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Your story. Why did you decide to move to Ukraine?

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LuvSlav
  4/8/2016 10:45 EST

I get pieces here and there in various posts but I'm just curious, to those who actually live in Ukraine, was there one event or situation that put you on the path to moving to Ukraine?

It's only fair that I start, right? For me, it's a number of things.
Economic: my disability check is too small to actually live anywhere with a high cost of living.
Relationships: looking for a wife who has actual family values.
New Places, New Adventures: there's a bit of that too, never been to EU or EE and the more I learn about Ukraine the more I want to learn and explore. It's a fairly big country with cultural differences depending where you go.
Nature: Ukraine hasn't been turned into a giant parking lot like the Dallas/Fort Worth area is. I'm looking forward to discovering the beauty of nature there.

Hope that primes the pump, so to speak. So... what are your reasons?

extremevx
  4/8/2016 10:57 EST

I moved here for two main reasons. First, my wife cannot take her son out of Ukraine because her ex is a douchbag. So that means if I want to be with her, then I live ukraine. Second, it's cheap to live and my SSA and disability go further. Bare in mind that if you are really into your recreational activities, you are very limited here in ukraine even when living in bigger cities like odessa and kiev. People here just can't afford things outside of the basic necessities. ie, I like remote controlled planes ans helicopters. I like skydiving and shooting sports, tinkering with my old corvettes that are still in the states. Your not going to find an abundance of this in ukraine like in america. People here work 7 days a week to survive. You throw away something and if someone else can make money from it, it will be laid out on the side walk for sale along with everything else in a few hours. People here if they don't have a job, they invent one. Such is the man who watches our car and everyone else's in the parking lot. We all pay him 100uah a month and he sits all night in his car and watches everyone else's car. That is why when these people make it to America you will never see them in the welfare line. All the ukrainians I have met in america do very good for themselves.

LuvSlav
  4/8/2016 12:42 EST

They're "salt of the Earth" kind of people then. My kind of people, no silver spoons. I worked my tail off to get as far as I got in life and I can definitely respect people who do the same.

kkmail
  4/9/2016 23:43 EST

Couple things : Great extreme,, people "invent" a job ,,, really true,, entrepreneurs !! O and about the radio controlled stuff. There's actually a shop here in Odessa that sells various types and decent prices...At least a few months ago but I can check again for ya if you'd like ? ... Why did I move here..VALUES AND MORALS !! I cannot stand to watch the usa flunk and fail ! You can make good money there, but if you can make money there and live here, your top dogging it ! I have invested some here but have not reaped the benefits as well as I could have in the usa but I cannot return their for money !! I have enuff dammit, hahahaha..No matter how much that is !! Plus slave, yes the women are like most of our Mom's were/are.. Plus the beauty of them is a wonderful benefit ! Move over here luvslave, i'd bet you are doing the right thing. I say that after reading your posts....Hope you can do it...

Russophile
  4/10/2016 02:53 EST

My first trip to Odessa was in 1998. I came to meet a woman. I stepped off the airplane and discovered I had arrived on a different planet. Since then I have returned many times and became a full-time resident about a year ago.

Cost of living: A very big plus. My expenses are only 1/3 of what they would be in the US.

Activities: The entertainment options are pretty limited compared to the US. But I am never bored. There are still some new niches I plan to explore after my summer fishing hiatus in Idaho.

Nature: There are some really beautiful places in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the Ukrainians don't appreciate them. Many of them look like landfills. The first time I walked along the beach of the Black Sea, I thought, “world's biggest toilet bowl”. But things around Odessa are kept pretty clean because it is a big tourist Mecca.

People: When I first came to Odessa, all the people I met were bottom-feeding scammers who would pretend to give me the shirt off their backs if they could figure out a way to make a buck from me. But after I learned some of the language and met a few people that were not associated with the scam industry, I met a whole new class of people. They are great people! Friendly, open and sincerely helpful. My circle of friends now is 95% Ukrainians with a few Americans who are honest, hard-working, big on family values and very interesting. My advanced age doesn't seem to be a problem for most of them. I assume they think of me as some kind of an eccentric uncle. For example, yesterday I had lunch with a tour guide at a winery (think, Anne Hathaway with auburn hair). I had dinner last night with a fitness instructor (you can imagine her figure). I am having lunch today with a Civil Engineering student and tomorrow I will travel to Lviv for a few days. My traveling companion is a tall, leggy girl who has a Master's in Psychology and owns an internet business. She insists on paying her own way and will never even let me buy her a cup of coffee. I help out at an English-speaking club on Saturdays, and yesterday after the meeting there was a group of beautiful young girls that were lined up to give 'Uncle Pasha' a 'good-bye' hug. The takeaway here is that I have interesting experiences with people that men in the US of my age can only dream about.

