Quote: (05-06-2014 08:23 PM)SpecialEd Wrote:
ThailandVeteran, you've stoked my curiosity...
How much money would you need to live 'well' in kiev? Would $2K a month cut it? As dramatically as the currency has crashed, I would have thought Kiev is well on it's way to becoming a budget locale.( Provided you're earning in $ or Euros).
IMO Kiev will never be a budget destination. Your biggest expenditure will be housing. You can either live in a shitty apartment ukrainian style far from city centre. Even this will cost you 200-300USD. Or you can rent a renovated, western standard flat - most of them are located in centre. Those are priced in foreign currency anyway, so devaluation of UAH won't help. A studio/1 bed should cost 800-1.5k USD/month longterm.
Nightlife and going to dates won't be cheap either. However, now compared to last year you might spend a little less. I was always wondering how ordinary ukrainians can afford going out - In fact most of them can't. Girls rely on free entry and guys buying them drinks.
CR is right - 2k will be really tight and no fun at all.
Quote: (05-06-2014 08:23 PM)SpecialEd Wrote:
Also, shit food is a frequent complaint about Ukraine. Does this apply mainly to restaurants or are the groceries bad quality too?
I'm health conscientious and so I mainly cook anyways. Bad restaurants I can deal with but rotten produce/meat is kind of a deal breaker.
It will take you a while to find some good places for groceries. The supermarkets on krechatik are a desaster. I know a few residents, who always bring meat back from Western Europe. You can get along though - just don't expect fine dining. To stay healthy you can find sushi restaurants everywhere.
BTW in case you like to work out. Gym membership also expensive, minimum 100 USD/month.
On budget, Lviv or Southern UA ( except Odessa) should be better alternatives.