[27fan]

Hi,

Can anyone who's recently been to Ukraine tell me about the accomadations please, I have read that it is not a pleasant experience, (dirty, roaches, no hot water, no electricity, etc) Can you confirm... 3-4 weeks is a LONG time to stay in such conditions, if they are as I've read.
Thank You
G.

[Mykidsmom]

Hi,

Since know one has responded, I will tell you our experience with conditions in Ukraine in Feb. 2001.
We went through an adoption agency, and were assured that we would be safe, warm, and well fed. We were.

In Kiev, we stayed overnight in an apartment with a woman and her grown daughter. The apartment building had a elevator. We were treated to delicious food and warm sleeping accommodations. The apartment was clean and neat, no bugs. The water (hot and cold) was always available, and the electricity was available anytime we needed. Water for drinking was bottled water.

The orphanage where our child lived was in the Kherson Region. We took an over-night train trip to get there from Kiev. We were provided with clean sheets, pillows, and blankets. The bathroom were nasty, and floors of the entire train were dirty.

We lived with a family in their apartment on the 9th floor in the Kherson Region for a period of two weeks. The apartment building had no elevator. We had a private room, another couple travelling to the same orphanage also lived there, they also had a private room. We were welcome to interact with others as much as we wished. The apartment was clean, neat, NO bugs. The electricity was always available but the water was not. The water schedule was written on a piece of paper by the bathroom door so we knew when the water was turned on or off. We had hot water for showers (very small hot water heater) but there was no hot water at the kitchen sink or the automatic clothes washer. There was no clothes dryer. We did not drink the water from the tap, we bought large bottles of water for drinking and cooking. The lady of the house cooked delicious home cooked meals everyday, 3 times a day. Her husband drove us everywhere we needed or wanted to go, even to church on Sundays. He would always return at the time promised. We cried when it was time to leave because these people had become our friends.

Did they live the same lifestyle we do? No. Was it a bad way to live? No, just a little inconvenient for us and not what we are accustomed to. Were there any surprises? No, our agency prepared us for everything we saw and did. I believe if you are in Kiev everything is pretty convenient, the farther you go from the big city the more inconvenient it becomes. It takes a long time to put years of communist rule behind.

For us, a postitive attitude was important, as well as focusing on the fact that we would be coming home with a child. If you go in wanting to be miserable, you will be miserable.

[Max'smom]

Hi,
I adopted from another country, but have lived on and off in Ukraine. Never had bugs there (although had them while living here in the States in NYC and Chicago). I agree with the above poster's points. What is more, in Kiev and some or the larger cities, you can rent many different levels of apartment, sometimes right off the internet. Kiev apartments can be rented quite easily off the internet including very luxurious ones located downtown near restaurants, shops and the subway.

[experiencedmom]

I would like to say to the families who are going to adopt from Ukraine, that they have nothing to worry about. Ukraine is a beautiful country, nice and friendly people live there. We are sure you will like this country as we did.
We’ve been in Ukraine two times. At the 1st time we adopted our little daughter from Nikolaev in 2003. Nikolaev is a beautiful and cozy town. We lived in a hotel in a luxury room. There were bedroom, hall, bathroom with the shower cabin (hot and cold water) and room service, we paid for this room 40$ per night. This hotel was in a downtown so we had opportunity to go out in the evenings and enjoy the old architecture of this town and also to go to the restaurants.
The 2nd time we adopted a little boy from Evpatoria in Krimea in 2006. Evpatoria is a south town near the Black sea. We spent 4 weeks there. We had a lot of fun there visiting the sightseeing, castles, parks, restaurants. In the apartment we rent there was conditioner, washingmachine, hot and cold water 24 hours and satellite TV for this apartment we paid 60$ per night.
We are planning to go back to Ukraine in couple years with our adopted kids to show them how beautiful country is they were born in.

[the boys Mom]

We were in Ukraine during November and December. For both of our stays in Kiev, we had showplace apartments, with leather furniture, dishwasher, washing machine and some hot water. In region, Kherson, we rented a 2 bedroom house for $45 per night. The house was clean, although the beds were not comfortable. We did have to live with bugs and even had a mouse move in. Hot water and electricity were available at all times. We were very pleased with all of our accomodations.

[jmchowat]

This is like a mini Kherson reunion as we were also in Kherson in 2001. In fact, we stayed with the same family as Mykidsmom, 9th floor, no elevator, absolutely phenomenal meals prepared for us. We were in Kramatorsk in 2005/2006 and also had great accommodation. In both Kherson and Kramatorsk, we did not have hot water 24 hours a day. In Kiev, we stayed in several apartments, there was a huge discrepancy between them, but they were all OK. The ironic thing was that we stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment when there was just the two of us waiting for our NAC appointment, but we stayed in a bedsit for a week with two kids-NIGHTMARE!!!! However, on our way out, we were in Kiev right after the NAC opened up again in Feb 2006, there were a lot of families getting appointments and a lot returning on their second trip to get their children. I think getting an aprtment was harder than usual.
We were always well looked after, never stayed anywhere that was dirst and never saw a bug-however at minus 25 degrees, they were probably all dead!!!!