TexBrown
  4/10/2016 03:25 EST

Russophile, love it but I question that others dream of the intellectual connection. I have met such a x-Soviet woman and I often say I did not know god made such. She is like an onion. I just keep learning more. The beauty of it is she can't see it. Lucky undeserving worm am I. Thanks for sharing- Mike

MichaelTryn
  4/10/2016 09:37 EST

Nice to se a happy experience for you Russophile, "you" must be the one that is 72? I don't mean to post what some may take as "out of popular ideology" to THEIR beliefs views." I read a story you all can look up a few days ago. maybe on Huffington Post. I will follow up the good pts on another post. YOU have seen the REAL people, Ukraine /Russian etc. not the "big bad Russian propaganda." I AM getting raped for $95 /mo with my daughter's internet. She lives on that and has no life without it. Too many people in the u.s. getted raped in many ways, Illinois r.e. taxes, where I am, Drs. that make insane money but "do not help" patients. etc. Recently I was thinking of setting up a Roth acct. for my daughter , but have seen How miserable the U.S. rules are. One tries to do something NICE and the U.S. slaps them down again. One's daughter needs "earned income" WTF! I want to put in $5K, she is 17 with NO income. That is why I say "SCREW THE U.S." I live on my pension, and took some money out(even tho I am almost 64) , I need to send in $1900. I would be much better in Ukraine. I can screw them over when I make 66, THEN they have to pay me. I will look up Ann Hathaway, and Pasha. Every day the computer puts on some person's face "another star" I have never heard of. I know Harrison Ford, and DiCaprio,as everyone from Calif.is a star. Have a great day !

LuvSlav
  4/11/2016 10:29 EST

Thanks for the replies KK, Michael, Russo and Tex. You have made me very jealous)))

Russo, why in the HE(double hockey sticks) did it take you 8 years to finally settle down in Ukraine. haha. I'm following my gut with this move but unless things go horribly wrong I am already pretty sure UA is where I'll stay... and I haven't even been there yet. Faith? Or stupidity? Time will tell.

PS, if things only go "awfully" wrong then I'm still staying. heheh

smmoravec
  4/11/2016 10:34 EST

You will love it there. If you have a chunk of money saved up, you will have no problems giving it some time to adjust and make it your own. it is very cheap to live and easy to get around. Plus, you have friends there to help you out if needed.

extremevx
  4/11/2016 11:02 EST

Smmoravec, thanks for visiting me and my family and bringing goodies. My wife was happy to hear me talk to another american and also give her the opportunity to practice her English on you. It made her feel good that you could understand her. She thinks your a good honest man and won't have a problem finding a good woman here. She said next time you come you should bring your woman and we will make a day of it.

smmoravec
  4/11/2016 11:08 EST

LOL! Yes, it was good to put a name to a face. You have a gorgeous wife, and she has a wonderful personality too. Typical of Ukrainian women, very intelligent, beautiful and easy to talk to. Your son is a good kid too, typical boy, That is good to see!

Yes, when I come back the end of May, Konsuella and I will definitely come visit. It was nice meeting kkmail too, and seeing how she interacted with him. She loves to talk...and is comfortable around anyone. It's nice. But who knows....two months can be a long time, hopefully it flies by!

LuvSlav
  4/11/2016 15:25 EST

@Smmoravec, "have a chunk of money saved up?" Uh-oh. Do you mean to keep the ladies happy? Or just an emergency fund?

smmoravec
  4/11/2016 16:19 EST

LOL! Both...kind of. No, I mean if you do not have money coming in, then money to live on.

LuvSlav
  4/11/2016 16:46 EST

Gotcha. I have enough coming in each month to do ok. Thank you Uncle Sam.

Now tell me where to find the ladies that are not in the "both/kind of" category!)))

LuvSlav
  4/14/2016 23:55 EST

Is it mostly the lady of the house wanting to return to UA? Or needing to return to take care of family members?

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