Location Location Location

[TXAK]

I live in Bethel, Alaska --  not a very nice place.  

Its tolerable and, because very few people wanna come here, the jobs here pay very well. But, there's no mall, no theaters, etc.  If you like to hunt and fish this is paradise, but, after all is said and done, its a frontier town.

Ive been here a year and a half, and during my stay I have met quite a few "mail order brides" (hate that name!!) -- mostly from the Phillipines.  

My question:  Do you think I'll be able to talk a latin lady into coming up here.  I'd consider moving, but I'd like stay here a few more years, just to build up a little nest egg.

Any advice is appreciated.

P.S.

I've  considered looking for a Filipina but after a few internet conversations decided that it wasn't a good idea.

[Houndog]

Hard question to answer because every woman is different, but as long as you're honest with them up front about the "lay of your land" then you'll have to search until you find one that is ok with the landscape & your long term goals.

There are plenty of Colombians in Ney York & Chicago so obviously they can get used to the cold if they want to, and Bogota isn't exactly a steamy tropical city weather wise all year, it can get pretty cold there at night (not like Alaska of course .

Regards, HD

[Montrealer]

I'm from Montreal, and although it's not as extreme here as in Alaska, it has been known to get to -45C in wintertime during extreme seasons.  I told my wife about it early on in our relationship to feel her out.  And although she is from Barranquilla, where a cold day is 28C, she assured me that she would get accustomed to it.  That's why I'm bringing her here in August, when it always over 25C, so she can slowly get accustomed to the change of climate.  I would suggest if you do meet someone and get married, then to bring her up in one of Alaska's warmer months, and not during the 24 hour sun/night periods.  Let her ac'climate' slowly.

Also, do tell them about it early on.  I would even maybe exagerrate it some to make it sound worse, this way if she does come up she might say "well, this isn't as bad as you said".

[Jeff S]

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide a Filipina wasn't a good idea?

- Jeff

[stefang]

So what kind of jobs are around in Bethel? I worked in Anchorage back in 01 and enjoyed it.

[mudd]

well, if your worried about a girl leaving you because she cant handle the cold, which is totally understandable, I doubt I would want to live there, maybe you should look into a Russian girl, it may take more time to find a good one, but you would at least know, she could deal with the weather there. And believe me, I have seen some hot Russian girls, walking around in the dead of winter, fricken freezing, and wearing mini skirts, like it was no big deal.

If you are dead set on a Latin girl, I would try Bogotá or maybe a city in Chile before any other place.

[TXAK]

I admit...I am dead set on a Latin Girl.

However, what I am worried about is not the cold, but the fact that there's not much to do here.

Im 40, so let assume I'll find someone 25 to 30- young and pretty girls like to go dancing, shopping, and partying (and so do I).  None of that really happens here.

You can shop on line and there are some really good private parties but other than that, she'll only be able to kick up her heels bout 4 times a year:  One trip to Texas, One trip to Columbia, and two, maybe more, trips to Anchorage.

On the plus side, once she learns some english, she can make some good money (especially if she's a professional woman).

[mudd]

Hate to tell you, but you may not be worried about the cold, but any Hispanic girl definitely will. Your going to have to sell Alaska pretty hard to any girl, and like you said, their isn’t much to do there, and most Hispanic girls like to dance, dress up and be very social.  I think you better forget any girl less than 28 years and try Bogotá, if you want to try Colombia. Or you could specifically look for a  city where their is actually a winter.

I remember a guy from Minnesota was meeting a lot of girls, and he was having a very hard time finding a girl who would want to move to Minnesota. He had a book with photos of different seasons in Minnesota, which all looked very beautiful, but as soon as the girls saw all that snow, and found out how long the winter was, they were gone.

I also have a friend of mine, who is from Medellin, her cousin lives in Canada, and she is moving back to Colombia, just couldn’t take the winters there. Good luck

[TXAK]

I agree it will take some work, but I'm determined. There are several latinas from central america in Bethel and they've been here several years.

Of course...you got to keep them happy (travel, gifts, and lots of love)

Thanks guys for the feed back.

[Calipro]

TXAK

I'm glad I never had your problem.

