Since becoming independent in 1991, Ukraine has seen several waves of emigration, with the numbers gradually declining after the early 1990s. Nevertheless, according to Migration Information Source, the share of those choosing to leave for the West continues to increase [ENG]. Selling in Yalta, Ukraine, 10 September 2010. Image by Flickr user sugarmelon.com (CC BY-NC 2.0). With the country hit hard by the recent economic crisis and most citizens disillusioned [RUS] with Ukrainian politicians and disappointed with the overall economic and political situation, more and more discussions about emigration alternatives have been appearing online. About half a year ago, Yevgeniy R. created a website called Party of the Positive Pessimists [RUS], in order to gather and publish stories of those who have recently decided to leave Ukraine. He claims [RUS] that, since its launch, the site has had over 20,000 visitors, about 200 people have sent in their stories, and over 100 of them have been published. Below is a concise translation of the answers [RUS] that the website users provided to the crucial questions facing future emigrants: You do realize that there [abroad] you would be a second-rate citizen, right? Roman L. wrote [RUS]: The less your lifestyle differs from that of the locals, the less you are perceived as an outsider […] Twitter user @felenkaa wrote [RUS]: When exactly has any one of you felt “first rate” in your Motherland? Tell me what features of being “first rate” you are so afraid to lose? I want to see that list very, very (!) much. […] User Bnorris wrote [RUS]: I would say that in developed countries [social equality] is present even more, as strange as it may seem. I mean, if a person is very successful in Ukraine and feels above others, there he may feel that his position has gone down :) But if the person has been an average programmer without extraordinary demands, he will stay the same even after moving. […] User Victor R. wrote [RUS]: I’ve been living in the USA for five years. I have encountered the police several times, but every time everything went in a very polite and neat manner. At the local passport control I’ve been asked how the flight was and what the weather was like in Ukraine. Nobody has ever pointed out my imperfect English, to say the least. […] During the five years, I’ve practically never been put in a situation that would make me feel as a second-rate person. And I must note that most of that time I’ve spent on a work visa (not as a citizen or a resident, just a temporary worker). Why have you decided that it would be better for you THERE? User mxc wrote [RUS]: …if you are an entrepreneur [who has had enough] of the Ukrainian tax system, you may throw a dart on the world map with your eyes [shut]. Unless you hit the ocean, your chances of getting a country where it is better with the taxes are 98.85%. [The World Bank has recently ranked Ukraine's tax system the third worst out of 183 countries (.pdf, p. 8, fig. 1.3).] User Roman L. wrote [RUS]: Decades of informational isolation and the Soviet propaganda claims that THERE [in the West] things were so horrible, have not led to the desired effect, but to the contrary one – a somewhat idealized perception of life [abroad] that combines socialist idleness and western abundance. I remember it as if it were today – in my primary school class everyone thought that every unemployed American had a luxurious car and received about 10,000 dollars per month […] Twitter user @shaitanich wrote [RUS]: Some of my friends believe that once you cross the border, all these [cases of financial fraud] and other problems that we had to get used to here would immediately disappear […]. So far, there hasn’t been a chance to check that. Is it easier and quicker to make money and develop your business in developing countries (including Ukraine) than in the developed ones? Blogger Victor Ronin (victorronin.com) provided the following list of arguments [RUS]: It is easier to conduct business in Ukraine because: You may conduct business in your native language (applies to everyone who has been born on the territory of the ex-USSR); There are enough acquaintances and/or connections (again, for those born [here]); Competition in some areas is not as strong as in the developed countries yet, because the market is still quite “raw”; There are possibilities to get around the law. (Although it helps only those who are willing and ready to breach the law); Access to cheap labor force.