger residential buildings.