Maksim Bakiev - Prince of Kyrgyzstan

IS BISHKEK SAFE?

According the US Embassy, quote:

"The Kyrgyz Republic has a high rate of violent crime due to unemployment and a large number of organized gangs. Muggings occur at any time and can be quite violent, leaving the victim severely injured ...

U.S. citizens have been the victims of such crimes as rape, assault, kidnapping, and robbery in urban and rural parts of the Kyrgyz Republic, and there have been reports of U.S. citizens who were robbed by groups of young men who had followed them back to their residences from hotels and bars."

While living in Bishkek I suffered no harm. By not walking alone at night your chances of being assaulted go down 90%. 

HOW DO YOU RENT AN APARTMENT IN BISHKEK?

Renting an apartment in Bishkek is easy. The only unfortunate issue is that most apartment owners require advance payment of several months. You may drop ten large on an eight room penthouse only to find out days later the neighbors are unbearably noisy.

The average rent for a studio apartment in the city center is approximately $400. In non-centrally located districts, ie. Mikrorayoni (Microregions), Soviet style apartments rent for as little as $200. If you go for the cheap option, be sure to carry a flashlight and knife when entering and exiting the building after sundown. For all apartment rentals, always clarify who pays the utilities: you or the landlord. Sometimes the rent covers natural gas, sometimes not, sometimes electricity, and so forth.

There are several legitimate real estate agencies in Bishkek. I used the services of "Salut" to find an apartment and would do so again. Their fee is 800KGS = approximately 21 USD. Private classified ads may also be found in a daily newspaper. Vecherny Bishkek (Bishkek Evening News) is issued each Friday, and offers several pages of apartment ads to sift through.

Salut Real Estate Agency
Address: 24-1 Usenbaeva Street / Bokonbaeva Street
Tel: +996-312-51-23-40
E-mail: salut@salut.com.kg
Website: http://salut.kg