Would have liked to see a little more of your hike up to and including the monastery. Your friend Dima speaks excellent English, nearly flawless. Accent sounds very close to West Coast USA to my ear. He's got all our slang phrases down and would fit right in here. I'm impressed!
I truly enjoy your style as a person, I appreciate how you have for the most part remained true to yourself and your own feelings without showing absolute hate towards any country or people. Please never change
I've been watching you for years now. I've always enjoyed your content. And your editing/style just keeps improving! I'm so glad that you were able to take some time off & spend time with your mommy!
It's always such a pleasure to listen to you, Nikki. I am so happy you have spent time with your dear Mother, and you did so much! How great. You look just like her. What a good sport she was to climb in those steep hills. In the supermarket, I would feel the same about that uncovered bread! There is no way I would just put it into a trolley.
Thank you for the great update. It is wonderful that your mother was able to travel to see you. Your updates are always interesting and enjoyable. Stay Safe.
Interesting video! Your comparison shopping for products in Tbilisi and for St Petersburg was interesting. Welcome back Dima! Good job and nice to see you! Niki your Mom is so sweet! She did pretty good walking up the mountain! Glad you had time to spend with her. Cherished memories! Great job with this video today and as always I enjoyed watching very much! Take care and many blessings.❤❤❤😊
The prices in Georgia range from 50-100% of what I would pay in Seattle US (bread is much cheaper in Georgia, cream cheese is more expensive, eggs and produce are about the same), where full time minimum wage is about $3000/month before taxes.
Agreed the prices are much lower than in the U.S. in absolute terms but a higher percentage of their income. If prices were this low in the U.S. I would probably eat out less.
@@macmcleod1188 yes, it would be interesting to compare similar jobs and food cost as a percentage of weekly income - people could then get a much better appreciation of the differences.
Absolute majority of Georgians own their property and do not pay rent. This helps a lot. Also there is state medical insurance and no charges for school and university (unless you choose private schools and university). Another thing that helps to survive with comparativly low salaries is that typical Georgian families include 2 or 3 generations living together. Young generation moves out from homes usually only after marriage. They get usually their grandparents property.
It is great that you're constantly thinking, re-considering, re-assessing your direction & purposes - continually growing Nikki, you're a wonderful inpiration to people of all ages in many different countries. Greetings from Scotland 🙋🏻♂️🏴
Nice to get a glimpse of your mother. Stay well. I came across your channel 1-2 years ago to get a young Russian person's perspective of the military operation.
Glad to see you again, miss seeing your videos. Prices in USA are high also. I think you should continue with what you feel is right for you to videos, because we love watching you
I think we love you because you are an all rounder. Meaning I follow you for China, Russia, Viet nam, Korea, Georgia plus how you look at life in general. Would love more of Mum's views too. The Georgia shots are amazing. I am going to plan a visit. Thank you.
I live in Canada too and, while watching these prices in Russia and Georgia, I thought "Wow, food is cheap there!" In Canada a lot of us can't afford groceries.
Thank you so much for this Niki! I've been considering leaving dreadful social conditions where I am in the U.S., and Tbilisi is one place I've been considering, and your insights were refreshing and helpful. I would be interested understanding a bit more about the 'Dreadful Feeling' you sense. It is bad reminders that look like Russia, or is it something actually dreadful inherent to Tbilisi, or perhaps an undertone of something brewing? I would also much appreciate a bit more of your take on Georgia, how you see the future and perhaps a bit on the rental housing market. Cheers!
Something that Dima didn't really explain but kinda took note of was the shrinkflation of items in the grocery store like the sausage going from 500 grams down to 400 grams but costing about the same as before.
I'm surprised that there isn't some kind of wrapping paper for the bread. In Europe and even places in the US, that kind of bakery bread would have some sort of paper wrapper or even bags available for you to put it in so it doesn't touch your cart.
Not always. I've often been handed a baguette in France, particularly rural areas with only a small piece of paper where you hold the long "stick". Makes me cringe slightly but it's still yummy
Food prices in that Georgian supermarket seem to be somewhat higher than in an average supermarket in Estonia. While the average gross salary in Estonia is about 1600-1700 Euros and the grocery store worker salaries start from around 900 euros.
