I want a house: choosing an ideal place to live in Russia

At the end of 2021, statistical surveys showed that eight out of ten city dwellers are thinking about moving to villages and villages. As advantages, the citizens of Russia called good ecology, the opportunity to live in spacious houses, and not in cramped apartments, natural food. Also among the advantages is the minimization of stress and city fuss. Moreover, among those wishing to move out of the city of young people – more than 70%.

To answer the question of where it is better to move, we are launching a series of articles about each federal district of Russia. Consider not only the environment, but also the income of the population, soil fertility, roads, nature features and much more. This article is about the Center of Russia, one of the most developed and densely populated districts.

The Central Federal District includes 18 regions: Bryansk, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kostroma, Moscow, Orel, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, Yaroslavl, Belgorod, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Ryazan, Kursk and Tambov.

Nature

The district is located in the center of the East European, or Russian, plain. That’s why the relief is mostly flat with minimal elevation changes. In the west there is the Valdai Upland, where picturesque hills coexist with low-lying valleys. In the east, which is lower, there are many swamps and ravines.

Despite the high population density and infrastructure development, here quite a lot of forests have been preserved – more than 30% of the entire territory. The forests are mostly mixed, that is, coniferous trees are adjacent to broad-leaved trees.

There are four large rivers on the territory: Volga, Don, Dnieper and Zapadnaya Dvina. Wherein the provision of the population with water resources in the Central Federal District is much lower than the average for Russia: The county ranks last. As for groundwater, the reserves are quite well studied and more than 20% have been developed.

The Central Federal District has a temperate continental climate with distinct seasons. The best conditions are in the south, in the regions of the Black Earth region. There are long summers and mild winters with snow.

Ecology

According to the rating, which is compiled by the Green Patrol organization every season, following the results of the winter of 2021-22, five regions in the Central Federal District (Moscow is not considered) entered the top 10 cleanest. The leaders of the rating were the Tambov and Belgorod regions. Kursk took fourth place, Kostroma – seventh, Kaluga – tenth. None of the CFD regions got into the top ten outsiders. According to the head of the Green Patrol Andrey Nagibin, the balance of power may change in the near future, as the Belgorod region demonstrates success in the field of recycling and waste disposal, they are actively engaged in forest restoration, tightly control industrial enterprises, introduce organic farming and support private farms, in which grow vegetables and fruits without the use of chemical fertilizers.

The Voronezh region took the 51st position in the ranking, but improved its performance. There lately three new water treatment plants have been built and 1,600 hectares of forests have been restored. And Lipetsk, where one of the largest metallurgical plants is located, on the contrary, fell by two points. The region participates in several federal projects related to the environment at once, but so far this does not allow to radically change the situation.

Five regions of the Central Federal District are included in the economic zone of the Chernozem region, which got its name from fertile soils – fat chernozem. These are Kursk, Belgorod, Tambov, Voronezh and Lipetsk regions. Here potatoes, sugar beets, almost all grain crops, as well as legumes are grown on an industrial scale. Since 2014, the expansion of the greenhouse economy has begun, where tomatoes, cucumbers and greens ripen even in winter. Most of these projects are in the Lipetsk and Voronezh regions.
In the Chernozem region, almost all fruit crops popular in Russia, including apples, pears, cherries, plums, grapes, and apricots, feel great. Melons, watermelons, pumpkins grow on melons.

Farmers of the Central Federal District in the ranking of the distribution of income from their own farms took third place in the country. In 2022, revenue amounted to more than 92 million rubles, which is almost 14% of the total in Russia.

In a recent study of the quality of life in the regions, conducted by RBC, after the traditional leaders – Moscow and St. Petersburg – in third place was the Belgorod region. It is estimated that the region has almost the same high level of trade turnover, and the affordability of housing is even higher than in metropolitan areas. According to a number of indicators, for example, in terms of climatic characteristics, provision of housing and teaching staff in schools, the region also surpassed both capitals. The Moscow region in the ranking took the fourth position, the Voronezh region – the fifth.

The second ten included Yaroslavl (12th), Lipetsk (13th), Bryansk (15th), Ryazan (19th) and Kursk (20th) regions.

In 2020, the All-Russian Institute of Agrarian Problems and Informatics named after A. A. Nikonov published its own rating of Russian regions in terms of quality of life among the rural population. In it, the assessment was carried out according to 10 criteria – from public health to engineering and social infrastructure.

