Again the cost of living ,but in the Ukraine

Originally Posted by markgm

It is alot more expensive than everyone realizes especially in the cities you are looking at i have two brotherinlaws that live in Kiev and Kiev and Odessa are in the top 20 most expensive cities to live in in the world.

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Thanks Markgm for the info.
Do you know what the dollar figure would be for an average apartment if living there?

Thanks again ,

Randy

Originally Posted by Jerico

Thinking about moving over there again huh Randy? Hehe
Well good luck with that.
I also thought about it for a while but dont think its gunna happen anytime soon.
My hangup is the money issue as in not making any over there , Hehe.
Perhaps maybe the teaching thing would work for you though.
Good Luck
Jerry

Originally Posted by markgm

Can be up to $400us a month and more depending on what you want and how close to the city. Odessa is very expensive like a little Venice best to start emailing some of the agents over there to get a better idea of the pricing.

Originally Posted by Jerico

I completely understand Randy.
Same thing here. They wont promote you because you dont have that piece of paper but when they hire THAT guy they want you to train him????? BS

Randy,
you ever think about applying for work at an embassy or something?
Jerry

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Jerry,first I am not going to get into the want you to train him????? BS
I could go on for ever..LOL.

How would you go about finding out about jobs at the embassy?
I had thought of it at one time,but still they would ant someone with a piece of paper,would they not.

Thanks
Randy

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Ouch,that $400 US could take a chunk out of what they are offering Markgm,
how do the Ukrainian people afford these prices?

Randy

Originally Posted by inlove

They sure would. Although if you are applying for a lowpaid position as a crew eber or something, they might hire you if you have a lot of experience. In the US the State Department website would be a good place to start looking. I don't know about Canada.

P.S. Don't they require a diploma to teach English in Ukraine?

Originally Posted by Jerico

Well Randy just for kicks i looked up jobs in Ukraine for US Embassy and there is Commercial assistant , Warehouseman available in Kiev immediate opening on assistant job.
http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/jobs_eng.html


Moscow embassy has Warehouseman,custodian,storekeeper,driver,guard,la borer, senior guard positions available.
http://www.usembassy.ru/links/vacancies.php

Originally Posted by markgm

Most locals own there own places which was given to them after the fall of the soviet union.
There are alot cheaper places depending on what you would consider good living standards some start at about $30 us A MONTH AND ALOT AT $100-$150us PER MONTH.

Originally Posted by Pin Boy

hi randy,

i'm off to kiev for 7 weeks beginning early june. as you may recall, i teach english as a second language - kindergarten to 12th grade. i went to kiev last summer for two weeks and volunteered at a school. they liked my style and offered me a position for this summer. will be teaching adults. it works out well for me since i have the summer off anyway. met some nice people there last year and look forward to another great time. kiev is fantastic!

got a line on apartment. that's gonna run about $800/month. but that's within walking distance of center city. if you go a few metro stops out, the price will be less. but from what i've been able to gather, despite being ukraine, the prices aren't cheap. i will make some money, but won't come out ahead. travel costs are tax deductible, so that helps a bit.

have you applied to many places? if you throw enough s@#t at the wall, something sticks.

pin boy

Originally Posted by Big wheel

When i went to Zaporizhzhya it cost me 130us per week for a apartment. and I think one week would equal one month rent or workers pay? I will ask and find out for you.
And don't buy the Levis, cost to you $90us.

Originally Posted by Pin Boy

hey again randy,

i think it's hard to gauge the prices when you're not living there. if you're willing to commute from outside the city proper, or out on the fringes, the prices will be less. kiev has a good metro system. for me, i'd rather pay a little bit more. i figure when i'm not teaching, my time will be mine - no grass cutting, painting the porch, top coating the driveway, etc. so i want to be near the city to see the sights and hang out.

there is always the option of sharing a place with a fellow teacher until you find reasonably priced accommodations.

pb

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Ok Markgm,those sound like better prices to me.If I am going to be working the apartment dosen't need to be the top of the line.So one that is lower priced may do.

Any ideas on price of food and clothing?

