The residents of all Ukrainian cities and towns want to live the way people do in Europe, or at least the way they live in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a city that offers a higher standard of living and more opportunities for career advancement, and a large variety of leisure activities. That’s why Kyiv is called a just city: people get what they deserve here.
But according to the findings of the Research & Branding Group, most Kyivites are dissatisfied with their standard of living. The residents of Ukraine’s capital are most dissatisfied by the fact that they can’t buy new clothing or footwear as often as they would like (56 percent). Fifty-four percent of Kyivites complain about the unavailability of health care. As many respondents are dissatisfied with their living conditions (lack of their own apartment, shoddy conditions, etc.). Almost every second resident of the Ukrainian capital complains about low salaries.
Forty percent of people in Kyiv say they are satisfied with their salaries, unlike people living elsewhere in Ukraine. Sociologists asked Kyivites the following provocative question: to what extent do their salaries correspond to their efforts? Twenty-eight percent said that they are completely satisfied. Experts say this is a very high percentage and note that this trend is increasing.
According to sociologist Yevhen Kopatko, who works for the Research & Branding Group, the situation is much worse in the rest of the country. "The number of people who are satisfied with their work conditions and salaries is very high in Kyiv. When we got the results on salaries, we were very surprised to read that every fourth resident is satisfied. Another index is getting paychecks on time: 40 percent of Kyivites are satisfied. It is clear that these are precisely the factors that affect Kyiv residents’ general wellbeing and their attitude to life, because here we find more optimists than anywhere else in Ukraine."
Other polls, however, indicate that Kyivites suffer from a higher degree of stress. Fifty-six percent of the residents of this megalopolis said that they suffer from stress "often" and "quite often." It goes without saying that life in a big city means a fast pace that affects one’s nerves. Interestingly, 12 percent of respondents said they experience stress "very rarely," while 2 percent claimed they never feel stressed out. It is likely that these respondents do not know what stress is and may be experiencing chronic psychological overload without being aware of it.
Exercise, including sports, is an effective way of eliminating stress. The statistics are shocking: a mere four percent of Kyivites devote their free time to sports; six percent of respondents said they prefer to spend their leisure time in discos and cafes. Sixteen percent like to spend time with their children; 20 percent spend time amidst nature, and 61 percent prefer to watch television and videos.
Discussing these findings, Kopatko said that, "compared to the rest of the country, we are no different from any other region, except that we have more people who read books in their spare time - 31 percent. But it was a surprise to us when we discovered that 16 percent of our respondents prefer to surf the Internet in their spare time. This is proof that a "new civilization" is settling in because when we conducted a similar survey in Ukraine a couple of years ago, the number of Internet users was below this figure."
Sociologists describe Kyiv as a city to which large numbers of people flock from various oblasts, and this is a problem. Most likely, this is more of a problem for the city bureaucrats, who often complain that the utilities networks and municipal transport and garbage disposal systems are being overloaded. Kyiv residents have a friendly attitude to visitors. Fourteen percent of respondents say that a megalopolis like Kyiv needs them. Another 44 percent believe that "people have the right to choose where they want to live." Only 18 percent of respondents have a negative attitude to newcomers.
"In addition, we have detected that Kyivites have become immune to events connected to politics. It may be said that there are very few people in Kyiv who live for politics, follow political events closely, and hold them close to their heart. People here respond very calmly both to political ads and political events. This is understandable, considering that Kyiv has been in a permanent state of elections - like the rest of Ukraine - except that here everything happens in a more dramatic way. People come here to demonstrate their support for some political force by staging marches and rallies. One revolution, three election campaigns (the early mayoral election was the fourth one), and a bunch of crises in the last three years is too much. This causes stress. That’s why Kyiv residents have developed this protective response," said the Research & Branding Group’s expert.
In estimating Kyiv’s standard of living, experts generally agree that it is continuing to increase in terms of quantity and quality, despite the large numbers of residents who are not satisfied. The rising standard of living is clearly an annual trend. Thus, 12 percent of respondents said their living standard had increased in Kyiv in the last two years. Experts describe Kyiv as a "sufficiently well-to-do city" and a "city of great opportunities." Their negative remarks more often than not have to do with the economic crisis caused by soaring prices and the inflation rate. But the rest of Ukraine is also suffering.
