"It was a dream for retirement": an alpaca farm in the mountains – how the Kushnir family created the Khytra Staynia

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you packed your bags, left the city and went to the mountains? Moving, living with three children in the middle of nature, a farm with animals – all this sounds like a picture from Pinterest. But for Lesya Kushnir, an IT specialist with many years of experience, this is not a "retirement dream", but a reality. She and her family changed the city rhythm for the silence of the mountains, the office for a stable, and concrete for a meadow.

LIGA.Life talked to Lesya about how the family decided to make a radical change, why they chose an alpaca, and what it's like to live a dream.

How it all began: the journey from Kyiv to the Carpathians

— Lesya, tell me how it all started? What was the point when you and your husband decided to sell your apartment in Kyiv and move to the Carpathians?

— We arrived in the Carpathians on February 26, 2022. This place was not accidental for us — we arrived at my grandparents' house. I spent my preschool years and almost all school holidays here. As an adult, I managed to come much less often: at best once a year, because of work, children, and other worries. Grandma died ten years ago, and grandpa has been living in Kyiv with my mother ever since.

When the full-scale war began, we, without further ado, packed up and went here, as if it were the safest place we had. Before that, we had been discussing the possibility of moving from Kyiv for a long time, mentally trying on different options for country life — outside Kyiv, or outside Lviv.

Dream of retirement