1/5
419 reviews
Photo by Alice Butenko via Unsplash

Saint Petersburg

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beautiful

small

expensive

great

friends

interested

coworking

stay

matter

nightlife

yrs

extremely

cheap

spaces

Saint Petersburg is a beautiful and affordable city with a lot to offer. The cost of living is low if you know how to navigate it, and the internet speed is solid. Public transportation is reliable, making it easy to get around. The nightlife is one of the best in Europe, with many entertainment options packed into key districts.

However, winters can be extremely harsh, reaching as low as -34°C, so it may not be ideal for those who dislike the cold. While people are generally friendly, some visitors have found it difficult to form deeper connections with locals, especially if they don't speak Russian. Bureaucracy can also be challenging, and it's advised to get legal assistance if planning to stay long-term.

Overall, Saint Petersburg is a great place to live and work, especially in the summer months when the weather is more comfortable. Just be prepared for a bit of red tape and possible social difficulties if you don’t speak Russian.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Love this city, very romantic and cool in the summer. but it is difficult to find a nice airbnb. it is too much small or too expensive for the quality. you will def have great time here. but unfortunately, I had problem to make friends here. some how, It seemed the locals were not quite interested in having communication or making forein friends even in the co-working space. I don't think this is because of the language barrier but...I cant explain this well. anyway, the city is great to stay from Jun - July(Aug starts getting rains.), would be much nicer if you can speak Russian. Goodluck!

4 years ago

Doesn't matter what you're interested in, Saint Petersburg has it. It's the largest "small" city in Europe. Such a large population, but everything you want in nightlife and action is packed into several districts. Best city in Europe for nightlife. Not sure why nomadlist has "safety" as a con because it's safer than any western europe city and every american city. Cheaper than Thailand, but winter is COLD.

5 years ago

Came 14 yrs ago from Germany for a visit - and stayed. Is 1 of most beautiful cities on earth, and I was almost everywhere in my younger days.- Cost of living extremely cheap if you know the basic rules.- Opened my own travel agency 10 yrs ago and pay only 6% taxes no matter how much I earn.- Average internet speed is 77 Mbit/sec.- Red tape is on the down side. You really need a Russian lawyer if you want to stay for years.- Winters can get very harsh, my lowest was -34 C in 2016.-

5 years ago

Extremely beautiful and liveable city, not very expensive either, for the most part. People were very friendly too. Good public transport and working spaces (coffee shops, coworking spaces).

6 years ago

Beautiful livable and active city, relatively cheap.

6 years ago

✅ Beautiful city

✅ Affordable

✅ Friendly people

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good public transport

✅ Great nightlife

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

❌ Harsh winters

❌ Difficult to make local friends

❌ Bureaucracy issues

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ No democracy

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Feels crowded

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ People smoking tobacco a lot

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

23 -5°
freezing

28 -2°
freezing

39 4°
cold

54 12°
cool

57 14°
cool

70 21°
mild

66 19°
mild

52 11°
cool

45 7°
cold

0°
freezing

21 -6°
freezing

Real

24 -5°
freezing

23 -5°
freezing

31 -1°
freezing

39 4°
very cold

54 12°
cool

57 14°
cool

70 21°
mild

64 18°
cool

52 11°
cool

45 7°
cold

32 0°
freezing

24 -5°
freezing

Humidity

nice
45%

nice
42%

nice
43%

nice
38%

nice
37%

too dry
29%

nice
30%

nice
41%

nice
40%

nice
41%

nice
44%

Most common

Rain

dry
46mm

dry
44mm

dry
45mm

dry
39mm

rainy
53mm

dry
31mm

dry
23mm

rainy
76mm

rainy
57mm

rainy
70mm

rainy
66mm

rainy
53mm

Cloud

pockets
48%

pockets
42%

pockets
35%

pockets
36%

pockets
24%

pockets
25%

pockets
39%

pockets
38%

pockets
34%

pockets
45%

Remote workers

1,075 people

747 people

867 people

893 people

1,213 people

1,189 people

1,430 people

1,318 people

1,278 people

1,429 people

1,114 people

1,093 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

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Help pick the best photos for Saint Petersburg and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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14 Mbps

Tbilisi

Georgia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels -24° -11° -18° 0° AQI 127 😷

🚕0min

$2,076 / mo

🌇 Also went here174 people

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	0.5/5 (Rank #1350) 419 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍14 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Bad
👶 Family score	Bad
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,860 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 12Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Bad
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 11°C52°F (feels 11°C52°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 71%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 43 US AQI
👌 Safety	🧨 Conflict / political instability*
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	🧨 Conflict / political instability*
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very low: $721 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Low density: 9k ppl/km² (1 per 11x11m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Bad
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Okay
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Okay
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Bad
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Russia
🗓️ Average trip length	15 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	12 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 11°C 52°F + 💦 Damp (71%) = feels 11°C 52°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 43 US AQI 🍃 OK
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Vladimirskij okrug
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Vasil'evskij
🚕 Best taxi app*	Yandex Taxi
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 RUB in USD	USD 1.20
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	RUB 10,000 = USD 120
💸 Tipping	Yes, 12.50%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Zonaspace
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,856,500 visitors
📸 Tourists now	54,745 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	5,200,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,655 / year
😤 Population density	🤨 busy: 11x11m (121m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 90% 👱‍♀️ 10%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Ozon
🏠 Apartment listings	Avito
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Aeroflot
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Aeroflot

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,860 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,165 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,428 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$694 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$987 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,272 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$492 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$46 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$42 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$129 / month
🍛 Dinner	$8
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$6,975 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$3 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$3,000
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$6,000
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$15,000