Kherson lies some 200 kms east of Odessa, on the banks of the Dniepr river. Surprisingly enough for a small industrial city (around 400k people), there is a general feeling of sophistication and relative well-being.
You will find a lot of clothing stores with fashionable items, and people in the street tend to be well-dressed. You do not see many beggars on the street, nor any horse or donkey carriages like you would find in many cities in Romania or Bulgaria.
This is obviously not to say that the city has a feeling of opulence. But by the standards of the former Soviet Republics, I found the city to be above average. Streets are clean, the main streets have few potholes, and there are even a couple of pedestrian areas that are very well kept (including nice parks).
Not surprisingly for a river city in former communist countries, the city is not built around the river. All activities close to the river are of pure industrial nature, and I haven't found any parks or nice areas close to the river (I may need to go back to double check :)