I could post stories each week about the things I hate about living here, that make me wish I was back at home. Believe me, it would fill months of blog entries! But I really didn't want to use this blog as a platform for constant complaining about the country I've chosen to live in. Quite honestly, when you decide to move overseas, you have to accept the good with the bad. All of that negative energy is a waste of time & you can't change what you can't control.
BUT...... I do want to occasionally vent & share some things that drive me crazy! And one of those things is parking.
St. Petersburg (the city center) has no parking garages or parking lots. Well, that's not completely correct.... I have seen 1 small parking lot in the city center, and I know that the new mall has an underground garage. But that's it, and this is a city of 5+ million people! I've been told it's because it's an old city, and historically they didn't need any parking lots because so few people owned cars in Soviet-era Russia (8-10% of the population owned a car in the 70's). OK, that makes sense.
Today, around 50% of the Russian population owns a car. But I'm told that there are still no parking lots in the city because there are no restrictions or laws related to parking. The police don't care where you park your car (and they don't ticket anyone), so no one would actually waste their money to pay to park their car. Unfortunately, there's logic in that.
So as a result, people park their cars anywhere!
And why does this make me crazy? Because I walk everywhere & I'm sick of walking everyday on crooked sidewalks full of ice & snow, trying not to fall or get splashed by rude drivers, and also having to dodge these stupid dirty cars!!!
OK, I got that off of my chest. I feel better already..........
A whole row of cars pulled right up onto the sidewalk
This is right in front of a (nice) restaurant's entrance. That should help bring in customers!
Looks like a parking space to me!
Just pulled up right onto the sidewalk. At least he parked straight
In front of a hotel, and I'm pretty sure they are not guests!
I'm glad I'm not the person who's blocked in
I (& all of the kids walking to the nearby school) had to walk in the street since they decided to take over the sidewalk
These cars sort of created their own parking lot around the walkway
Right in front of our apartment
I was an adventure to find room to walk around the cars (without being hit by the whacky drivers on the street.)
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