Ulaanbaatar - Post Report Question and Answers
What do you wish you had known about this particular city/country before moving there?
Mongolia is an upper middle income country and UB is a surprisingly modern city, with all the frustrations that come with that, including traffic and pollution. Getting out to the countryside is an amazing reprieve but can also be a long trip due to traffic. - Sep 2025
How much I'd miss trees. How the capital of the most sparsely populated country on earth could feel like one of the most cramped and impatient cities I've ever lived in, especially behind the wheel. How truly vast the distances are to practically anything once you get out of the city and how truly difficult it can be to escape humanity. - Apr 2025
How bad the pollution really was. How bad the traffic really was. What -40 really feels like. - Jan 2024
The winter is very bearable as long as you get warm clothing, good boots, and avoid long walks. Most building in Ulaanbaatar are overheated and its easy to get warm. Don't let the winter scare you off this amazing country! - Aug 2022
Mongolia is more than Genghis Khan, it has a vibrant young civil society. Lots of exciting work going on here. - Jan 2022
How expensive it is to travel to other areas in Asia. COVID has certainly limited that, but even before it was not cheap to do. Mongolia is a big country far from everything so be prepared for that. - Sep 2020
Warm socks. What you are planning on bringing is not enough... - Aug 2020
I can't say I didn't know about the pollution ahead of time but I didn't realize that it penetrates every aspect of your life in the winter (it's in your hair, your clothes) you simply cannot prepare for it and you can't escape it unless you leave the city. - Oct 2016
How bad the International School would be. - Feb 2015
