Why Ukraine?

Although he came to the former Soviet Union with the intention of fulfilling a rather short-term assignment, Mike Willard has stayed, building a business and raising a family. There's no magic to being an expatriate - anyone can live in a country other than the one that issues their passport - but it does take a certain grit to live in, and learn to love, a truly foreign country, where the language is hard to master and the many of the customs are oddly charming.

Mike Willard is such an expat. Initially, Ukraine represented opportunity, and it still does. But it is also a land of history, great beauty and important traditions. Today, Ukraine remains a nation in transition, with political, economic and environmental issues.

And, after 15 years or so, Ukraine is home.