Kiev - Post Report Question and Answers

What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?

Household help is cheap, we hired a part time housekeeper once a week and a dog walker. Both about US $5/hour - May 2021


I know that household help is available. Typically people hire nannies and/or someone to come clean the house and cook occasionally, though we've never had anyone. - Jun 2018


Internationals are way overpaying (I've see Ukrainian ads for less than $2/hour for nannies), but $5/hour gets you wonderful, usually English-speaking help. People get really close to their nannies, who are general flexible about cooking, cleaning and errand-running as well. Non-parents at least have housekeepers who come in once a week. Good cooks are hard to find but can be found with a little work. - May 2017


Household help is quite affordable. As a couple without children, we had a cleaning lady come for a half-day once a week, which was plenty (and typical for those without children). Families usually hired full-time nannies and full- or part-time cleaning help. - Nov 2016


Families with kids tended to hire full-time nannies and housekeepers. Most singles and couples without kids tended to hire someone to clean one day a week. We did the latter, paying $5/hour ($25/visit) for a full cleaning of our apartment, plus doing laundry and running errands. - Jul 2016


We pay our half-time housekeeper US$5 an hour. - Nov 2015


We pay US$7 an hour, which is probably high, but she's nice, trustworthy and good. Most everyone who works has some kind of household help. - Jun 2015


Domestic help is expensive considering the income per capita in Ukraine but cheap compared to the USA. The embassy rate has been around US$5 per hour. - Apr 2014


Domestic help will run about $5 an hour for someone who cooks, cleans, watches children, and takes care of pets. It is very available here and very good. It is a big help having an extra hand around the house. - Apr 2013


Plenty are available but all are more expensive than in the Western Hemisphere. No live-ins. Probably about $500-$800 monthly. - Apr 2013


Reasonable. - Feb 2013


Available at reasonable prices. I had a housekeeper who came once a week, I paid her US$30ish/week. - Jul 2012


$4-6/hr - Aug 2009


Expensive and difficult to find good help. - Apr 2008


Widely available. I think we pay our nanny about US$4-5/hour. - Apr 2008


Housekeepers and nannies are available but the costs are escalating. We have a part-time (12 hours) housekeeper and we pay US$4/hour. I think that is about average. - Feb 2008


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