People from western countries may wonder how Ukrainians manage to put up with such meager living conditions. The average wage in Ukraine is just above USD 400 per month and people live in small apartments. Girls on Ukrainian dating sites hint about poverty, so you may think it’s really bad. So, how the locals manage to survive?

Fact: The living conditions of Ukrainians have improved greatly in recent years

Even if we consider this decade, the size of living space per person in Ukraine increased from 22.6 m² per person in 2014 to 23.1 m² in 2017, Finance.ua reported.

• From 2016 to 2017 the living fund of Ukraine increased by 4 million square meters, while the population of the country is slowly dropping.
• In January-June 2019 4.9 million square meters of new apartments had been added, Segodnya
• In 2020, the amount of living space per person in Ukraine increased to 24 square meters.
• The vice Minister of Development Valentina Moskalenko stated in March 2020 that the goal is to achieve the level of 30 m²of living space per person.

In the Soviet Union, where apartments were given to people for free, in 1970s the norm per person was 7 m² of “living space” (only rooms were considered as such, excluding kitchens, bathrooms, and walkways). In 1980s the norms were increased to 9 m².

In 1991 the Soviet Union had voluntarily dissolved and free apartments became a thing of the past. Most Ukrainians, by the way, still live in these free apartments they or their parents got during the times of the USSR.

According to the Living Code of Ukraine, if a family is getting an apartment for free (some categories are still eligible), it would be allocated at the rate of 13.56 square meters per person. The number of rooms must correspond with the allowances as well; spouses are allocated one room, kids could be allocated one room (provided the size matches the norms) only if they are of the same gender. If a family has a son and a daughter under 18, they must be given at least a 3-room flat.

Most people in Ukraine own their homes

In 2018, 95% of Ukrainians owned their homes, whether it was a city apartment or a house in the countryside. Only 4% of all families in Ukraine were renting out of 14.9 million households.

• 39% of Ukrainians live in cities with the population of 100,000 people or more.
• 28% of families live in smaller towns.
• The rest of the people (33%) live in villages.

The majority of Ukrainians have property in ownership.

Half of Ukrainians are satisfied with their living conditions

The same study found out what Ukrainians think about their home situation.

• In cities, 63% said they were content with their situation.
• In villages, only 45% of respondents support this view.

Villagers may be unhappy: Nearly half of them live in homes without canalization and shower.

However, in total only 15% of Ukrainian respondents said they were dissatisfied with their living conditions.

Are Ukrainian girls poor?

A lot of such views are expressed by pay-per-letter (PPL) fakes as a hint to get financial assistance. They get extensive and detailed training from their minders in how to make foreign men part with money willingly.

Truth is, if a woman is on a dating site trying to meet foreign men, she is probably doing better than the majority of females in her country — if you are on a real dating site with serious women like Elenasmodels.com.

Usually it’s more intelligent and educated women who feel confident in being able to meet someone from abroad and move there to live permanently. Most such women have already been abroad, have a passport, know English and other foreign languages, and have friends who have already married someone who lives abroad. This is our usual type of clients.

The fakes on PPL sites, on the other hand, recruit just about anyone (check these ads that pay-per-letter agents publish on recruitment portals), as long as they are happy to scam foreigners: Desperate students who need money to buy food and pay for accommodation, pensioners who struggle to make ends meet, mothers on maternity leave. Even teachers of foreign languages at universities, whose wages are far from advanced, moonlight as chat operators for PPL sites with Ukrainian brides.

Thus, the hints about poverty and scarcity, which are far from the reality of everyday life in Ukraine.

Life in Ukraine isn’t as advanced as the level that people in western countries are accustomed to, however, it’s better than what it was during the times of the USSR, which many people still feel nostalgic about. (The ability to get free apartments is one of such advantages that people miss.)

Every person in Ukraine has more stuff in 2020 than they had during the Soviet times, but they still feel they do not have enough — because there are people who have much more. During the times of the USSR, everybody had very little, so people didn’t wish for more, it wasn’t possible anyway.

Read also:

• How much money do Ukrainians wish to earn?
  
• From 2021 Ukrainian girls will require pre-authorization to visit Europe
• 45% of Ukrainians live in overcrowded homes
• Forbes: Kiev is Eastern Europe’s diamond in the rough