How to know if you are moving to the middle of nowhere

Shane is now in Yuzhno, the place that we will soon call home.  It took him longer to get there than it normally does to get to Houston (30 hours!).  He flew from Doha to Moscow with stops in Bahrain and Istanbul, and then flew on to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from there.  

He had a 9 hour layover at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, most of which he spent sitting on a bench waiting to check in for his flight to Yuzhno.  Shane said the airport didn't look like it had been renovated since WWII.  They also apparently allow smoking in the airport lounges, which is pretty disgusting.  It's kind of hard to relax when you don't even have clean air to breathe.  One can only wonder...how far behind are these people, anyway?  

So are we about to move to the middle of nowhere?  Well, probably.  I had always thought that my hometown was in the middle of nowhere, but now I am starting to rethink that.  Here are some clues:

1.  When Shane asked the transfer desk where to go for his flight to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, their first response was "Why do you want to go there???"

2.  When trying to arrange flights from Doha to Yuzhno, we have found that there are only 3 ways on to the island, and one of them is a Chartered flight.

3.  When you tell people where you are moving, their response is either "Ewww" or "Where?"

4.  More people have heard of Doha than Yuzhno (frankly I had never heard of either one before moving out here).

5.  When you arrive at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport, you get off the plane and walk to the terminal.  No need for a bus when all you have to do is walk 50 feet!

Despite all of this, I get the feeling that Shane is happy to be there and away from Doha for a while.  He said he was actually cold and needed his jacket.  It is probably in the 60's, which is a stark contrast from 115F!  He is taking pictures, so I will post them when he returns in a few weeks.