Thanks
Randy

Originally Posted by Justjohn

Hi Randy
In Odessa
Food from the local market Is relatively cheap, as clothes from the big market just out side Odessa (only a bus ride 2grn) If you start to look at anything imported from the west, be prepared to put you hand deep in your pocket, there is plenty of stuff from Turkey and the like. Restaurants in the city center are also a bit on the expensive side, but to eat in is for nothing, you can eat in for about $20 US. You can travel any where in the city on the matrooshka (little mini bus) for 1.25 grn per week. Bear in mind Odessa is a very old city and many of the building that they call apartment are very old also, so be ready for the shock. Other that that Odessa is a lovely city;Good beaches too. I personally can’t get enough of it
Good luck
John

Originally Posted by Justjohn

sorry mate the per week should be after the $20 US. hehehe this vodka play havok with your fingers

Originally Posted by mistermopar

LOL,I got caught on that vodka thing before..LOL

So you are saying you can eat for about $20 US per week?

Thanks Justjohn,

Randy

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Ok Markgm,those sound like better prices to me.If I am going to be working the apartment dosen't need to be the top of the line.So one that is lower priced may do.

Any ideas on price of food and clothing?

Thanks
Randy

Originally Posted by markgm

It is alot more expensive than everyone realizes especially in the cities you are looking at i have two brotherinlaws that live in Kiev and Kiev and Odessa are in the top 20 most expensive cities to live in in the world.

Originally Posted by Stirlitz

Let me give you my calculation of what we have to pay every month. We — my wife and 10 y.o. daughter. We live in our own apartment in Odessa, our parents live across the street. Here are our main monhtly costs in Ukraine hryvnyas (1 hryvnya is about 20 cents):

food: 1000
detergents/hygiene: 200
apartment maintenance: 30*
heating: 80**
stove gas: 20
cold water supply: 20
hot water supply: 10***
electricity: 120
landline telephone subscription: 30
long distance bills: 20
cable television: 30
Internet connection: 110
cell phone: 100
my gym: 120
daughter’s dance school: 100
daughter’s allowance: 100
daughter’s high school: 40
other daughter costs: 250
wife’s cigarettes: 120
wife’s college: 170
wife’s hairdresser: 100
bus/tram fares: 70
gasoline: 800****
garage guard: 31
car maintenance: 400
lots of other miscellaneous costs: 1000

* we own our apartment so it is not a rent although it is usually referred to as one
** only in the cold season
*** we have an electric heater so we hardly ever use municipal hot water as it is now hot, now luke-warm
****driving around the town 200 km (which is a drive to the downtown once a week) and once a month a drive to the Crimea where I have another home (500 km away)

The total is about UAH5,000 or USD1,000. And it is just basic costs with no frills. As you see if we make less than that, we are not comfortable. I can save by giving up my gym, I can only use the bus instead of my car, eat less, use my cell less often, not to buy anything I don’t need badly and cut down the costs to $600 a month. But on no account can I go any lower: we will be in trouble. Especially when my wife runs out of cigarettes And it will be just survival. What I quote above are just basic costs which include no clothes, apartment repair, new furniture or home appliances, health costs (dental, e.g.), vacationing, leisure time, jewelry and expensive things, let alone saving something for a rainy day and supporting our parents. My estimate is that we need at least $1,500 a month to live a decent life and a lot more to stop worrying about the money all the time, at least $2,000 a month (I am only talking about the net income).

Food is a real pain in the neck. It is getting expensive all the time. It used to be quite cheap here. Now it is actually more expensive than in Europe. I have friends in Germany I talk to online and they claim fruit are cheap as dirt compared to Ukraine. I envy them.

If we need to rent an apartment, add $400 to the bill. Of course if the apartment is not inferior to what we have now: a one-bedroom apartment with a separate kitchen and a living room. $400 is what you pay to the landlord but you still have to pay the electricity, water, gas, heating bills.

Having said that I know families like ours who manage to stay well on $500 a month. But how they achieve that is a mystery to me. My costs are above and I really do not see how I can reduce them without stretching ourselves.