Here is a brief explanation from the financial information website 'MarketWatch':
"KIEV--Ukraine's central bank increased its key rate to 19.5% from 14% and scrapped foreign currency auctions Thursday, moving the battered local currency a step closer to a free float in an effort to steady the market.
The bank said the moves were aimed at stabilizing the hryvnia, which has lost half of its value against the dollar over the last year amid Ukraine's deepening economic crisis and the war with pro-Russian separatists in the country's east. The latest moves are part of a loan program being finalized with the International Monetary Fund and will reduce the plethora of different rates at which the currency has been trading.
Even with the sharp tightening of credit, central bank officials warned that risks of higher inflation and further declines in the value of the hryvnia remain high. They also noted that the shift to a market-set rate doesn't yet amount to a full-scale free float, since administrative restrictions on access to foreign currency imposed over the last year to steady the rate remain in place."
There is a more detailed report, if you are interested: http://goo.gl/OVhhTH
Thanks.
I wonder why the street rate would be lower than the official rate.
It's been very volatile the last few days, but it seems to stabilize at above 25 per USD.
Any idea of the effect on consumer prices in that country?
The average wage for the average underemployed resident is 4500-5000 UAH. That was 375-415 USD a year ago.
Now, it is 180-200 USD.
There was already a lot of hardship. Now, life must be beyond terrible for the locals.
today I sold $200 for 5900UAH or 29.5 to a Dollar at the Cilpo grocery near Koncha Zaspa just outside Kyiv.
average street rates are about 26-1 up to 19.5 with no pension fund fee as you will pay in bank.
Im not using ATM or bank because rate is 25.80 on low end to 26.40 on high end
For a couple days there was killer deals to be had at electronics stores like Eldorado, Comfy and Fox. was like a half off sale for people with Dollars to exchange and spend. We bought a 60 inch TV and a PS4 for our kids in Kyiv(Koncha Zaspa) foster home. 55 inch smart TV cost 15,995rph, which before last Thursday would be $990.00 but for us it came out to $615. We saved over 300 bucks which allowed me to also buy PS4 at 6,999rph(old price)which came in at only $269 which is cheaper than in USA by about $150. The Comfy store closed shortly thereafter to adjust prices but not before we had spent $1200 and saved about $450 because of the collapse. We then went to the Supermarket and took advantage of the exchange rate there also. My kids had an abundance of chocolate and soda as well as fresh fruit and veggies for days! We cooked out Shastik on the weekend and kids said to me "you have never been so generous" not fully realizing what the impact was of the currency drop that enabled such a shopping spree.
By the time 4re_geo saves up the money to come here the prices will have fully adjusted and he will still be spending lots of Dollars to buy frivolous gifts for girls!
TomZ, obviously you don't have much else to do trying to pick up a fight. Not gonna happen with me.
To set the record straight, the woman you are talking about was not a pro-dater, scammer or gold digger. It just wouldn't work.
She and I communicated for a while shortly after I left the site. As for the gifts, they cost me a little over a grand and she never asked.
I offered and at first she refused. We stayed in a regular apartment, we went to some restaurants but nothing extravagant and she cooked for us most of the time.
About the sex and all the rest of it ... are your own fantasies. I don't need to go to Ukraine for sex. In fact, none does.
And by the way, I was joking ... money's not a problem here.
The trip has been a total disappointment. Up until the last moment she told me that she loves me yet she has not even written me an email, she has simply disappeared. I am not going to write to her. If she does not write to me, I will take it for what it is. I also want to give everyone the following advice: do not buy gifts, especially expensive gifts, even if you can afford it. It gives the wrong incentives, especially to a woman who can hardly makes ends meet and lives in misery. What bothers me is that she did not say no to the gifts that I bought her in Kiev while she likely knew something was not right for her. She accepted money up until the very last moment. As I said before, I was not played from the beginning, but it is possible that I was played at some point during the trip.
I can go and on, but it is not worthwhile to review all the details. The point is I invested my time and money let alone my feelings and ended up empty handed and with a broken heart. For me, this was my last trip to Ukraine."
"It is bothersome to me that at the last moment (at the train station), I gave her some money for her transportation and she accepted it. At that time, 100% she knew"
"It is bothersome to me that at the last moment (at the train station), I gave her some money for her transportation and she accepted it. At that time, 100% she knew she would not communicate with me again, but she took the money immediately. When we separated before the train would leave, she turned to me and said "thank you". It sounded like a goodbye thank you. As I said, she has not reached out to me in four days. I wrote her a short letter yesterday. She has not replied and I doubt she will. She did the same thing to another guy she dumped to start with me, she did not write to tell him it's over. Now, she did this to me. It's just who she is.
Ukrainian women, whether scammers or not, have a very sharp sting that can hurt. As I said before, learn from my own experience. Never buy presents, any presents at all. If a woman would dump you because you did not buy her presents, then you are a lucky guy to get rid of her early. Do not even pay her transportation and other expenses and be cautious with hotels and restaurants. Let her put her own money at risk and evaluate her reactions. You can always pay her expenses at later meetings when you are certain about the relationship."
"I am now convinced this woman was a fraud. As I said in previous post, I wrote her an email and she did not respond. Today I called her cell phone. When she heard my voice, she paused for a few seconds and then hang up. I called again, but she did not answer. How can she not be a fraud? Until the very last moment, she was leading me to believe everything was alright and was accepting my money. She was in it for the money. There is no point reporting her as a scammer though. The family name she uses is not hers. This is another lie she told me. At first, she told me it was her maiden name. It turned out it was not. She goes by the family name of her ex (which is what her Ukrainian passport shows) and her maiden name is different. I wonder what kind of verification fiance.com does ....... do they even check the girl's passport? Anyway, she can change her family name to anything she wants. At this point there is no more to say about this, so I will sign out. However, I will say one thing. This time she messed up with the wrong guy. Be careful out there."
