you should not afraid. Almaty is a modern, friendly and cosmopolitan city. The only minus is a costliness. as for schools, please check for- http://www.haileyburyalmaty.kz/ and http://www.miras.kz/ For flat it will be better to find a real estate agency, but i don't know any. The most nice location is south- east part of the city and then south west. Also, I will advise to became a member of http://www.almatyclub.org/ and the members from this club will help you with advises better than I am. regards Madina