Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
Well maybe you looked at properties marketed at foreigners? I was travelling in that region, and I realised after a while that anything that's translated into English essentially means there is an added 1/3 or sometimes more, to the price, seriously. Or anything that's aimed at Westerners too, or rich locals or Russians. I certainly wasn't looking for villas with a swimmingpool!

I wouldn't presume to know this, but I think there are some VERY cheap flats for rent in the ex USSR area. Some people bought their flats for next to nothing and are now living in properties they own but have no mortgage on. So that's great for for them, and their budget. I met a few people in Belarus who told me that they were living on 800-1000 a month (and were unhappy about it). But there, a lot of things are state subsidized and they wouldn't pay the "real" price for it. Don't think that happens in Ukraine. Just listening to all the discussions about gas price in Ukraine, I am getting the impression that it is make or break for a large part of the population. In the UK they just practically doubled the gas price a while back, but it only affected the very poor seriously. Everybody else could absorb the difference.

I think a lot of people in Ukraine are living very much on the brink of poverty and the it's not easy for many to get a good stable job. You might have hoped that 22 years AFTER the USSR, people would be better off, not worse, but I think for many the situation is quite the opposite and they really have a very dire situation. I read that many millions of Ukrainians are working in Russia because they simply can't get a half decently paying job in the Ukraine. I can't even imagine, how hard that would be.
I like to swim! You were right. I checked out 2 very similar 4 bedroom houses with pools here and near Moscow. The house here (2,495,000 USD) is an older house but the one near Moscow (only 456,309 USD) is modern. That's a huge difference in house prices. I found the Moscow house at a Russian real estate site and I converted rubles to dollars. And yeah, the last time I compared house prices I was checking out houses near Moscow at english sites and the prices were a lot higher.
Btw, it's always better to just pay cash for a house and not have a mortgage. The lawyers can settle the "lost interest" issues and dad said it's always a lot less than the interest they charge with a payment plan.
Not good, the Ukrainian poverty issue. Nobody should have to be poor.

Quote Originally Posted by maxmixiv View Post
Pensions in Russia are just a bit higher. $270 they say, but the spread is huge as always. Most people I know get the same $200.
I'm still thinking that prices in Russia must be lower because I don't understand how anybody could live with only $200 or $270 each month. But the only prices I've seen are for houses. I still need to learn more about prices for other stuff.