You Get What You Pay For....

So what is the cost of living like in Ukraine?

Well, there's no short-answer to that.
This is definitely the land of you-get-what-you-pay-for.

Allow me to provide a metaphor.

Life here, is like.... toilet paper.

You can get the incredibly cheap, non-perforated, non-bleached, singly-ply almost-cardboard variety at a very affordable price (about 50 cents for 4 rolls). [far left]

You can get perforated, singly-ply, decorative, feels-like-newspaper kinds for about a dollar for 4 rolls. [middle]

You can get the nice, 2-ply, soft-cushiony variety most of us Americans are used to for about $1.75 for 4 rolls. [far right]

The same goes for just about anything here.

Our apartment, is not really as affordable as you'd imagine. A one-bedroom in our complex would run you between $1400-$1700.

Now, you could live in one of the 'Soviet-Style' apartments that is right behind our complex, but as I said... you get what you pay for.

I would say, on average:

• Eating out here is more expensive than eating out in America.
• Clothes here are more expensive than clothing in America.
• Utilites and Transportation are heavily subsidized and therefore cheaper than America
• Cellphone contracts are cheaper than America.
• Groceries are more expensive than in America.
• Fine arts/performing arts are cheaper here than in America.
• Cars here are incredibly expensive; much more so than in America.

Other than that, you get what you pay for.

There are cheap hotels and expensive ones... there is affordable housing, and surprisingly expensive housing...

Any guesses as to which building we live in?