You do realize that chickens don't produce eggs in winter unless they are exposed to artificial light to lengthen the amount of light per day. So it is more expensive to keep them laying eggs.
Thanks Niki, was good to see you had your mother come visit. Am happy you are in Georgia, but you are thinking of travel once again. Prices still seem good in stores to me, things cost more here in the US but most make a lot more money. I am poor and live on just over $900 month now. Thanks again. All the best to you.
Hey Niki, it's great to see you again. I've watched you travel around Asia, Georgia etc and it's lovely meeting your mother. And I love to see you have people like the Russian Dude, Roman, Anna from Ukraine etc in you circle of friends. Look after yourself Niki and keep making the great clips.
Giving a travelog of the new areas you are living in makes for great watching. I already know what it looks like to podcast from a room. Seeing the riverside of your hometown, the parks of St. Petersburg, Korea, or the streets of Thailand was something special. I can watch the devastation of Russian military aggression on the news. We all know that Russia should be Putin-free, but that will not happen anytime soon.
Prices in Sofia (Bulgaria) are about the same for goods that are a bit higher quality (at least from the ones I can gauge visually). You can get quite a bit cheaper if you shop around and don't mind buying non-bio stuff.
I am always surprised at the price of milk in in Russia. It must be 4x the price than in North America. Anyhow @Niki you always do a good job. You are becoming more Pro.
love seeing my home city snt petersburg. i was born there, but i was riased in other country, havent been there for 30yrs. always love to see videos of my home city :) good job guys.
Wow. I roughly compared my grocery prices in Australia to yours in Russia & Georgia and we pay 4-5x higher. That said, I looked up the pay for our local grocery and it is between $70,000 - $190,000 . The lower end is a cashier, the higher is for management. I know that sounds like a lot but our general cost of living is very high, especially rent or mortgage. Most 2 bedroom homes on my street is about $2500/month and we live in a lower income area compared to the homes 3km away that cost double. It's crazy, since covid everything costs so much more.
St. Petersburg is an absolute food paradise! These are prices that we can only dream of here in Germany. We had strong inflation last year. After every grocery purchase I ask myself: Where did my money go? ☹
Great that you could spend precious time with your mom. I’m sure she was glad to spend time with you as well. As for Dima, I appreciate the efforts to do price comparisons with you. The war is in God’s hands and we rest in that.
First, Niki, I am from the US, I am a female and I am 70+ years old. So, you are correct, in having an older demographic watching your videos. I am fascinated with you being an interesting young man from Russia and why you had to leave your home country of Russia. I find your world travels very interesting, as well. I have a question, did your friend from St. Petersburg live in the US for a long period of time? He has very little of an accent when he speaks English and he sounds like his English leans toward an American accent. I only follow two other Russian Expat channels; Inside Russia and Half Russian. I really enjoy watching your videos.
Gosh, Niki, it looks to me like the food prices in St Petersburg are half the price we pay here in California! I was surprised to see that. I enjoy your videos. Keep smiling and God bless from my little mountain town.
The prices portion I would say are similar to prices in my home country. I particularly liked that section in the video of you going around with your mother, those places looked so gorgeous and I dream of the day I can travel with my significant other to such sights like that. Wishing you luck in your future endeavors Niki! :)
Great to see a price comparison video. Dima did a great job! I understand that most guys sent to war are from rural areas but over 320,000 are dead and over 500,000 wounded or missing. They are still being replaced, just not as a mobilization. So I'm quite worried about that.
How has Dima avoided the "Special Military Operation"? I hope he can stay safe. We "older folks" like hearing from ordinary Russians what life is like for them. We are all just humans on the same planet and it would be refreshing to work together on real problems that threaten all of us.
Just so you know, Land of Lakes butter increased from $4.49 to $$6.49 for 16 oz. approx. in grams 450.5 grams this week in our local Brookshire Bros. grocery.
Butter like anything else is always on sale if your not brand or grocery store loyal. The grocery space in the US is very competitive in all major urban areas of the US you have many national chains as well as independent grocers.