The top ten regions with the best quality of life in villages and towns included the Lipetsk, Belgorod and Voronezh regions. The regions ranked first, third and fifth respectively.

Kursk region was on the 16th position, Moscow – on the 22nd, Yaroslavl – on the 50th, Ryazan – on the 44th, and Kaluga – on the 58th.

The average rating of the CFD regions was 40 points. Two regions – Smolensk and Tver – were among the 15 worst.

– says in a scientific work.

Of the problems, it was also noted that most of the youth moved from these regions to large cities, and a significant part of the settlements require large financial investments for social development.

Crime level

The regions of the Central Federal District, with the exception of the Moscow region, are in the middle of the ranking in terms of the number of crimes committed in 2021. The Moscow region is listed third in the list in terms of the number of criminal cases initiated, but among them the share of serious ones is small. Of the 18 regions of the Center of Russia, the least crimes were registered in the Oryol, Kostroma and Ivanovo regions.

Within the district, the largest number of especially grave crimes, for which the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for imprisonment for a term of more than 10 years, was committed in the Tver region. Also, not all was well in the Kostroma, Smolensk and Kaluga regions. The lowest indicators for the number of serious crimes are in the Belgorod and Lipetsk regions.

Law enforcement authorities note that Crime is always higher in cities. Only every fifth offense is committed in villages and villages.

Work and income

The unemployment rate in the Central Federal District is one of the lowest in comparison with the whole of Russia. Officially, about 4.3% of the population is on the labor exchange. For comparison: in the North Caucasian Federal District – more than 14%. The minimum unemployment rate was recorded in the Bryansk region, the maximum – in the Yaroslavl and Ryazan regions.

According to the Rosstat report, in 2021 the average monthly salary in the Central Federal District varies from 20,083 rubles in the Ivanovo region to almost 44,000 rubles in the Kaluga region. In the suburbs, the numbers, of course, are different. There, the average salary reaches 58,056 rubles. Consumer spending per capita is lowest in Vladimir, Ivanovo and Kostroma regions, but prices in these regions are on average lower than in neighboring regions.

Wages rose over the past year in virtually all regions. The increase was most noticeable among residents of the Kursk (+5%) and Belgorod regions (+4%).

The largest number of residents are employed in trade (from 16 to 20%), as well as in manufacturing enterprises (from 13 to 24%). In the regions of the Chernozem region, about one in ten works in agriculture – in the Lipetsk and Voronezh regions, one in five – in the Tambov region.

According to Irina Ilyina, the average per capita income in the Central Federal District reaches 48,000 rubles, the highest rates are in the Moscow region, the average level is in the Belgorod, Voronezh, Kaluga and Lipetsk regions. Residents near Tula and Yaroslavl earn relatively well.

The expert also noted that
in some regions, there may be a shortage of personnel, so finding a job there will not be any particular problem.

suggested the HSE professor.

Internet and communication

In the Central Federal District, almost 80% of households have access to the Internet. The worst indicators, according to Rosstat, in 2020 were recorded in the Ivanovo region – 64%, the best in the Tula region – 82%. In other regions, the figures fluctuate around 65-70%.

All major mobile operators are represented in the Center of Russia. Naturally, the best coverage with communication networks is around settlements. The further away from people, the weaker the signal. But due to the fact that more than 39 million people live in the Central Federal District, and the population density is one of the highest in the country, everything is not so bad with communication even in remote villages and villages.

For example, federal mobile operator Yota has full coverage throughout Russia. The product line includes communication not only for smartphones, but also for tablets. The company offers profitable solutions for connecting the Internet in country houses. There are routers and modems with unlimited 4G Internet for home and office, for trips and, importantly, for moving too. In conditions where you have to save Yota allows you to control the cost of mobile services using a mobile applicationas well as the cost of home Internet – in your account.

Now the company there is a constructor tariff within which you can choose any number of minutes and gigabytes from 0 to 2000 minutes and from 1 to 50 GBconnect unlimited access to various instant messengers and social networks, as well as a package of unlimited SMS messages.

Communications and transport infrastructure

In terms of gas supply, the Central Federal District is in second place after the Volga District. The figures are approaching 90%.

