Moving to the FSU?

[alex330]

Well, I could have never imagined living in the FSU out of all places, but you never know where life takes you.
Has anybody ever looked into moving over to the FSU? I believe several members have lived over there at one time.
What is involved with immigration? What hurdles and concerns are involved? Opportunity and employment seems to be my primary concern....

What was the experience like for those who may have moved over?
Does this make me a mail order husband? 

[Misha]

Opportunity and employment seems to be my primary concern....

What kind of opportunity are you looking for?

Those people that did work for a while in the FSU fell into these categories:

1. Expats working for very large multinational companies as accountants and the like;
2. English teachers
3. People living in the FSU but doing work for companies or clients outside of the FSU

I am not sure as to the other employment opportunities you would find. If you don't know the local language, there aren't many other jobs you could realistically do. I am presuming that you don't want to do low-paying manual labor jobs  Plus, you don't have the connections to be a local oligarch  :evil:

[acctBill]

Alex first of all where in the FSU are you thinking of moving to? Russia, Ukraine or one of the other countries.  Wherever it is the first problem you will face will be language.  Assuming that you are speaking of Russia you will need to know Russian, if you hope to work in Russia you will need to be fluent.  Some large international companies have job posting for Russia and with these companies in some cases you don't need to know much Russian but knowing the local language is always an asset. 

When I was based in London, England I was sent to Russia on a regular basis.  Sometimes I spent weeks and in several cases months in country.  Of course everything was arranged for me by a multinational that had people that were experts in needed travel documentation, getting local housing and supplying transportation.  Occasionally even these people made mistakes.  In your case you will be relying on your wife/gf so just imagine the things that can go wrong.

If you could post more info we could probably give you better advice.

[ECOCKS]

It can be done.

There are a few thousand expats in Ukraine and a greater number in the Russian Federation.

You should try living in the style you will have to adopt before assuming you can do so successfully and particularly consider how much of an impact this will have on the lives of your family (both at home and potential family over there) and how much tolerance you have for being away from the standard of living you presently enjoy in your home country.

Immigration/residency requirements vary by country but can be accomplished, especially when you are married to a citizen.

Finding employment is a much more iffy proposition. Your skillset and language limitations are not necessarily in high demand in their world.

Being an entrepreneur but not a citizen is not for the weak.

Life is full of risks, rewards and varying degrees of excitement, danger and adventure.

[alex330]

What kind of opportunity are you looking for?

Just a decent paying job that would allow me to continue my current lifestyle. A downgrade would even be acceptable if I was with someone I truly cared for.
I think a resourceful, intelligent person can find ways to earn a good living in many places these days even if it takes a little time to get things started. Manual labor and teaching English would not work for me financially right now.

It would

Alex first of all where in the FSU are you thinking of moving to? Russia, Ukraine or one of the other countries.  Wherever it is the first problem you will face will be language. 

Ukraine would be the country. The language is obviously a big concern for me.

You should try living in the style you will have to adopt before assuming you can do so successfully and particularly consider how much of an impact this will have on the lives of your family (both at home and potential family over there) and how much tolerance you have for being away from the standard of living you presently enjoy in your home country.

Being an entrepreneur but not a citizen is not for the weak.

Life is full of risks, rewards and varying degrees of excitement, danger and adventure.

Great points. It would need to be all or nothing I think though. I could not "test the waters" and come running back so easily. I would think I would need to work for myself with clients based back stateside or online for this to work.
Just entertaining the possibility at the moment and looking at all options. I have lived overseas so am accustomed to different cultures and adapt well.

[ECOCKS]

If you have lived overseas in a second or third world country then you may well be able to adapt. The problem will lie in your definitions of acceptable standards and what type of work you are able to get into.

If you are portable with regard to your work and able to maintain income from outside Ukraine that simplifies your money situation but somewhat complicates your immigration and work status.

[acctBill]

Just a decent paying job that would allow me to continue my current lifestyle. A downgrade would even be acceptable if I was with someone I truly cared for.
I think a resourceful, intelligent person can find ways to earn a good living in many places these days even if it takes a little time to get things started. Manual labor and teaching English would not work for me financially right now.

It would
Ukraine would be the country. The language is obviously a big concern for me.

Great points. It would need to be all or nothing I think though. I could not "test the waters" and come running back so easily. I would think I would need to work for myself with clients based back stateside or online for this to work.
Just entertaining the possibility at the moment and looking at all options. I have lived overseas so am accustomed to different cultures and adapt well.

Ukraine is a different situation than Russia.  In general in any FSU country Russian is the language to learn however in Ukraine there are areas of the country where Russian is not the first language Ukrainian is.  In these areas any adults raised under the Soviet system will still understand Russian but some of the younger generation may not be fluent in Russian preferring to speak Ukrainian. 

Without working for an international company in Ukraine or having the Ukrainian equivalent of permanent residence/citizenship you won't be able to work or live in Ukraine year round.  If you get work in Ukraine working for an Ukrainian firm the pay will be far less than what you earned stateside.

Ecocks advice about testing the waters first is the best advice.  Ukraine is a different world from the USA and if you haven't lived outside of the US for an extended period of time it will be a shock.

[Misha]

Just a decent paying job that would allow me to continue my current lifestyle. A downgrade would even be acceptable.

I will be the realist and say your chances are pretty close to zero. If it was easy finding good jobs that allowed people to enjoy an American or European lifestyle, few Ukrainians would be leaving their country and all the MOB agencies would disappear overnight  :evil:

[alex330]

I will be the realist and say your chances are pretty close to zero.

Those were initially my exact thoughts. I have been heaing otherwise from people though. I suppose like everything in life it depends on the individiual, industry, skill level, etc.

Maybe extended stays if you are able to work remotely is the key.

[ECOCKS]

Not to mention that in this economy more people would be moving from America to Ukraine if they could find a "decent paying job that would allow me to continue my current lifestyle" over there.

Unemployment there is higher than here and you pretty much will have to have an in-demand skill and speak Russian if you expect to anything other than teaching.

Even if you have capital, you'll need help purchasing a business, getting your visa straight, arranging permits, learning to pay your taxes, yada, yada, yada and, oh yeah, brush up your Russian, figure out where to shop, decide which expats to trust, well maybe you begin to see some of the challenges.

If you can work remotely, it solves some problems and all you need to do is get your visa situation resolved to allow whatever travel situation you will need to have in place..

Don't misunderstand, it can be done and is done every day by thousands of Brits, Americans, Aussies, Danes, Turks and Canadians.

Just plan accordingly.