When the price are showed also please say that for example in russia the petrol,diesel,bread are subsidied. That means the goverment pays the extra difference,that is not the market price. When the goverment will run out of money then people will actually get the real price
Your videos are unique and fun to watch. No need to do only videos about Russia. As you pointed out, there are several other sources that are available for that. Frankly, your videos are a nice change that offer a unique perspective different from the rest.
Awesome Dima! ❤❤ Thanks. Grocery shopping with Niki's buds is an old fav with me. I love your choices. Sweets? ( without blood, haha). Blessings and safe travels. P in Hawaii
Finland has traditionally been quite an expensive country, but nowadays it feels like groceries are actually quite affordable here compared to what I just saw in this video for example... I guess it all boils down to efficient logistics and EU membership.
Really?! I live in Finland and I was in awe over how cheap everything was in the video🥲I mean, come on, chicken filets for 4.5eur/kg, potatoes 0.25eur/kg, bread 0.15eur/kg, beef 5.5eur/kg, cucumbers 0.8eur/kg, eggs 0.8eur/10, good pink tomatoes for 2.2eur/kg.... That is unheard of here, sadly :( The only item that Finland wins with in every way is cheese! :D💛 Love Finland but groceries are super expensive here compared to Russia. Which is to be expected, as salaries are higher on average as well.
@@y-yyyI'm primarily comparing to the Georgian prices and not Russian, because Ruble isn't really a freely exchangeable, real currency anymore, so currency conversion is kind of complicated. AND I wasn't even saying that Finland is necessarily cheaper, but I mean that the Finnish prices are relatively cheap, considering the purchasing power differences and everything. Anyway, pasta is cheaper in my local Prisma, heck even the same Parilla brand pasta is a bit cheaper. It is sold in 500 gram packs (vs. 450 g in Georgia) for 1.85 euro. House brand (Coop) pasta is 1.29 e for 500 g and another house brand pasta (Xtra) is 1.79 for 1 kilo! Cheapest rice is 0.90 e for 1 kilo (vs. $1.2 for 800 g in Georgia). Milk is much cheaper in Finland, 0.79 e for 1 litre. The cheapest eggs are about the same price. Many fruits and vegetables are more expensive in Finland for obvious reasons, but at least the cheapest apples are only 1,19 e per kilo, which is cheaper than the ones in this video. And these are regular prices in one store, not sale prices and some things might be cheaper in other stores.
@@joojoojeejee6058 Ah, compared to Georgia yes, for sure! Georgian prices seem very high, especially compared to their wages, I agree. You can still exchange ruble for euro just fine btw, thankfully.
@@y-yyy You can exchange between ruble and EUR, but the official rate and the "street rate" can be two totally different things, and there are limitations. Like I said, it is complicated. And it's not like Russians are earning dollars or euros and paying in those currencies anyway, and it's not like you and I are travelling to Russia to buy anything with our converted currencies... Georgia is different because the converted prices are more in touch with reality.
I just found your channel whilst looking up information about life in Russia as I have an interest in that, maybe even love there somehow. You come over as a very nice chap with very informative videos. Keep it up. Simon from the UK.
Interesting to see the pricing. I would have guessed that it would actually be more expensive. If im not mistaken, the costs are actually more affordable on a basic salary than here in Canada
I think just a lot of us started watching your channel because you were one of the few giving out the information about what was happening in Russia and the war, to me thats all I'd know about you. But after watching you for sometime, you have change your content (from my perspective) after which my viewing has dropped off as its obviously not the content I was chasing to begin with, that being said, you are also so interesting to watch that I always enjoy watching your content anyway, I just only have so much time so i can only spend so much of on it watching youtube and so i must be picky with what i wanna watch.
