I sincerely hope you are "financing" a household for yourself and not an FSUW?
Thanks to all who've contributed to this topic - important insights all around. It is true that my interest is mostly in the Ukraine but good to get the big city perspective also. In short, mission accomplished, questions answered.
Thanks also for the avuncular concern expressed above. No, my interest is in understanding the costs of a R/U household since I think if I gets serious about a K1 or some such thing then for a time at least I'll probably end
financing the household of an FSUW. I do appreciate what you are aiming at, however, since entry into that domain prematurely is certainly to walk down the scammer's garden path. But there is another facet here as I think that what may be generally referred to as 'culture' represents an accommodation to the past based on the conditions of the present. It's hard for a foreigner to absorb the legacy of the past but can well understand the economic conditions of the present. Values, behaviors and attitudes constellate around these and thus economics provides a key to understand what might otherwise remain opaque to a foreign mind.
In repayment for my debt to all of you for your expert consul, I submit this ridiculous video:
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmKxKylgtmM[/youtube]