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What You Need to Know When You’re Moving to Astana

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  • Marc De Smet

    Life as an expat in Astana can be hard on occasion. InterNations and the contact to fellow expats make it a lot easier for me.

Relocating to Astana

About the City

Astana is a very new city, and less than 20 years ago there was very little on the site of what is now a modern metropolis. It took over as capital from Almaty in 1997, with many of its current residents moving to Astana since that time. The purpose-built city’s masterplan was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.

Astana sits almost in the middle of the large country of Kazakhstan, but is slightly to the north. The city is very isolated, surrounded by over a thousand kilometers of very flat, semi-arid steppe.

The capital had a population of around 850,000 in 2014, and it is one of Kazakhstan’s most important cities along with the former capital, Almaty. Kazakhs, Russians and Ukrainians account for over 90% of the city’s population, but there is a notable expat community.

The Climate in Astana

Astana is the second coldest capital city in the world, behind Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar. It has an extreme continental climate, experiencing very different seasons. Summers are warm with occasional brief rain showers. Winters are long, very cold, and dry. Summer can occasionally be as hot as 35°C (95°F), while −30 to −35°C (−22 to −31°F) is not uncommon in winter, from mid-December to early March. Astana has the dubious honor of the lowest air temperature ever recorded in the country (−51°C (−60°F)). The river that runs through the city, the Ishim, generally freezes between mid-November and early April. High winds are also common.

January, the coldest month, has an average temperature of −14.2°C (6.4°F). July, the warmest month, averages 20.8°C (69.4°F).

Finding Accommodation in Astana

Expats tend to live in the center of the city, in apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms. Accommodation in Astana is quite expensive, and houses, being few and far between, are costly to rent and to heat. Most apartment buildings have a security entry phone system, a children’s playground, underground parking and a shop. They are usually a reasonable size and the landlord will acquire furniture to order.

In the most desirable areas, close to the downtown district, rents can cost 1,000–1,500 USD or more for multiple bedroom apartments, and around 800 USD for a one bedroom place.

Mar 16, 2024, 4:00 PM
50 attendees
We are thrilled to invite you to celebrate the most important holiday for Kazakh and not only Kazakhs - Nauryz, which marks the beginning of a new year. We planned it a little bit earlier because man
Come party your heart out! Join us for our traditional Valentine’s Day party which will take place at the venue you liked a lot, ONCE restaurant. Let’s celebrate this special occasion together danci
Jan 27, 2024, 3:00 PM
55 attendees
Let’s kick start new year together at our first event in 2024 which will take place at a new ARIYA restaurant and bar (Business Centre Centro, close to Khan Shatyr). Spend and amazing time with old a
The Festive season is here and Christmas is just around the corner and we are happy to invite you to our Christmas Party, until many of you travel back home to celebrate it with your families! Lookin

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  • Marc De Smet

    Life as an expat in Astana can be hard on occasion. InterNations and the contact to fellow expats make it a lot easier for me.

  • Myra Jennings

    My husband works for an Astana oil company all day, so I had to make my own way to settle. So glad I've found the InterNations expat community.

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