Cool video, I like this sort of stuff much more than politics. I mostly follow people's personal vlogs from all around the world, just enjoy peeking into someone's everyday life basically. Have to say though that Tbilisi looks to me rather rather unappealing. Or maybe you didn't show us the nice middle class neighbourhoods yet 🙃
I look at these shopping trips and marvel at how inexpensive good fresh food is. I live in Toronto and food costs 2-3x for the same thing. Then again, a cashier earns 2700 per month which is a similar scale. The difference is in Toronto you cannot rent an apartment for minimum wage. Average rent would consume the entire earnings after income tax is paid. So prosperity at the lower level appears far better in Russia and Georgia. People are complaining that new Canadians are finding out after they get here and are now leaving in large numbers as it is just too expensive to live and the winters are harsh. Eggs are a great example. A dozen eggs in St Petersburg is .80. In Toronto cheapest is 3.75 and at my fancy store they are 5.00.
Don't blame the cashiers. All supermarkets are making much bigger profits now than pre-pandemic. And if you're renting then you're barely saving if not in debt.
Aldi in the US has a dozen eggs for 99 cents, so about the same price as in St. Petersburg. Groceries in Germany are only slightly more expensive than in Russia or Georgia. A single person apartment in Russia is typically between 15 and 35m2, you can’t even find apartments this small in North America or Western Europe. Just some things to keep in mind.
@@AlexeiRamotar Not blaming the cashiers. Niki listed salaries showing a cashier makes $1100. I simply show the equivalent job in Toronto pays 2700, but also point out an apt cost 1500.
It's a bit frustrating to see prices in Russia so much lower than in Georgia. Is that due to the pressure on the currency through sanctions - or are logistics in Georgia so much more complex?
Hi Niki - It’s always interesting to go shopping with you (and your friends) and compare prices with ours. Actually since covid and the war - our food and restaurant costs have risen a great deal - 2 to 3 times more. After being pressured by constituents - the government has even gotten after the big grocery chains about their high prices and how it’s affecting the poverty level. The food banks customers have risen considerably. There are more homeless people than ever before. Many are either living on the street or in tented areas in parks & vacant lots. I’ve never seen this before while growing up here in our country. It’s not just the food industry - but also dental and veterinary and other services as well that have increased as well as housing and flat rentals. Plus there are housing shortages partly as the result of the government encouraging many people from India & Pakistan to emigrate here. We had an influx of Ukrainian people during the first year of the war as well as Afghanis but that has been much less than those from South Asia as previously mentioned. Though we have a large country like Russia - most of these people try to settle in the already overpopulated areas that have milder temperatures instead of in our colder western prairies or northern areas. Thank you for your ongoing info and updates. We appreciate them very much. Cheers! 🇨🇦
Sorry " Jane", there are many inconsistencies in your comment that lead me to believe that you are not Canadian. For example a Big Mac meal does not cost 45$.
@@heathermccall8015LOL - That’s funny about doubting I’m Canadian. My great great grandparents came here to Canada from Scotland in 1841 and pioneered on their land they bought from the government back then. I was raised on that same ancestral farm. I worked on nearby tobacco farms to earn money for my clothes and school supplies. I do my own grocery shopping and keep my grocery lists so I know how much food has risen since pre-covid. I don’t eat Big Macs but I have family and friends who have and they told me how much prices have risen in that regard. I also know how much my dental and Vet bills have risen in the past 3 years. The vaccinations that were once free of charge I have now have to pay for if I wish to get them. I thought I was being fair in saying things have doubled or tripled but obviously you don’t think so. I have been a bookkeeper so have learned to keep a watchful eye on most costs of daily living. Plus I hear this same lament from reliable people I know. Are you also in denial about the government going after the grocery food chains raising their prices and then hemming and hawing about it and making excuses? Sorry but I’m not backing away from my statement. Cheers!
@victoriafisher6934 Much better for the other issues we have, like climate change.I too am glad to see that " Jane " is supporting her local farmers. Absolutely better than enriching the Westons.
I am surprised that the prices on groceries are similar to what they are here in California and some foods are even much more expensive considering the typical salaries are about 10 - 15 times as high here. Must be hard just to afford groceries for a family if the typical salaries are only around $500/month.
That's true. Usually don't spend time for rent, education in high school or University , and healthcare. Because everything mentioned can be obtained for free. Although, one would be definitely prefer working and living in Cali
Regular people in the USA don't usually shop organic or specialty. The average loaf of pan style bread where I live is around $2. I don't eat eggs but I do look at the prices and it's around $1.29.
