Minsk: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

VBValeryia Brazdetskayalera.brozdetskaya · Dec 9, 2019Read

To start, I want to tell you a little backstory... The idea💡 for this trip came to me back in my freshman year, but after consulting with my parents, I decided to go during my sophomore year. I went through the well-known Work and Travel🚘 program. Through this program, you can go not only to America but also to the UK, Germany, and even China. However, America remains the most popular destination. In the fall of 2018, I submitted my documents for the program. Only two challenges lay ahead: finding an employer in America and obtaining a visa. I bought the program with an independent job search. At the time, I thought finding a job in America would be a breeze, oh how wrong I was😅 I sent out about 200 messages to employers all over America, and only two replied. That’s when I started to panic, as it was already February, and in March I had to submit my job offer for verification (they check job invitations to ensure they aren't fake). In the end, my friend and I had to buy a job offer, but I didn't regret it at all, as we met some great people who not only sold us the job offers but also explained in great detail about our future work, the city, and how to get there. I bought my job offer at the standard price - $250💸 After that, the most nerve-wracking task remained: the interview at the US Embassy 🇺🇸. I think many of you have heard that getting a visa isn't that easy, especially in Belarus. But, fortunately, everything went smoothly for me🍀 The big day fell on May 31st. I was one of the few who were granted a visa that day. I was terribly nervous, but my consul turned out to be an incredibly sweet woman; we had a wonderful chat about my family, my studies, and my future life plans. After a short conversation, they took my fingerprints, and I heard the cherished words: Your visa is approved, I wish you a good summer🌊 My happiness knew no bounds! A couple of days later, I bought my plane tickets for the Minsk - Moscow - New York route✈️ We flew with Aeroflot. Even though I'm afraid of flying, the flight (or rather, the two of them) went very calmly. On June 24th, we landed in New York🐵🙉🙊 Unfortunately, we didn't get to walk around NY that day because we urgently needed to head to our city, Wildwood, NJ. We took a taxi from the airport to the bus station, caught a bus to Atlantic City, transferred to another bus, and by evening we were there... To be continued in the next article 👣

GGuestUserDec 8, 2019Read

I'm writing this blog for a contest. It's not finished yet—I'll complete it after the contest—but it fully meets the requirements: 5 pages and 5 photos each. Please don't take this blog as bragging. Yes, I earned a large sum, but I'm only mentioning it because something tangible is much more inspiring than an abstract "a lot." By the end, you'll understand how to earn just as much, if not more. Work and Travel USA has two key components for results: Money and Travel. Most of the stories you read here are written by guys with average experience. Average means they traveled a little and earned a little. As a result, you won't have a complete picture of the possibilities of one component or the other. (Guggenheim Museum) Alas, I don't really like traveling, so my story will be focused on money, as you might have guessed from the title. Briefly about me. (Typical smart Indians at MIT, I'm on the right) I am a 2nd-year student from Minsk, Belarus (allowed dates: June 25 - September 1). My grades are not high, English is B2. I am reporting here only for the resort of Cape Cod, MA. The States are really different; even cities can offer completely different experiences. My goal was to earn money; I Googled many stories and made a plan on how to make 7-8k over the summer. The second goal was to get as much experience as possible that I can't get in Minsk. The trip sponsors were my parents, with the condition of repayment after the trip. Vow for the trip: Strict economy. Well, reasonable, of course. Briefly about the trip. (No comments) Due to laziness, I missed the deadlines for finding an offer on my own and had to buy one from a third party. Not a waiter. At the first interview at the embassy, I was denied a visa. The second time, I passed in such a way that the whole room remembered me. Upon arrival, it turned out that the employer had no housing; I lived on the beach. In total, I earned a 4-digit sum from June 25 to September 9. 2.5 months, multiply by the figure from the blog title. And two photos for the rules: (Important sign on Wall Street) (Museum in my city)

MDMaksim Deykalomaxx.deykalo · Dec 8, 2019Read

1. Motivation. I'll start by saying that I didn't really want to go to America. I'm not a fan of traveling, and I didn't really need the money at the time. I spent all my free time on my own projects (read: startups), and those have problems of a different nature. (working at my boss's dacha) My life was quite monotonous, so when I heard from successful graduates of my university about how Work and Travel helped them see the world differently, I latched onto the idea, because I had long needed a change, something to refresh my perspective. This pushed me to read a lot of articles about the trip. And, alas, we are all susceptible to money, so when I found out about the possibility of earning up to $10k, I was very impressed, but not so much by the money as by the figure itself. A big and new figure for me. (the ATM wasn't working for a while and I had to keep it in cash) But $10k remained just a figure. There was no need for this money, no need for travel, I didn't want to go, but I knew that these changes were very important; there is likely nothing more important than spending one summer on such a trip. So, reader, if you are still deciding, think about the changes, about a new and bright event in your life, force yourself to go, and the money is a pleasant motivator that you can use to push yourself. 2. Preparation. So, let's start with the agency office. Spoiler alert: no one there will tell you anything about America (only technical data). And they won't prepare you for the embassy interview. Mostly for the same reason: their knowledge is very average and statistical; there is no individual approach, nor any special knowledge. So don't expect much information, prepare yourself. In general, I signed up and chose to search for an offer independently. But I'm a lazy person, I procrastinated and only started doing something two weeks before the deadline: buying an offer on the side for $450. I'll talk about this in the next chapter. Don't order an offer from an agency. Their offers give you a rate of $12 (or even $8-10) maximum, which is very little. Aim for $15-20. These are more than realistic rates. (text on one of the companies' websites, this doesn't even cover the cost of the trip) Then the visa. I didn't take it very seriously, thinking there was no reason not to give me a visa, and as a result, I failed the first time. That is, either come to terms with the loss ($350 (program) + $450 (offer) + $160 (interview)) = $960 and spend the summer in Minsk, or try a second time, risking losing another $160. Actually, the decision was difficult; few people were granted a visa upon re-application. Again about agencies. I don't know how it will be with yours, but I was given very little information about re-applying. No one there will pull you along, give you ideas on how to pass the interview, or discuss technique with you. So, do everything with your own hands. (His Majesty, Harvard) As I wrote, I didn't feel a strong sense of responsibility for losing the money, but something else made me angry: "Me? They didn't give me a visa? How dare they?" And on this excitement, with the thoughts "I'll show this embassy!", I applied a second time. Not just like that, of course, I prepared very hard; there will be a separate chapter about this. Then the tickets. I bought them late, around the tenth of June, I think. Your agency should ideally tell you well how to select tickets. Since it was during the exam session, and this was my first trip to America, I decided to take "direct" tickets, Minsk-Paris-Boston and back the same way. I paid $800. I only regret one thing: there was no time for travel in Europe after the trip. I was interested in a couple of places in Germany, the Netherlands, etc. I had so much money in my pocket, but because of the tickets, I didn't even see Paris (2-hour layover). (Photo for atmosphere) In general, that's the end of the preparation. Next, I'll tell you about the visa and the offer.

