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Hello

I think no city of Ukraine is a good place now. And Odessa has very stressed atmosphere at the momemt. Noone knows what to expect next day.
A bit of exception may be some of Western cities of Ukraine.

You don't have to live in Kiev, you may stay at its suburbs - at one of cottage cities. That is more save in case you like such options. And you may find places with pretty nature, forests, clean lakes and fine respectful neighbors...

yes it is much nicer than Kyiv. There are criminals everywhere  so don't listen to that nonsense.

I am from Odessa myself (I am Ukrainian), but I agree that due to the conflict with Russia it might be a bit tense and not your best option to settle. I also agree that some Western Ukrainian cities might provide a much calmer, friendlier atmosphere at the moment. However, be advised that no matter where you decide to live in Ukraine making money will be a BIG problem... At present the economic environment is so depressed that local salaries barely reach 200$ a month.  May be teaching English will be an option. I currently reside in the western city of Lviv. You are always welcome to write me directly

Can't comment on Odessa, because I've never been there, but 3 places I like in Ukraine are Kamenets-Podolski, Lviv, and Chernovtsy. I lived quite a while in my Ukrainian wife's hometown of Sumy, but it's kind of lackluster, altho I've met a lot of great people there. Nice river and park for picnics. Kharkov is interesting and diverse, but that's almost like Kiev. Dnepropetrovsk has a very nice riverfront and parks, but that's a little too far east, if you know what I mean.

Hey, if you decide to go over to Ukraine, you might want to check out my ad in Books on this site for a brand-new English-Ukrainian phrasebook-dictionary (ebook for Kindle). Very important to have a good grasp of the language when you live in a foreign country.

Good luck!
Bob Powers