Hi, I’m Rachel, and I want to tell you about traveling as a family in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (and some other destinations). If that’s what you want to find out about, then you’ve come to the right place!
I’ve been living in Almaty, Kazakhstan since mid 2021 with my husband and our children (aged 6 & 3). We spend our time away from Kazakhstan usually with our families back in Australia, the UK, and in Rwanda. We also find time to explore the more immediate area of central Asia, which is an incredible part of the world. Honestly, this region is not somewhere I had spent much time thinking about prior to moving here.
I’m learning a lot while I’m here, and it would be such a waste if I didn’t share it. Some of these lessons are hard learnt!
I wasn’t always an “expat”
We weren’t always living the expat life. After graduating in Australia, we moved to London and spent 7 amazing years there. We both worked in good office jobs. It was lovely, stable, and unchallenging in many ways. We travelled a lot. And we had our first baby there. We were settling in, and there were enough perks and benefits to keep us happy.
Then the pandemic threw a spanner in the works of our London future!
It was 2020 and we decided it was better to go back to Australia for the birth of our second child. We ended up spending over a year in Australia, surrounded by our supportive family!
Living and traveling in Kazakhstan
Now I have followed my husband to Kazakhstan for his job. Here, in the former capital, Almaty, I care for our kids and manage our home. I’m learning Russian, and how to ski. I have found an incredible set of friends, and very regularly sit back and reflect on how cool life is.
We travel a lot in Kazakhstan and abroad and while I probably can’t help you with too many budget backpacking tips (those days are long behind me!), I can certainly offer my experiences, my tips and thoughts of the places we go and the things we experience.
Enjoy!
xx Rachel
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