What does life cost in Russia? | The family sold their house in America and moved to a Russian city

Russia is a dark and dangerous place! That's exactly what Eric Piccione from Texas used to think. He never suspected that one day he would marry a Russian, buy an apartment in Russia, and come to adore Russian cuisine.

Eric and Polina met while studying in Louisiana and initially planned to live in America. However, too many factors aligned for them to change their residence.
For instance, one day Eric went to pick up their 4-year-old daughter from preschool. He discovered that day that the teachers were reading a book to the children about how it's okay to accept that you might not know what gender you are. This left the young father in shock.
Now Eric and Polina have two children, which certainly wouldn't have been the case in America—especially considering the high cost of medical care, particularly for kids.
The family sold their house in Ohio and moved to the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl, Polina's hometown.

Why don’t Russians smile? Why is whistling prohibited in their homes? How do Russians live under sanctions? And what are these delicious dishes: shawarma and chebureki? Our new video explores all of this.
By the way, even Russians often mistake Eric for being Russian and are very surprised to learn that he is American. What do you think—does he resemble one? Let us know in the comments.

00:00 Eric Piccione: A Texan in Yaroslavl
01:49 When There’s a Baby in the Family…
03:26 How Eric and Polina Met - Eric’s Version
03:54 How Eric and Polina Met - Polina’s Version
05:08 The Wedding Ring Found in Flour
06:47 The Idea to Move to Russia
08:16 Bilingual Children
09:36 Is Russia a Dark and Dangerous Place?
11:01 School Shootings in the USA
11:58 Madness Over Genders
13:09 The Russian Soul
14:13 Shawarma and Chebureki
16:36 Sanctions
17:54 How Much Does Life Cost in Russia?
18:46 'Cold' Russians
19:53 Yaroslavl
20:54 Russian Superstitions
21:50 What Comes Next?