Kharkiv

Lived there for 6 months. Incredibly "tough" city. Everything is concrete or dirt. Still has a Soviet vibe in 2020. One main street in the city center is vibrant and modern, but head one metro stop in any direction and its 1982 all over again. Almost no English, even with young people. Russian is preferred language even through there is a very strong anti-Russia/anti-Putin sentiment in the city, and rightfully so. However, all the street names and landmarks are in Ukrainian, so you need to mix the languages. Zero problem for natives, but can be confusing for foreigners. Sidewalks are destroyed, a pair of shoes would be ruined in a month or two. Housing is old and gloomy. Small apartments, bad utilities. Sometimes I'd go without water in my apartment for days. Winter never ends. Extreme cold and snow. I would take Ubers and lots of the cars were without seatbelts. These are some tough people. Only salvation is that its cheap, but you can find that in hundreds of other cities.

Spent 3 weeks there and enjoyed it. People were friendly, I had no bad experiences. I have an interest in the history of the area so there was lots for me to do. Inexpensive city but people seemed quite concerned with money. Bank notes are declined for payment because of the slightest of damage, I was hounded relentlessly by a landlord for a $3.00 dry cleaning bill for a stained blanket. I had every intention of paying just didn’t have the time right away to figure out international money transfer. Anyhow, I wandered around the city for days and never felt unsafe. People are very wary of their police force but I guess that’s common in non western countries. The parks in the city are really incredible. The best tip I could give a traveler is to find the pub called ‘school pub’. It’s hidden away but if you only know English, it is an absolute oasis. Great people run the place. I’d visit Kharkiv again for sure.

House rents are very expensive compared to average salaries. also the apartments are very old and gloomy. This problem exists all over Ukraine. The house is pretty cheap except for their rent. and safe city. A safer city than Kiev and Odessa.

Very friendly and tolerant city.
Safe, quiet and cozy. Has a large number of students from different countries. In Kharkov, more than 20 universities,
Beautiful parks, lit streets. Public transport is open until 12pm.