India & Ukraine

HI THERE! First of all - welcome to Ukraine on behalf of all the good people. Now to your questions: the situation in Ukraine currently is not the best in terms of recovery from the world financial crisis. The people are also unhappy with the new government (but that is always the case in any country, right?) In general, Ukrainians are lovely, intelligent and friendly people. And they like foreigners. You can occasionally run into an idiot but again that happens as often in Bronx or Berlin...the only people you should be aware of that will try to rip you off are the cab drivers. Taxis don't have meters generally so you pay whatever you agree with the driver. Tip: NO ROUTE IN KIEV COSTS MORE THAN 100 Hryvnas. So if you just want the center of town - 30 is max. Racism is not an issue in Kiev but on the outskirts in so-called "sleeping" districts you may encounter some "local mugs" but again - that is the reality for most large cities in the world. If you need any more help - always welcome to ask, while I am still around. Best of luck!

Well, what is the case with any other country does not apply to how things really are in Ukraine. As a Ukrainian national I simply refuse not to share the knowledge I have with those thinking of coming. The average salary  in Kiev is around $450/month, prices on par with European level, hopes for the future - none. So as you see the conditions for tolerance and racial harmony are simply not there. The city center might be a bit cleaned up (watch out for petty crime though as well as swindling money from foreigners), but the outskirts and other regions are rife with anti-foreigners and "anti-everybody who is not white" feelings. In other European Capitals you might have same problems it is just that in Ukraine the scale is all too different.

First of all, thanks very much for two gentlemen to reply me so quickly. I see we have mixed feelings or experiences so i could safely " exercise caution" is the word of the day? Thanks for the insight on taxi cabs. not knowing the lanaguage or direction i think its very useful to know the cost cannot be more than 100 UAH or 10 dollars. further to that would you what could be the cost of a cab from Borispol airport to the center? Are their certified taxi or pre-booked taxi services that could take from the center at a fixed cost, so there is no hassle on price?

I will be most likely have a host, so hopefully will have some local support. I am only concerned about the time when I will be on my own especially since I need to go from Kiev to Lviv. Would you know about any reliable train services during the day so I could travel all day and reach before night in Lviv. I suppose the train ride is about 8 hours? Do I need a prior reservation or I could just take a ticket & board the train? if so, how much cost of ticket should I expect?

I would think Lviv will be the same as Kive in terms of safety being from a non white non european descent.
I appreciate the reply.

Well to answer  your questions I once again would like to make myself clear - Ukraine is not evil, it is just that things here function a bit differently (comparing to the rest of Europe). For example I can tell you right away that for you (a non-native, non-Russian speaking person) to get from the airport to city center will cost from $50 to $100 regardless of weather it is an official licensed cab ar a bystander offering to take you there. A local might be able to negotiate a better deal or take a bus. Now a pre-booked taxi service - if they speak English (because there is a phone book where you can find such service) the price will be even higher - $100. Same general rule applys to all taxis in Kiev - if they speak english and are in nice air conditioned cars with official registration, expect to pay extra. I would not be surprised if for a foreigner it is from anywhere  $20-50 depending on the distance (withing the city).

Now the train to Lviv - No matter how you buy your ticket (book in advance or buy at the register) no one there will speak English and you will definately need a lot of local help. The cost is another matter. You can buy a cheap ticket for one place in a regular 4 person cabin. It will be around $20. There is also something more in line with "world standards" called SV vagon - kust a more comfortable, newer passenger rail car, airconditioned and with two people to a cabin. The price for that would be $120 one way. I would not worry too much about your safety in Lviv. It is a different, much smaller historic city where even down town is cheap, affordable and will simply leave you with no reazon to wonder off to the outskirts. Even if you do people there are much more accepting of foreigners and people with other skin tone.

Therefore as you see Ukraine is Ukraine. It is a very poor country (by European standards) with lots of corruption and therefore lots of rich people as well. Main cities style themselves after Paris and London, therefore down town prices in general and those charged to fereigners in particular are much higher than what one would expect. Just be aware - if the price sounds too unreasonable (in the cab or otherwise) don't pay it. Just walk away, don't argue.

Having said all that enjoy your stay. Wonder off historic streets in Lviv -the city is absolutly beautiful. Do business in Kiev, it is a big place with many affluent residents (not unlike Mumbai), so there might be good deals to be had.

Enjoy, but be careful,

Cheers

I appreciate your input. I will have a host who is a local and would be picking me up from airport and perhaps I will ask him to negotiate the cab ride back to the airport also, once i am in Lviv I wont have a host. so I will be on my own, at least its nice to hear things are more reasonable and safer. I just have one more question: how far is the Lviv airport from the downtown where I plan to stay? ( I just checked on UIA airlines web site they are offering a one way Kiev-Lviv for about $110 right now so I think it will save me the hassle of 8 hour train journey)
I can take my return to London from Lviv( actually I will be coming from London not USA sicne I am traveling to Ukraine while I am in UK). At the KBP airport people did speak english, I noticed last time.

Thanks again for your valuable input.
Cheers

Hello ash4cakes and welcome to Expat.com!

I hope that other members will soon help you.

Regards,
Harmonie.

Yes frankly I think going to the airport is your best choice as far as a trip to Lviv goes (it should be about  40min flight) In Lviv itself the airport should not be more than 20min ride from city center. It is also true that unlike train stations, all mojor Ukrainian airports (Lviv including) have some English speaking staff to help you. Good luck