[SuzyJ]

Hi there, sounds exciting. Do you get very cold winters and hot summers? and the big question;- can you grow tomatoes outdoors?

hi marigold indeed the winters are very cold -10 to -20 and summers baking hot up to +35/38 and tomatoes grow very well outdoors

Hello.....sounds very similar to our weather here in North Central Bulgaria. House/land prices about the same I'd imagine too.

[rbno22]

Wow, that sounds affordable.  How are you finding the contrast in cultures from the UK to Ukraine?  Is it safe over there?  What's the bureaucracy like?

i have to say i love it here. sure there are enough problems but arent there everywhere?...as long as you try to blend in rather than fit i dont think life could be better. safe? yea very safe the local mafia are good dont bother you!! and bureaucracy well thats a different world from anywhere else i have lived!! but luckily 30 hryvnia (about 4 usd) will open the doors to just about anywhere.

On the subject of money 13 hryvnia = about a pound
                                   8  hryvnia = about a usd

for 13 hryvnia i can buy:

3 packs of smokes or
6 baton loaves or
1/2 kilo of chicken or
1/2 litre of good vodka or
13 kilos of corn or
15 kilos of barley or
the daily mirror???
the average wage here is about 1000 hryvnia a month!

 

[SuzyJ]

Wow, that sounds affordable.  How are you finding the contrast in cultures from the UK to Ukraine?  Is it safe over there?  What's the bureaucracy like?

i have to say i love it here. sure there are enough problems but arent there everywhere?...as long as you try to blend in rather than fit i dont think life could be better. safe? yea very safe the local mafia are good dont bother you!! and bureaucracy well thats a different world from anywhere else i have lived!! but luckily 30 hryvnia (about 4 usd) will open the doors to just about anywhere.

On the subject of money 13 hryvnia = about a pound
                                   8  hryvnia = about a usd

for 13 hryvnia i can buy:

3 packs of smokes or
6 baton loaves or
1/2 kilo of chicken or
1/2 litre of good vodka or
13 kilos of corn or
15 kilos of barley or
the daily mirror???
the average wage here is about 1000 hryvnia a month!

 

Wow sounds good and cheaper than things here in BG. I've just quit smoking over the last month as we're due a large increase in the price of cigarettes here in January.

How long have you lived in the Ukraine and how do you find the language?

[rbno22]

hi suzyj have lived here over a year or so...i find the language hard to master but im getting there (the wifes ukrainian but doesnt help i can assure you...confuses me more!!!) ...mainly because alot of people mix russian into ukrainian or speak total slang or old ukrainian....but i do find too many people speak english or french so i get by....just read your blog about gypsies and have to agree!!

[FrankBlack]

Thanks for the info - very helpful.  It sounds a lot like the economy of Malaysia, apart from the booze that is [Muslim country so alcohol isn't too popular and is expensive].

[SuzyJ]

hi suzyj have lived here over a year or so...i find the language hard to master but im getting there (the wifes ukrainian but doesnt help i can assure you...confuses me more!!!) ...mainly because alot of people mix russian into ukrainian or speak total slang or old ukrainian....but i do find too many people speak english or french so i get by....just read your blog about gypsies and have to agree!!

I've hit a bit of a wall with the Bulgarian language, been here 2 years now and was doing quite well but I seem to have stopped learning - either that or I've stopped listening, made a mistake lately with translation and ended up with 19, day old chicks that we didn't want or need!

Nice to know that someone is reading my blog, I enjoy writing it and hope to keep it updated over the winter. Must get out and take some new photo's to put on there too.

[rbno22]

maybe you just cant learn anymore?  it happens to me .....yes i enjoy reading blogs and writing my own ...although i am not much of a writer so it takes a while...