" I arrived at Boryspil in late afternoon. She waited for me at the airport with the driver all dressed up, high heels, make up, long eyelashes, nails with painted flowers and the likes. She slept with me from the first night. I brought her from the states three lingerie slip-ons and a baby doll and she wore them at my request every night without panties. I told her I wanted without panties during the day in the apartment. I grabbed her ass any time I felt like during the day. We had sex even a few hours before I took her to the train station for her return. Yes, I got plenty. This is not the point. I was scammed to believe this was for real. I was not looking for a friggin' escort or a girl to sponsor in Ukraine. 2 minutes before she got on the train, I told her "I love you" and she replied to me "I love you, I love you, I love you". Then at the last moment she said "thank you" and then disappeared."
"I emailed her one more time and called her again several times. She has blocked me on her cell phone. I will not try to contact her anymore. Her behavior is the best therapy for me and helps me get over her, which I think at this point I have accomplished. No offense to you, but TomZ has given the most proper explanation regarding her behavior, that is soft scam. There is more that I have not mentioned and I will in the next days."
"She was satisfied with the presents (this is why she thanked me at the end). But she also expected ongoing financial support. She gave me plenty of opportunities in the letters as well as in the meeting. I was suspicious the whole time, but she never asked for something explicitly. Her approach was to throw the bait and wait to see my reactions. It was either English lessons, or lawyer fees, or not being able to afford to move to a better apartment in a safer neighborhood or her boss threatening not to pay her wages during our meeting, or her boss threatening to fire her. I may have been gullible overall, but did not fall for any of these baits. Offering ongoing financial support especially so early has a name. It is called sponsorship and is very common over there. I did not get involved with her to become her sponsor. She said she makes 4,500 UAH per month. This is less than 400 US. I could send her twice as much every month and not even blink. The point is that just as she was testing me during our meeting, I was testing her, too. I noticed she was picky about restaurants and hotels and no
I totally missed that thread!!!! very interesting read ;) I did not read all pages but enough.
What I got from the thread is that she is NOT a scammer but a confused and desperate girl who was willing to give it a go
with any decent guy who showed an interest. I think she gave him serious thought and then for some reason made up her mind
that it would not work out b but stayed along for the ride because it was beneficial to her.
Not a normal scenario but common here.
Many of these desperate Ukrainian girls will jump headfirst into a relationship and give 100% of themselves so they are not accused of some
transgression. Even when they have some misgivings about it or have internal issues they will go as hard and as long as it takes until they know that
no matter what, it isnt going to work. That means screwing your brains out, giving into your wishes, whatever it takes to make you love them.
Even though she quit, doesnt mean she isnt thankful for what he gave her. She isnt going to communicate with him because why "beat a dead horse?"
Does it hurt? sure it does but that is just how things are here.
It may be a Ukrainian thing because I am much like this. Although I had some reservations, i went into my current relationship 110% I do all the things a man is supposed to do but I also have some second thoughts even though she still says she wants to bear my child. I am in Kyiv over a week now and yet she is still not here yet. says she is sick (to her defense, she does not look well on skype)and also must get off work and will come in a few days. i will continue the relationship until I know it will not work. That may not ever happen...but it might. I will still give her the new iphone I bought and go 110%
If it doesn't work out then I will move on. I already have a couple prospects just in case it doesn't, but i am still hopeful. It will be easier when I go to the south and am closer to her home
i guess that's just how Ukrainian dating goes. The quicker you learn to adapt to how things work here the better off you will be.
I will still never trade my experiences. They all have meaning.
Official rate today was 26.40 at banks +/- On the street it is easy to find even 30 to 1. grocery store prices are still slow to rise except imported items which have gone up substantially in past week. Still same price for those with dollars. Chicken is equivalent to about 1.50/lb which is about the norm here
Rick - you got it exactly right. If I understand correctly, you are Ukrainian, maybe that explains it.
We had communication in August and September of last year, but it was more on a friendship not romantic basis and I stopped because it wasn't leading anywhere anyway. In my view, the biggest problem by far was the language. Using translators for a few days is not a big problem but then on long visits it can become frustrating and can lead to arguments. We had at least one argument every day towards the end of my visit and it is hard to reconcile using electronic translators. She also realized it would be very hard for her to learn English (she speaks no English at all).
The other problem was cultural. I am a forthcoming person, I will call it the way I see it. This attitude did not bode well with her. E.g., I had no issue talking about previous relationships, she had. She told me I was the second guy she slept with, which I didn't buy, she stack with this story the whole time. I understand now that in Ukrainian culture it's not right to discuss about the ex's, especially others than prior spouses.
I don't think I would bring a Ukraine woman to the states as a wife as I think the chance the marriage would last is slim. I may look to get a girlfriend there, buy a house and spend the spring and summer there. I still need to figure whether I would like to visit for long periods as I did not adjust very well the last time I was there.
Your 26.40 must be around Kiev, where I am at is in 24.50, although in Kiev a few days ago it had reached into the 25+ area. I will see what it is in Odesa in a couple days. Last Sept I got better rate in Kharkiv than in Odesa.
Rick I disagree with Ukrainian girls jumping head first into a relationship, at least the ones I know.