Freezing My Ass Off in Vorkuta: A Budget Student's Survival Guide
so here i am in vorkuta, a place i'd never heard of until my friend's band got booked for a festival in the arctic circle. when i saw the weather was -18°c with 82% humidity, i thought they were joking. they weren't.
walking from the airport, my eyelashes froze together within 30 seconds. the wind feels like it's actively trying to remove your skin. locals just laugh when you complain - apparently this is 'mild' for february.
"You'll get used to it," said the taxi driver, wearing what looked like a sleeping bag with sleeves. "Or you'll leave. Those are the only options."
found a hostel for $12/night on what might be the world's most depressing street. the building looks like it was airlifted from a soviet era nightmare. inside, the heating works perfectly, which makes me wonder if they're trying to make up for the outside world being a frozen hellscape.
food situation: there's exactly one restaurant that's open past 6pm. it's called "Northern Lights" and serves what i can only describe as 'mystery meat surprise.' the borscht has actual ice crystals in it, which i think is intentional? cost me about $8, which feels expensive until you remember you're eating in the arctic.
i just checked and it's still -18°c there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.
people here are weirdly friendly once you survive the first five minutes of conversation. they want to know why an outsider would come to vorkuta. when i say 'the festival,' they nod knowingly, like i've just admitted to visiting detroit for the architecture.
someone told me that the abandoned coal mines just outside town are haunted by the ghosts of gulag prisoners. sounded like drunk nonsense until i saw them at night - they're genuinely creepy, all crumbling concrete and rusting equipment against the endless white.
if you get bored, murmansk and salekhard are just a short (read: 30-hour) drive away.
random overheard gossip: "the best bar is actually the one inside the grocery store. they have vodka shots for $2 and the bartender tells dirty jokes in russian."
i'm using yelp to find a place that sells hand warmers because mine gave up after hour two. also checking tripadvisor for indoor activities that don't involve freezing to death.
realized i forgot to mention the daylight situation - we get about 4 hours of murky twilight before it's dark again. perfect for my goth aesthetic, terrible for my mental health.
walking around town feels like being in a post-apocalyptic movie where everyone decided to just keep living despite the world ending. buildings are falling apart, but there's a kindergarten with colorful murals and kids playing in the snowdrifts. life goes on, even when it's -25°c and feels like the sun forgot this place exists.
last piece of advice: layer like you're dressing a russian doll. i'm wearing three pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, and I've started putting hand warmers in my bra because why not. survival is about creativity when you're this cold.
You might also be interested in:
- https://votoris.com/post/the-best-public-and-private-schools-in-naucalpan-de-jurez-and-why-it-matters
- https://votoris.com/post/studying-in-nampula-top-universities-and-student-life-a-real-talk
- https://votoris.com/post/tripoli-the-city-that-feels-like-a-hot-mess
- https://votoris.com/post/healthcare-in-tulsa-what-actually-works-and-whats-a-total-scam
- https://votoris.com/post/how-to-find-an-apartment-in-ankara-without-getting-scammed-messy-guide