Should I move to Ukraine?

Dear Friend,

I am writing you this letter on March 6, 2021, remember this date, it is important.

As the second wave of the Coronavirus is winding down and the third is on the horizon.

In March, as a rule, it is reasonable to ask yourself how you will spend the summer.

Is spending the summer in Ukraine an option?

***

Out of curiosity, I went on the Air Canada website.

Departure: Montreal, Arrival: Kiev, Borispol.

Round trip flight in April, just to try.

Economy class, 1 baggage, non changeable date.

No refund possible.

In short, you got it, the cheapest ticket.

For 1 person: $2,220

For 3 people, my wife Boryslava, Diana our daughter and myself, we do a quick calculation:

Tickets for 3 people: $6,660

***

But that's not all, we must add $2,000 per person for the return trip, which must be done at the hotel.

Let me take my calculator:

Airline tickets: $6,660

Quarantine: $6,000

Total: $12,660

Add the travel expenses in Ukraine, we can estimate without much mistake a vacation expense around $15,000

Is this reasonable?

I don't think so.

I prefer to stay home.

***

My wife and I did the calculation together, a little perplexed.

Boryslava thinks aloud to himself:

"But what kind of person can afford to go to Ukraine to meet his wife?"

"Who can afford to spend 5 or 6,000 dollars to meet a woman in Kiev?"

The question is not without meaning.

I didn't know how to answer.

My blank stare showed a certain kind of perplexity as to what would happen next.

What is the future of our marriage agency?

When will things get back to normal?

I don't know, but I don't feel good about it.

All my predictions have come true.

Remember it was last year, I was talking about the probable increase of the prices of the plane tickets: video here.

***

In a pinch, guys who are in France, Switzerland or Belgium still have an option.

Even if flights outside Europe are forbidden for the moment.

There is still the car, the train, or walking...

But still, who has the heart to work?

Before, it was already difficult to convince a customer to travel, so now, imagine that.

You might as well be preaching in the desert...

Is it time to hang up your boots?

What do you think?

I'd love to hear your opinion on the subject.

Please answer me.

It will make me feel less alone.

***

Do you still think that everything will go back to the way it was?

Absolutely not.

The world is changing dramatically, and it's happening now.

Does this mean that single men will stop being interested in Ukrainian women?

Of course not, but it will be much more difficult than before.

You will have to prepare your project to the millimeter.

There is no room for error in such a delicate context in terms of travel abroad.

The scam sites will make even more money and the honest agencies will gradually disappear, one by one.

But now I'm getting pessimistic...

*** 

However, in this ambient gloom, I have made an observation, which I think is worth noting and which I am sharing with you in this letter.

I don't know yet if this is a marginal phenomenon or a real trend, the future will tell us.

However, we are seeing more and more single men moving to Ukraine.

And not only retired men, young people too.

Our clientele, which is becoming rarer and rarer, includes an increasing proportion of men who want to meet a woman in Ukraine...and live in Ukraine!

By marrying a Ukrainian woman, they can then settle permanently in Ukraine.

Here are some recent examples:

- a man from Quebec who moved to Odessa last summer and doesn't know when he will return...

- a young French man who moved to Lviv after meeting a woman from Lviv. He buys an apartment there.

-a French man in his fifties who goes to Ukraine by car and visits all the cities with the intention of settling permanently.

etc...

The examples multiply.

***

How to explain this phenomenon?

The health context of restrictions on individual freedoms is, in my opinion, an accelerating factor (even if it is not the basic reason).

Ukraine offers a space of freedom with little or no control.

No curfew, no masks, no restrictive regulations, everyone does as they please.

In France, as in many Western countries, there is a growing discontent with containment measures.

In this case, Ukraine is attractive.

But this is not the only reason.

The second factor is more subtle and only those of you who have been to Ukraine will understand.

This article is about 4 young people who decided to go and live and work in Ukraine (read here) and it gives an idea of the taste of adventure that catches you when you talk about Ukraine.

Ukraine is a very young country, with a young president who makes reforms.

Things are moving in Ukraine, the country is full of resources and potential.

No wonder the country is attracting new talent.

***

And finally, the third factor is in my opinion the almost certainty that you can get married with a Ukrainian woman if you go to live there (if you can't do it while living there, you have a serious problem).

In this case, no problem of integration for her.

You will have to work on integration in a country where everything is cheaper than at home.

It is easy to live in Ukraine with 500 euros per month.

When you add up the advantages on one side and the disadvantages on the other, you will come to the conclusion that it is tempting to make the leap.

And there are more and more of them...taking the leap!

***

I'll give you another even more powerful example.

One of Dreamconnections' English-speaking competitors in Ukraine is called Matchgaranty.

The director of this marriage agency recently married a beautiful blonde from the Odessa region who is 27 years younger than him.

You can watch his videos on YouTube if you are interested.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has expanded his service offering with a service of selling beachfront properties south of Odessa.

His marriage agency makes a 2-in-1 offer: he finds you a Ukrainian woman and at the same time, a property on the Black Sea with access to the beach (for less than 50.000 US dollars).

He takes care of everything for you, all the paperwork will be done by a Ukrainian lawyer who specializes in this business that is soaring in Ukraine.

The idea is brilliant, it was necessary to think about it.

He now lives on the Black Sea with his beautiful Ukrainian wife and is in the business of buying up cheap properties and selling them to his matchmaking clients who come to Ukraine to meet women.

The founder Joe Rickards, of Canadian origin, even offers a turnkey service to help you move to Ukraine!

In his video on Pros and Cons, he lists the advantages of moving to Ukraine cited by foreign men, with in order:

1. The cost of living is much lower in Ukraine. A dizzying increase of your purchasing power.

2. Possibility to meet a beautiful woman with a big difference in age for marriage and this, by taking your time. Taking your time avoids making costly mistakes...

3. Dental costs are 90% lower than in the US or Canada. The same goes for medical expenses.

4. A warmer climate than Canada or the US, especially if you buy a property on the Black Sea.

5. Avoiding taxes: a delicate subject that you should discuss with a specialized lawyer...

6. Business opportunities: the prestigious Financial Times recently added Lviv and Kiev in the Top 10 cities with the greatest business opportunities in the future because of the qualified and affordable workforce.

 

The proof that the tide is turning and that more and more foreigners are thinking of Ukraine not only as a reservoir of the most beautiful women on earth but also as a welcoming land, where life is good.

 

***

 

Joe ends his video with his beautiful smooth voice by explaining that, "Because you have the right to live a better life..."

 

The speech is terribly appealing in the midst of a pandemic, this businessman gets it right.

 

But honestly, we must say that it works. We also feel the wind turning in our agency.

 

The serious dating market in Ukraine seems to be moving towards this type of offer.

  

Meeting a Ukrainian woman is finally becoming a product of appeal that calls for other more complex services: real estate in Ukraine, moving, taxes, all kinds of legal services related to the settlement in Ukraine.

 

However, he has the intellectual honesty to specify that all this requires learning the Russian or Ukrainian language.

 

This is also what my wife thinks.

 

***

 

In the end, the love encounter with a Ukrainian woman is polarized:

 

On one side the ignorant men who continue to use scam sites where you pay for the letter with credits.

 

At the other extreme, men decided, ready to leave everything to settle in Ukraine.

 

And in the middle, more balanced and informed, men who are doubtful, who see the prices going up, who at best postpone their project or who simply give up the idea of meeting a woman abroad and reactivate their subscription on Tinder...

 

I wish you a healthy weekend!

Antoine.