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Last activity 09 March 2015 by TedM

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a53434

Greetings to everyone!

I'm Miguel, 36 years old, recently aquired a lawyer's licence from the Portuguese Lawyers' Bar Association and currently working in the local government administration as Advisor/Secretary to the Vice-Mayor of a City Council in Portugal.
I am Portuguese, I was born and raised in Paris, France. My native languages are Portuguese and French. Furthermore, I have lived in London four years and I speak and write English proficiently. I'm also starting to learn Russian.
I'm thinking about moving to Ukraine and I'm looking for new and interesting challenges and opportunities.
Any hints and tips will be most welcome!
Cheers!

El_Jost

Good luck to you!  :cheers:

a53434

Thanks!

sempei.ray

Hi Miquel, I am from England in Poltava at present.

it is tough in Ukraine work wise, especially with the situation in the east , and the economy also.
Ukraine is a great place and the people are friendly.
Why are you learning Russian? would it not be better to learn Ukrainian. Just a thought .
Good luck

a53434

Thanks, Sempei.ray. I'm aware of the current situation. I've been to Ukraine 5 times and I was there very recently, in Poltava actually. I'm just giving it a try. I would love to move there.
As for why I'm learning Russian and not Ukrainian, well, Russian is widely spoken there and a more international language, in my opinion. Anyway, they are very similar languages so I also intend to get to grips with Ukrainian after learning some Russian.
Greetings from Portugal!

GreyKyiv

Hi and Welcome

Do you have a backup plan in case you do not get a legal job in Ukraine. FYI lawyers are not very paid in Ukraine, except of Kiev, in which it is a hard time for them as well right now. Avarage salary of lawyers is UAH 2500-5000. I would say it is not enough for a normal life. Rent fees are close to this number so most of the salary is spent for paying for you accomodation.

I would not advice you come here in search of legal job unless you have somethig unique to offer your Ukrainian clients or employers. Honestly, I think you will have much less hardship teaching English or Franch.

As you have come to Ukraine 5 times already, maybe you notices something that the country does not have but Portugal has this. Maybe some products\services are very popular in Portugal but it has not come to Ukraine yet so you can turn this in profit, etc. I would think this way if I were you. I would not put hope in being a lawyer here.

a53434

GreyKyiv, thanks very much for your input. I'm not only looking for a legal jobs. Anything involving languages, public relations, services, etc., can be considered. Anyway, I would always have a good back up plan: to return to Portugal:)
But I really appreciate your advice about lawyers there. Thanks again!
As for a teaching job, I'm open. I don't have any teaching certification though. But should you know or recommend anything concerning teaching, please be so kind as to let me know.
In the medium term, I'm thinking about importing a good portuguese product I haven't practically seen in Ukraine. But that's another challenge. The most important for now is to be able to move to Ukraine.

Thanks again for your input!

GreyKyiv

You can get a teaching certificate from International House, respectful English teaching school in Kiev and other cities. You will need to take some training and pass exam. The course takes 2-4 weeks if I'm not mistaken.

a53434

Thanks a lot! I will certainly consider that.

oleggy

I would say to all who is a foreigner hoping to start a new live in Ukraine: the situation is VERY difficult both in terms of jobs and political instability. The country is peaceful enough outside of the Donbas region, but consider the currency devaluation, inflation and everyone's constant worries about tomorrow, plus keep in mind that jobs are scarce even for locals and a good salary now days very rarely goes over 1000$ a month...(in fact even in Kiev you would be lucky to find anything for 500$)... Plus learning a new language and culture....renting a place to live... In short I am Ukrainian, I live here and I love it. I myself just moved back from the West and can attest to the fact that making money here now for someone with the western degree and without connections is almost impossible even in the capital where at least some of the multinational corporations reside. I was actually lucky in a way that I had some money to enter the real estate market and a steady income from investments from abroad (US). Remains to be seen how successful I will be with renovation/ restoration projects

a53434

Still on the hunt for something.
Any help or proposals would be welcome.

Regards to all,
Jorge Leal

GregMann

my parents were Ukrainian, so if anyone needs help with  translation or language - you are welcome to contact me.

TedM

Maybe you can try to find something suitable on popular Ukrainian websites like http://www.work.ua/ etc

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