Alex

Mr. O’Connell

Writing E03

6 December 2019

Pros and Cons of Living in Nur-Sultan

Living in Nur-Sultan has some advantages and disadvantages. There are differences in

life in Nur-Sultan than more well-known cities such as New York and Beijing. In comparison

to New York and Beijing, the cost of living is less expensive and there are unique cultural

opportunities. However, the weather is a more extreme climate. There are many things to

think about when discussing life in Nur-Sultan. One example is the activities available.

There are many activities to do in Nur-Sultan, such as ice skating, sight-seeing and

watching plays in the theater. However, there are some differences with these activities in

Nur-Sultan than those in more well-known places. First, the prices for these activities are

cheap. This is because the quality might not be as good as other places that are more famous.

The effect that everything is affordable this means that people could do these activities more

often because it is more affordable. Eating in Nur-Sultan is also usually affordable. While

basic foods such as bread and milk are cheap, imported foods such as Nutella could be up to

twice the price as in other places in the world. Many restaurants that serve Kazakh foods are

cheap, and it might take some time to get used to the national foods and customs.

Kazakh traditions have some customs that foreigners could easily get used to.

Something that most Kazakhs do is helping people move into new houses. Most Kazakh

neighbors would invite a family to their house when they are new to the neighborhood, and

they could be generous when welcoming guests to their home. However, Kazakh culture has

some foods that foreigners might not be familiar with. Kazakhs use horse meat for many

dishes, such as beshbarmak and plov. Horse is a common meat, but some foreigners dislike it.

Horses are not just used for their meat; they are also used for their milk. There is a drink
known as kumis, fermented horse milk, which is common to drink for many people in

villages in Kazakhstan. It could also be found in Nur-Sultan. Food in Nur-Sultan is not a

serious problem as many different foods are available.

However, the weather is different. In Nur-Sultan, it can become quite serious and

harmful to people. Weather in Nur-Sultan has a wide range of temperatures in a year. In the

summer, it can get to +40° Celsius, while in the winter it can get down to -40°. The summer

is not much of a problem, but the winter can be dangerous. The city’s main source of power

is coal, so in the winter when there is a high demand for warmth, the city burns more coal.

This is a cheaper way for power, but it has consequences. The air quality can be very

dangerous, and there are days when even Beijing and New Delhi have cleaner air. Many

people have air purifiers in their homes, and even some schools use them, too. The view of

the weather could also be harmful to some people. On most days in the winter outside is dark

and grey. This causes some to fall into depression and leave them unhappy until spring. The

snow also seems to cause problems. The snow is not contaminated, but Nur-Sultan is a dry

place. This is bad news for children because snow cannot easily be made into snowballs or

snowmen. Fortunately, there are other activities that kids can do with snow. In some

neighborhoods, the workmen bring a bulldozer and pile the snow to make sledding hills for

kids. Sledding could be just small-time fun lasting half an hour to gigantic hills that can

entertain for hours. The weather may not always be great, but there are enough things to do

indoors.

In Nur-Sultan, there are many things to do and learn. There are some problems that

the city could fix with more money, but it already has enough activities for someone to enjoy

living there for years. The food has a different taste than some might be used to, but it could

become someone’s favorite if they give it a chance. Nur-Sultan is a great city to live in

because there are many options of things to do and learn. Although at first Nur-Sultan might

not seem like a good place to live, it is an amazing city if one is open-minded.