Hello👋🏼🙂
I'm Yuliia.
Half of my life I've spent next to the Black Sea, in Crimea, then lived in Kyiv for around 12 years, and now I’m settled in Budapest.
I decided to keep my home location as it is — it’s where I belong and what I consider my home. The year 2022 has changed me a lot. "We thought we had such problems. How could we know that we were happy?"

I can describe myself as a passionate traveller, an animal and nature lover who enjoys coziness and comfort. I’m an introvert who, despite that, loves meeting people and chatting about life, listening to and telling stories. I’d also say I’m peaceful, respectful, straightforward, with a sense of humor, intelligent, brutally honest, sarcastic, curious about people’s mindsets, and creative.

I’m a big fan of long walks — whether in the city or out in nature (preferably lazy hikes, no cliffs to climb, thanks).
Photography is my hobby (here is my small page: @serenity.in.focus), and I find inspiration in village life or any aesthetic environment — especially when I visit the Netherlands :)

What else...
I'm not a fan of artificial, crowded, noisy places, contests, quest rooms, TV shows, TV series, big social gatherings, competitions, concerts, shopping malls, bars, public events... I prefer nature, privacy, relaxed company, comfort, 1-2 people around, and a good atmosphere.
And no matter where you are, it matters who you are with.

P.S. have to mention, that I'm not a smoker and I can't handle cigarettes and iqos smell. So if you smoke - it can be an issue for hosting/surfing. Still, I love the smell of burning wood, bakhoor, dhoop, sticks and other similar things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've started back in 2014, when someone mentioned about Couchsurfing. I'm proud to say that its been more than 10 years of an amazing experience here! It evolved from saving money on accommodation to meeting people for a cultural exchange, which brings inspiration and motivation to explore the world.

My travel style is modest, but experience costs no more than money — it shapes the mood of the journey and turns into memories.
So I’m perfectly fine with staying on a couch in a host’s living room, as well as booking a hotel. Staying on my own is great, but then I lose the chance to explore a new place through a local perspective or just chat at home about everything and anything — so I like to mix both during my travels. :)

Interests

• animals
• photography
• coffee
• reading
• psychology
• road trips
• travelling
• nature
• village life
• people's mindset

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: metal, folk, classic. Depends on mood actually, can be anything.
Books: In love with a syllable by Salman Rushdie and Irvin Yalom
Movies: I don't watch. But I like documentaries, lectures about culture, history, investigations, medicine, and social science.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Solo travelling in India

*There also should be a section for
One Thing I've Done and It Was a Mistake:
PhD 🤕

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversations and good listening company, comical storytelling, respect towards the place and host, keeping my place clean, not active time spending, some help which is possible from my side.
If I'm coming from Ukraine - let me know what'd you like me to bring :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Hungary, India, Ukraine