NBNatasha Belyaevasolnyshko_1994 · Nov 24, 2015Read

Perhaps, if we don't count road trips to Crimea, I have never traveled anywhere as long as I did to my American destination – the tiny resort town of Bethany Beach on the East Coast of the States. 3 hours by car from my native Vitebsk to Minsk, 1 hour flight from Minsk airport to Moscow, a 6-hour layover at Sheremetyevo, a 9-hour flight to New York, an 8-hour wait for a transfer at JFK, and finally, 4 final hours – and I was there: the guys from E-Point delivered me right to the door of my new "home". But (!) all these seemingly endless periods of waiting for "weather by the sea," honestly, were worth the two short takeoffs and landings of the plane. I can wait indefinitely just to feel that funny numbness in my arms and legs again when the roaring giant rises into the air and smoothly descends onto the runway. You sit there, eyes squeezed shut, pressed into your seat, and your heart is pounding like crazy – you are completely seized by some whirlwind of anticipation for something new, a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. What will it be like in an unfamiliar country? How will I be there? Will I manage? The stream of questions attacking the consciousness is endless. Favorite songs in my ears, in the backpack under my feet, a camera, a couple of books, a fresh Kinfolk, and a bag of coconut-covered nuts (you can only find those at home – it's a fact) – full "combat" readiness. I have a favorite battered notebook with sketches, dialogues for oral practice classes, to-do lists, and some notes so I wouldn't forget – this thing has been with me for more than one year and more than one trip. On the first page, there is a clumsy inscription in pencil – my peculiar motto, my state of mind: Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe. Because it really is so, Anatole France didn't lie, guys. Only in travels do we find ourselves, so at any convenient opportunity – I pack my backpack and set off on the road. To meet everything.

YTYauheni Turavetsevgeniytyrovez · Dec 15, 2017Read

Everything started on a warm September day in 2016. A mobile phone, the cherished number of the International Exchange Center in Minsk, a pleasant female voice, a mini-interview in English, and there it was – the beginning of the journey across the ocean. Next came checking emails, the first installment, filling out the application for the program, signing the contract, and… we, four third-year Belarusian students, were "in the game." Everything was quite easy and simple; even finding a job offer seemed like an easily solvable task. But as they say, if only… it turned out to be much more complicated than we thought. According to the program terms, we had to submit a job offer for verification by March 1, 2017. We were counting on the help of a good acquaintance who had already been there, across the ocean, in the summer of 2016 through the Work and Travel USA program. He had connections with employers in the USA, so we were sure that the job offer was in our pocket. However, at the last moment, my friends and I had to start looking for work on our own, which actually turned out to be quite a difficult task, considering we had less and less time left. We managed to jump on the last train, and at the end of February, we finally submitted our work contracts to the sponsor for verification. Four weeks of waiting, and there it was – the cherished job offer confirmation, the thrilling joy, and the final decisive step on the way there, across the ocean – passing the interview at the American consulate. We are going for a visa!

YYuliyaminsk_788129276343 · Jul 1, 2012Read

If I'm going to start a story about America, it has to be from the very beginning: the plane! The flight was long... Minsk-Moscow-Washington-Denver-Jackson! I was very worried about making all my connections, as I had anywhere from 1.5 hours to 55 minutes depending on the airport... In Moscow, the flight check-in system glitched right in front of me, and we waited a whole hour for them to fix it. The departure was delayed by 45 minutes. Standing next to me were a woman—an economics professor—and a man—some singer on tour—and I spent the whole hour listening to them talk about how many countries they had visited! Unfortunately, they didn't say anything interesting; I even doubt they were listening to each other... They were mostly just bragging and competing... In any case, upon arriving in Washington, I had to go through customs. The woman in front of me didn't speak English, so the customs officer called me over and asked me to help translate... That was the first time I received a compliment on my English on American soil. I felt proud of that for about five hours, but then I arrived at my destination, and when they asked me about the economic situation in Belarus, I realized I couldn't squeeze out more than two or three sentences... that was sad... But returning to the flights, my favorite moment is the plane taking off! It picks up speed, and more, and more, and then we're flying. After that, it's not interesting to me anymore, and nothing exciting happens. The main takeaway from all these flights was the motto: Relax! Everything works out very easily and stress-free; all the transfers were successful without any trouble, and I got huge pleasure from flying halfway across the world completely on my own! I think you should try it sometime too! : - )