Roads are the eternal problem of Russia. Last year, local drivers were asked to evaluate the quality of the roadway in their regions. Among motorists from the Central Federal District, only 10% said that the quality of their roads is good. Poor lighting and an insufficient number of traffic lanes, as well as the lack of convenient interchanges, were named as problems.

In 2019, the quality of roads was assessed by Rosstat. The agency then recognized that in Moscow 95% of the routes comply with the standards, and this was the highest figure in the country. In the Moscow, Belgorod and Voronezh regions, only 60-70% of the road network has become “normative”. In others, even less.

Operating international airports are located in Belgorod, Kursk, Lipetsk, Kaluga, Bryansk and Yaroslavl. From these cities, flights are available to most popular destinations in Russia, including Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Mineralnye Vody, as well as abroad – to Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. There are local airports in Kostroma and Ivanovo that receive and depart only domestic flights. The flight program there is small. So, from Kostroma you can get by air to Anapa, Kazan and St. Petersburg, from Ivanovo there are flights to the Northern capital, Kazan, Sochi and the Crimean peninsula.

The railway network is developed in the Central Federal District, but its peculiarity is that most of the highways lead to Moscow. Regional centers have regular transport links with the capital. For example, trains from Belgorod leave every 2–3 hours, and you will have to spend about 7 hours on the road. Three trains are announced from Bryansk, two in the morning and one in the evening, and from Kostroma, on the contrary, one in the morning and two in the evening. The closer the city is to the capital, the shorter and cheaper the road. From Kaluga, Tula, Tver, Vladimir and Ryazan, neighboring the Moscow region, it is easy to get to the capital on regular Lastochkas in just a couple of hours. Between themselves, regional centers are connected worse. If you travel by train, then most often you have to change in the capital. Intercity bus routes are also mainly tied to the capital. That is, first, in any case, you will have to get to Moscow, and then in the right direction.

Products

A few years ago, the Central District fully, 100%, provided its residents with potatoes, meat and processed products. About two-thirds of the inhabitants had enough of their eggs and dairy products. At the same time, the enterprises of the industry showed an increase in productivity by about 20% per year.

Large chain grocery stores are widely represented in Central Russia. But, besides them, there are also their own local networks.

At the end of 2021
Roskachestvo has compiled a register of producers of clean, organic products. The regions of the Central Federal District took the largest number of prizes. It turned out that in the Yaroslavl and Kaluga regions they produce organic meat and dairy products, in the Voronezh region – pumpkin, pumpkin flour, apples, berries, cucumbers, tomatoes and bread. Organic potatoes and mushrooms are grown in the Tver region, and cheeses are grown in Kostroma.

Construction of houses

In the regions of the Central Federal District, individual housing construction is actively underway. According to Irina Ilyina, the largest volumes of housing construction are observed in the Belgorod, Voronezh and Lipetsk regions.

In the ranking at the end of 2021, the Belgorod Region took 11th place, the Voronezh Region – 12th, and the Lipetsk Region – 19th. In the first two regions, the growth was 9-11%, and in the Lipetsk region – a decrease of 17%.

As for prices, only two regions in the Central Federal District stand out from the picture. So, The Moscow region is among the top regions with the most expensive private houses, and the Ivanovo region is among the cheapest, where you can find offers within 100,000 rubles per object.

Most regions have average prices. For example, in the Belgorod region, a new turnkey gas silicate house with an area of ​​237 sq. meters can be purchased for 3.6 million rubles, from a brick with an area of ​​​​almost 90 square meters – for 2.7 million. In the Tambov region, a brick one-story house with an area of ​​​​67 square meters. m are sold for 2.7 million rubles, and a two-story more than 200 meters – for 3.9 million.

In the Central Federal District, as well as throughout Russia, rural mortgage program. On preferential terms at 3% per annum, you can purchase housing on the primary or secondary market in cities and towns with a population of no more than 30,000 people. The down payment is 10%, the term of the loan is 25 years. The main requirement is that housing should be located in a rural area, be livable and have a full range of communications. A loan can be taken to build a new house – in this case, the money should be used to complete an already begun object. The maximum loan amount under the program is 3 million rubles.

Families in which a child was born after January 1, 2018, family mortgage available. Under the terms of the program, a loan can be taken, including for individual construction. The annual rate is 6%, the loan amount is limited in the Moscow region to 12 million rubles, in the rest – 6 million.