Russians still trust Swiss banks? lolwut? That's so 20th century. Swiss banks about are about as safe as US banks, reasonably stable but zero privacy.
Why would someone want to live in︀ an expensive part of Europe? The same reason someone would want to live in Bel︁ Air. If you have money to the point that the taxes don't matter you can︂ isolate yourself from the dumpster fire that surrounds your compound and enjoy yourself. There's a︃ big different between having a nice place in Europe and primarily doing business in Europe.︄
Can't get money out of Russia? You must be joking. Rubles to crypto or yuan,︅ then to whatever else you want. If you want a paper trail for some reason︆ a Hong Kong company with a yuan bank account gets your money out of Russia︇ and it can now freely go anywhere in the world. OTOH, with as much of︈ a PITA as HK as become it might be faster for a Russian to open︉ a yuan account in China due to those friendly relations. Either way, mission accomplished.
Personally, I don't find rich people of any national origin moving︌ to Dubai being all that surprising, especially now that you can get permanent residence by︍ buying a 2m AED condo. The weather is great (summer is hot if you're a︎ wuss), quantity and availability of tremendous food rivals Singapore and Hong Kong (at a bit️ of a premium, but if you're rich enough an extra 200 AED for dinner is no big deal, great hotel buffets are a relative steal at Singapore/Las Vegas prices). There are multiple amusement and water parks in metro area. Internet and cell service are just below Singapore for second best in the world, even if they go for 3-5x what they cost in the US. With streaming, VPNs and good internet Dubai's TV packages sucking is no longer an issue. Gorgeous escorts can be rented at prices much lower than they would command in Singapore or Amsterdam. The emirate has far more thirsty professional western︀ women looking for hookups than you would think. Dubai is an attractive option even if︁ you didn't live in a place as cold as Russia for the last 20+ years.︂ The last time I checked no one in the UAE was using Russia protecting the︃ lives of ethnic Russians living in the Borderlands as an excuse to steal everything in︄ the UAE owned by private Russian citizens. A better question to ask is why anyone︅ reading this forum wouldn't want permanent residence in Dubai.
That leads me to asking why︆ you appear to think middle class Russians would be better off in Dubai. People that︇ aren't rich moving to Dubai are cheap domestic help, cheap hard labor, cheap hotel/restaurant/resort workers︈ and hookers. The bottom of the top 1% from any developed country is relatively poor︉ in Dubai. 1-1.5m AED is a good living most places, but doesn't go as far︊ as you would like, not to mention having very low social status. My understanding is︋ that anything under 5m AED/year makes you the emerati equivalent of white trash. When I︌ priced out internet and cell service a few months ago what I get for $95/mo︍ in the US would cost a little over $500/mo from Etisalat. Things like electricity and︎ running water are also a multiple of what you're used to paying. Without a very️ good job in place anyone from the upper middle class in a developed country would be taking a big lifestyle hit, to say nothing of middle class. A head of lettuce was at least $6 BEFORE the recent food inflation hit. I don't know how much groceries run in Dubai now, but if a dozen eggs are over $4 in the US I'm sure it's much higher there. Monthly condo fees on places I looked at that aren't
that nice hit 7-10k+ AED. Everything that isn't sand or crude oil is imported and costs more than it does just about anywhere else in the world.︀ Giving the maid money to get your groceries and do other misc. shopping is more︁ a concern than maid's salary. On the plus side retail gasoline prices are among the︂ lowest in the world and are a lower than wholesale prices US gas stations pay.︃ It doesn't even out the overall cost of living, but it's something. If you have︄ to be middle class, there are worse places to be middle class than Russia.
Who in this thread said you should make Russia your primary residence anyway? Did
@JohnnyDoe say︅ that? I know I didn't say that. If you have to be convinced of the︆ obvious upsides of having a Russian passport it simply isn't for you.
I have been︇ talking with a lawyer in Russia about straight citizenship by investment, but I'm not too︈ optimistic about this guy. His English is only a little better than my Russian and︉ there have been some long gaps with no communication. I'm definitely not sending money before︊ before going there in person, and I don't have the confidence to go through that︋ trouble yet. If I don't update with something positive by the end of February assume︌ it fizzled out or there have been enough gaps in communication for me to give︍ up on him. It was a private referral from someone on a Russian file sharing︎ website and not someone you can find with Yandex or Google using English. If I️ don't post something positive by the end of February assume it's a dead end.
