If you plan on coming to Ukraine, you might want to learn a bit of the Russian language to help you get around. We've prepared a short two-page primer featuring the most essential words and phrases you will likely want to know to communicate simple concepts. Russian is not an easy language to learn. We will be following this with a primer on the Cyrillic alphabet. I tried to keep this to 100 words, but it comes out to about 120 or so. Take it easy and learn a few at a time. They're presented in basic English phonetics - pronounced just as you would read it. It may not be perfect, but it will help quite a bit.

Essential Russian Download

The turmoil of the global market has generated a wide range of inquiries regarding how things are in Ukraine. Interest always diminishes from late fall to early spring, at least with respect to Odessa as a vacation destination more than a business hub.

The US Dollar held steady at roughly 5.05 gryvnia up through January of 2008, before sliding down to a low of about 4.50 gryvnia in August of 2008. Since then, the dollar has risen to over 9.00 gryvnia, and is presently fluctuating between 8 and 9 gryvnia.

Many Ukrainian banks are having a very difficult time and are not allowing early withdrawal of term-based deposits, with some limiting other withdrawals to as little as $35 per day. European-owned banks are doing better, leastwise while Aval has laid off 8% of its Ukrainian workforce, I’m not encountering any problems with it. Other expats have reported delays of up to a week for some large withdrawals.

Property prices also peaked last August and have fallen steadily since. Apartments that were once $90k are on the market for $40-50k now, and are likely to drop further if the economy doesn’t improve in the immediate term. The odds of such improvement are non-existent as far as I can see, so we’ll likely see prices drop to 2001 levels – or $30k, if not lower within six months or less.

Unemployment is growing steadily and it can be stated flatly that Ukraine is not a place for expats to come looking for work. Those who are here are getting increasingly creative to make ends meet.

Inflation is running pretty high on lower-end consumer goods and in the grocery store; but so far it’s only eating up about 30-50% of the dollar’s gains.

The politics of Ukraine is the same as it has always been. It’s there doing whatever they do and the rest of Ukraine continues on more or less as normal.

Peaceful demonstrations have started over the financial situation, but so far it remains calm. But then, the United States has started off with the St. Louis Tea Party and expensive cars are getting burned in Germany, so… if you’re looking for a safe place Ukraine is just as good as anyplace else except Antarctica, the Arctic Cicle (if you don’t mind seeing Russian jet-bombers), and deep caves in the Himalayas.

The market I do see developing here is for people who are simply sick of how things are going in the west, who still have a solid nest egg even after they’ve lost some money on their home or investments. They’ll be able to turn that over into a reasonably nice apartment and enjoy a relatively peaceful retirement “adventure”. A solid nest egg of about $200k is ample basis for retiring in Ukraine; as would be something to the tune of $50k with a guaranteed monthly retirement income of $1200+. You won’t necessarily be living rich, but you will be comfortable. Going very conservative, you can easily get by on $900 monthly.

If you have any specific questions you would like to ask, feel free to contact me at MWDabbs@gmail.com or Mark@OdessaFX.com. OdessaFX is still going even if some portions of the global economy aren’t. As it goes, "If you don't have something good to say, don't say it..." so, I've been quiet. Leastwise, this information can be good news for those with the right situation to take advantage of the timing over the next 6 - 9 months, at least.

OdessaFX is reactivating and expanding its services. We are now able to provide full-scale support of each of the following:

• Short-term and Long-term Apartments
  
• Purchase of House/Apartments
  
• Assistance with OVIR Registration
  
• Personal English-Russian Translator Support
  
• Tele-Translator Support
  
• School Registration & Nursery Schools
  
• Doctor and Dentist Registration
  
• Help Setting up Bank Accounts
  
• Tax Registration
  
• Arranging Personal Drivers/Transportation Support
  
• Telephone and Internet Service Support
  
• Assistance with Other Licensing Processes
  
• Assistance with Customs Imports
  
• Utility Payments
  
• Vehicle Registration Support
  
• Long-term Transitional Support
  

Additionally, OdessaFX is gearing up to provide corporate-level support on expansion activities and EURO-2012 projects. These services are devoted to making it easier for companies to stage personnel and lead teams on mid-to-long term projects.

More information will be following shortly.