Written by Casey Handmer
Photography by Wietse Jongsma
I do not live in Kamchatka, but I have been there for a few weeks.
If you live in Kamchatka, you probably live in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the largest city by far. There are a number of other cities and military bases, but their population is tiny and falling.
The economy is largely based on tourism, so working in the service industry is likely. There used to be a terrific scientific research program there in geology, oceanography, etc. Not so any more.
The only practical way to come and go is by plane from Yelizovo airport, which involves spectacular flights over nearby volcanoes.
Geologically speaking Kamchatka experiences frequent powerful earthquakes and even more frequent/ongoing volcanic eruptions. Some of these are visible from the city, some are not.
Kamchatka is mostly wilderness, filled with forests, mountains, salmon and bears. It is likely you know of a few hot springs to visit on the weekend.
During the summer, it is warm and wet for a few months. Most of the year it is winter, and southern Kamchatka has the heaviest snowpack anywhere in the world - typically 20m or so fall and melt every year.
Like elsewhere in Russia, dealing with inefficient bureaucracy is part of life. At least you are a long way from Moscow, the center of the rot.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a long and narrow city, sandwiched between Avacha bay and the volcanoes, so getting from one end to the other can take more than an hour by bus. Fortunately there is a well developed center where most of the interesting stuff takes place.
___________________________________
Sources:
Text: www.quora.com. Link: https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-live-in-Kamchatka
Republished with permission, as per Quora's Terms of Service, under the subsection titled, "Quora's Licenses to You".
Photography was taken from the following Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/11497410@N08/albums/72157660445817403/with/24726049335/
