There are few countries that suffer from more stereotypes than Ukraine. Whenever I traveled to the country, I was literally overwhelmed with people listing every stereotype about Ukraine under the sun. Whether it was saying that the country is poor, that it’s dangerous, or even that it’s part of Russia, it was truly never-ending. Fortunately, in today’s post, we’re separating fact from fiction about what it’s actually like to live in Ukraine.
Table of Contents
Ukraine Is Poor: Partially True
Sadly, this one hits the nail right on the head. Ukraine is the second poorest country in Europe, next to Moldova.
But, just because the country is poor does not mean that you have to be as well. Will the general poverty of the nation really impact your day to day life?
In our opinion, not really. Yes, the infrastructure isn’t the best. Dealing with everyday bureaucracy can be a serious pain, and you’ll be often be reminded of how the average person there is only making $400 a month.
But, these are all small concerns for someone who gets to reap the rewards of being a rich person.
Making as little as $40,000 a year will put you into the top 5% of earners in the country. The world will literally be your oyster, and you will often find that you can generally afford to purchase whatever you want without worrying about the costs.
Ukraine is great for someone who has a remote income source that pays a standard, Western wage in euros, pounds or dollars. As we’ve mentioned previously, it is extremely possible to have a very high standard of living in Ukraine for the fraction of the price that it would cost elsewhere.
If you walk down the street in Kyiv, you’ll see plenty of BMW’s, Mercedes, Maseratis and even a few Bentleys. Men will be wearing Rolexes, and women decked out in designer fashions.
Sometimes, it can be easy to forget you’re in a “poor” country.
Best of all, the country is far safer than most developed nations.
Ukraine Is Dangerous: The Most Inaccurate of the Stereotypes About Ukraine
Now this one is just funny.
The United States currently has a huge problem with mass shootings and violent crime. In the United States, there were 348 mass shootings in 2018. That’s nearly one for every single day of the year!
The United Kingdom, even though they’ve banned guns, there is an epidemic of stabbings and crimes involving knives. In 2018, there were over 40,000 violent crimes involving knives in the country.
There’s a strange trend that you see in the world, is that in the more developed countries, there tends to be a breakdown of the traditional values that once held society together. With this comes a whole host of consequences, and an increase in violent crime is one of them.
In Ukraine? There hasn’t been a mass shooting since 2004. There is no epidemic of knife crime either. The biggest problem that the country faces is corruption, or when an elected official will take money to carry out the agenda of some powerful oligarch.
Hardly something that you have to worry about.
Police taking street bribes is largely a thing of the past. While this was an issue in the early 2000s, Ukraine has actually done a pretty good job of cleaning up the police departments as to not scare away tourists.
That’s not to say that there is no crime in Ukraine whatsoever, but to say that it’s a dangerous country? That’s just ridiculous.
Now, there’s plenty of things to criticize Ukraine for, but safety is not one of them.
One of them that is pretty fair, however, are the cold winters the country faces.
It’s Cold in Ukraine: True
You know, as much as I love to debunk stereotypes, there’s a bit of truth here.
But, let’s keep in mind that Ukraine is only cold during the wintertime. If you’re from the Northern USA or Western Europe, you’ve absolutely experienced similarly cold temperatures.
In fact, Ukraine’s continental climate is extremely pleasant during the spring and summertime. During summer, temperatures will often reach as high as 26 ° C, or 78 ° F. It’s warm enough to be comfortable, but not hot enough to need air conditioning.
In fact, in regions like Odessa, the temperature is very reasonable most of the year. There’s a beach there, after all!
So yes, while Ukraine does have some brutal winters, it’s nothing you can’t handle. In fact, we dedicated a whole post on how to survive the Ukrainian winter.
Plus, with a few drinks with the locals, you’ll be keeping plenty warm.
Ukrainians Drink…A Lot: Partially True
If there’s another big stereotype that befalls Ukraine, it’s that people there drink excessively.
This is also partially true. Ukraine is the world’s sixth heaviest drinking country. The per capita consumption of alcohol is roughly 13 liters per year, a rather high number when compared to most Western countries.
Generally speaking, Ukrainians do drink more as a whole than other groups of people. Alcoholism, as a whole, tends to be a factor that impacts older men in Ukraine more so than any other demographic. Up to 38% of men are said to be heavy drinkers, with up to 5% of the male population being full-blown alcoholics.
Yikes. If you’ve ever hung around with an alcoholic, you know this is not a good thing.
But, let’s not forget about the binge drinking culture that exists in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Hell, half of all American college students are said to be guilty of regularly binge drinking.
If you visit the “party district” of any major American city, you’re going to see people literally passed out on the ground, puking their guts out.
This just doesn’t happen in Ukraine, for the most part. While the men do tend to drink more than average, you could say there’s a more mature drinking culture and people are far more capable of controlling their alcohol intake than the average Westerner.
Yes, it’s totally reasonable to say that alcohol can be a problem in Ukraine, but same with everywhere else on the planet.
What’s not nearly as reasonable is to think that Ukraine is part of Russia.
Ukraine is a Communist & Part of Russia: False
Okay, now this one is just plain dumb. Out of all of the stereotypes that exist about Ukraine, this one is by far the silliest.
Ukraine has been an independent country since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. For those who don’t know their history, this marked the fall of the last major large communist government on the planet.
There is, however, a territorial dispute with Russia over a region of Ukraine known as Crimea right now. While an entire post could be written on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia essentially annexed a seaside region of the country in 2014.
So yes, a small part of Ukraine has fallen under Russian control, though the conflict has largely gone cold. As of 2019, Ukraine is a strong, independent country that has opened its doors to business with the rest of the world.
While they have a long way to go before seeing Western levels of development (thankfully), you can be sure you won’t be running into many communists there.
Beautiful Girls – The Truest of the Stereotypes About Ukraine
Well, I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t true.
Perhaps the biggest stereotype about Ukraine is that the women are drop-dead gorgeous. Luckily for you, this is absolutely true for the most part.
A combination of factors plays into this, including genetics that are certainly more desirable than most as well as a culture of women wanting to be as beautiful as possible.
Ukrainian girls are, by and large, short, thin and grow their hair long. There is a fundamental belief in the country that women are to present themselves as being feminine, fashionable, and well kept. You see this as a trend all across Eastern Europe, with it being most pronounced in Ukraine.
While a girl in the United States may only get seriously dressed up a few times a month, many Ukrainian women will be dressed up like she’s going on a date for a simple trip to the grocery store.
This has much to do with a culture that values traditional gender roles and a general trend of Ukrainian women wanting to attract the highest quality man that they can.
Conclusion – Are The Stereotypes About Ukraine True?
The answer to this question, like many things in life, is not entirely black and white. The most common stereotypes about Ukraine range from being completely spot on to being 100% false. Like all countries in the world, you must take the good with the bad and accept the country for what it is.
While the country may have some faults, it is by and large a beautiful, inexpensive place to live that is filled to the brim with beautiful women.
And, if you want to meet some beautiful Ukrainian girls, or even just have a look at what the country has to offer, I encourage you to check out this website.
Good luck out there!
-Expat Ukraine
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