Happier Abroad Forum Community

According to the Big Mac index it's Ukraine. The Big Mac index is basically an indicator of how things are expensive or cheap in a particular country. Currently the Big Mac sells for 39uah (~US$1.49) and the complete combo is 65uah (~$2.48).

Grocery store prices here I am estimating to be 50-75% cheaper than North American prices. I am sure this is true of western European prices. Transportation is very cheap. You can take the metro for just 4uah and a taxi will not cost more than 50uah from any point of the city to the centre. A taxi to Borispol aiport will cost around 250uah (~$10) that is if you don't deal with a taxi shark. Bus or train are also very cheap if you need to commute between cities.

You can get a good hotel, not luxury for $16-$20 sometimes including breakfast and wifi in the capitol and even cheaper in other cities.

Of course there are western prices in hotels and restaurants if you go there but you don't need to as you can get comparable quality and level of services at Ukrainian establishments.

Overall you will not spend much to live here but if you work here and don't work for a western company you won't make much either. English teachers don't get paid much by western standards. They earn between 150auh - 250uah per hour depending on their qualifications but again things are dirt cheap here so you can survive on that money. I recommend to save up a little nest egg before coming so you can have a kind of safety cushion.

Then enjoy

Are you able to remain fairly insulated from the political situation? That's a godawful junta government the U.S. installed in Kiev, and the country is being raped by predatory western "investors," to a degree that its economy will be a basket case for decades. And if Clinton gets elected, she will do everything she can to provoke fighting between Ukraine and Russia. Can the quality of a solvent individual's life be maintained with all of that as the backdrop?

I barely notice the political situation. People just talk about it. If Hillary is elected I dread what turmoil the world will be thrown into. Is this the calm before the storm?

How about Moldova? I heard it was the poorest country in Eastern Europe, but it definitely doesn't seem to be the cheapest (which is weird, to me).

I've been to Moldova and it's slightly more expensive that Ukraine (based on exchange rates)

If Hillary is elected (or more likely steals the election) it's game over for Christians. You think you got it bad now? Your life is going to become a living hell. You better hope and pray that Trump is elected.

Voyager1 wrote:If Hillary is elected (or more likely steals the election) it's game over for Christians. You think you got it bad now? Your life is going to become a living hell. You better hope and pray that Trump is elected.

You're preaching to the choir on that one. Say what you will about HA, in this election pretty much everybody here has got it right. That madwoman is liable to start WWIII.

Voyager1: That's good to know. Good quality things? I was comparing Czechia & Slovakia (which both seemed to be less expensive than Moldova, maybe the estimate is old), they both seem to have good levels. Any thoughts?

gsjackson: Yeah, seems so. In truth, most people don't seem to like her- she just seems to be a "quantity" that is associated with what they either like or want to be thought to like.

I remember seeing a listing for an apartment in Tiraspol, Transdniestr (i.e, breakaway region of Moldova) for $8K.

MatureDJ wrote:I remember seeing a listing for an apartment in Tiraspol, Transdniestr (i.e, breakaway region of Moldova) for $8K.

But who'd want to live there? There's nothing there. That's like saying I can buy a plot of land in a cow pasture and put a tent up.

Whoa- $8,000 for an apartment? That's a little extreme, wouldn't you say? Are you sure it wasn't 8,000 in their money?

You can get the same here in Ukraine in some little town or village but as I said who'd want to live there?

Voyager1: Are you talking $8,000 per month over there? Shit, I'm looking for something around $600-$700. I'm thinking of living there for a few months & probably having to hop back & forth out of Schengen, at least until my Italian citizenship goes through & I can live/work/retire anywhere in the EU. Really think that these countries should leave the EU, but maintain that sort of arrangement independently with each other & leave the refugee thing up to individual countries that would be housing them.

Wolfeye wrote:Voyager1: Are you talking $8,000 per month over there? Shit, I'm looking for something around $600-$700. I'm thinking of living there for a few months & probably having to hop back & forth out of Schengen, at least until my Italian citizenship goes through & I can live/work/retire anywhere in the EU. Really think that these countries should leave the EU, but maintain that sort of arrangement independently with each other & leave the refugee thing up to individual countries that would be housing them.

No he was talking about buying an apartment not renting. You can rent one as low as $100/month in some areas. It depends where you want to live. You can have one in Kiev for $200/month but not the centre. Centre is $300-$500/mo min.

What's the difference? Is it like buying a condo, just with it not called a "condo"?