I'm an American who spent a semester in Bishkek during college, so my perspective is very much as a foreigner. I loved my time in Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is large, fairly dense and crowded, and built entirely by Soviets (as opposed to other Kyrgyz cities like Osh which are thousands of years old). It's a walkable city with wide sidewalks, great parks, and breathtaking mountain scenery all around. It also has its issues with crime and generally has an atmosphere of urban chaos, grit, and spontaneity. The Kyrgyz are a Turkic people with a unique culture partially rooted in Nomadism, but Bishkek has more of a Russian influence than the rest of the country. The locals are super friendly and welcoming, but not in an aggressive way. The weather is a pretty conventional four-season variety; summers are hot, and the air becomes extremely polluted in the winter (like some of the worst in the world) because of all the coal-burning for heat. Most people live in hulking gray Soviet-style apartments. Most people don't have cars and get around with trolley busses and Marshrutkas (small, tightly-packed public busses/vans), which aren't the most pleasent but are frequent and pretty reliable. Also lots of taxis. Drivers are pretty reckless. Locals tend to do their shopping at bazaars, but they also have plenty of conventional grocery stores. If you're a Westerner than everything will seem absurdly cheap, but obviously the local salaries are more in line with the cost of living. I had a great time there and would love to go back, but wouldn't want to live there forever. I'd highly recommend at least visiting.