I have never been asked for passport in Ukraine...in fact the police have never stopped me for anything, far cry from russia where every block I was asked to see my papers by police.
I don't hear very much english spoken in ukraine, maybe outside on streets were there may be foreigners. GD....we must go to different cities or girls don't speak much english around me.
When I am in shops at malls, almost every girl there struggles with english.
Never heard english spoken in a nightclub other than girl I was with, just know...'Tanyets' or 'Napetok'....dance and drink.......
There are so many foreigners wandering around Odessa these days that police hardly give you a second look.
As for English, I have found that it is fairly rare to meet a local girl in a nightclub or cafe and that she speaks English beyond "hello, my name is..."
There is usually somebody working at a restaurant or nightclub bar that speaks a little English, but often just enough so that they can understand your order. I have also found that almost none of the girls in shops, even high-end shops in Kiev, speak any significant English.
As for English being widely spoken, that's not really been my experience. There are a lot of people who took English in school and can say a few words, and of course some women studied English at the university, but that's about it.
To say a FSU women "speaks good English" when she can only utter "Hello" or "dog" or "cat" in the Queens dialogue and puts that in her profile..I mean who is kidding who?
You don't need to speak English for the universal language, take your pants and underwear off in front of an FSU girl..thats universal language for I want sex!
Well Aussieman I have been to Odessa 3 times and Kiev 15 and I can tell you many speak good English. I have never had difficulty conversing because if the person I was talking to couldnt understand there would invariably be someone walking by who could help.
I cant say I have spent a lot of time in Odessa night clubs but the one I did I had 2 girls come up to me and strike a conversations in English. They were not looking for a financial relationship.
I think your universal language skills probably explain your difficulty finding an appropriate lady to settle with.