My current wife is worried about living in Phoenix Arizona were it's warm most of the year and there are plenty of latinos here. I can't imagine what she would do if I told her we are moving to ALASKA.

But look on the bright side. After you explain in detail where you live and what life is like in Alaska, there will only be two kinds of women left.
The ones that really love you and the ones that just want a ticket to the states. It shouldn't be to difficult to tell them apart if you have any experiance with women.

My only advice to you would be to wait until the women have had a chance to get to know you a little bit (and fall for you) before you drop the bomb. hehehe !!

[Calipro]

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide a Filipina wasn't a good idea?

- Jeff

Well I don't know if I should tell this story...but...I was in the Navy and we had a port call in the Philippines. I had just enlisted and it was the first foreign country that I had ever been to.

I'll never forget my first night on the town with my friends in the Philippines. We went out on the town one night and got totally [snip] faced drunk. Well at least I did.

And then they took me to a Filipina whore house. I guess I passed out and my friends just went to take care of business. Because when I started to come to, I was laying on a bed with a much of naked Filipinas standing around my bed just looking down on me.

My vision must have been blurred because they all seemed like featureless child like figures. Then it dawned on my that they were probably space aliens and I was about to be abducted. My heart started racing a mile a minute. I jumped out of bed knocking a few of creatures to the floor and ran out screaming.

I finally realized what happened after I was outside for a while but I still have a phobia of filipinas. I get a shiver down my spine every time I see one.

[Montrealer]

As far as the nothing to do angle of your problems, that's a tough one.  I'm guessing Bethel doesn't have any rave parties?

Definatley look for an older girl, about 28-30 who might have gotten her partying out of her system.  Also, if you do get married, make sure you can get decent hours at work so that you can spend as much time with them as possible.  I would recomend putting her in school if she's interested, maybe an intensive english or something carreer oriented, to keep her distracted and busy.  Maybe you can find work for her, but make sure it's respectable work and not down at the fish cleaning market or something.

Also, since you siad that you see latinas in the city, try to make friends with them or their families so that your wife can have people to speak to and help get used to life in Bethel.

[Ray]

Then it dawned on my that they were probably space aliens and I was about to be abducted. My heart started racing a mile a minute. I jumped out of bed knocking a few of creatures to the floor and ran out screaming.

      

It sounds like you were drinking a pitcher of mojo. San Miguel usually doesn't affect you like that.

What year was that and which ship were you serving on?

I made my first port call in Subic back in '68 on AD-37. Amazing place!

Ray (CPO/Ret)

[papi]

My first novia was from Cali. She flew to Detroit with a couple pair of jeans and sandals…hardly a fitting wardrobe for Detroit in February. If she loves you, she will deal with the cold. No se preocupes

[Montrealer]

And you will probably want to use the fiancee visa when you bring her to the US, so this way if it is too rough for her, she can hop on a plane and go back.  It would suck, but it's better than marrying her and then having to get divorced.

[DragonballT]

I'm not sure what to tell you.  If its as boring as you say then I can't imagine a young girl going up there and being happy.  My bet its probably even more boring than you say.  If I was in your shoes I would question the motives of any girl that was interested in moving there.  Nothing against Alaska but I think many girls would rather live poor in colombia than rich in Alaska.  I'm no expert though but perhaps you should put your focus on girls from small rural areas.  Places were there not much to do anyway.  If not the only way I would see it happening is if you focused on girls that were in there late 20s that had a child or two.  Then with her age and responsibility to her children perhaps it wont bother her thats its boring.  Still the biggest problem will be the lack of people.  

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide a Filipina wasn't a good idea?

- Jeff

Well I don't know if I should tell this story...but...I was in the Navy and we had a port call in the Philippines. I had just enlisted and it was the first foreign country that I had ever been to.

I'll never forget my first night on the town with my friends in the Philippines. We went out on the town one night and got totally [snip] faced drunk. Well at least I did.

And then they took me to a Filipina whore house. I guess I passed out and my friends just went to take care of business. Because when I started to come to, I was laying on a bed with a much of naked Filipinas standing around my bed just looking down on me.

My vision must have been blurred because they all seemed like featureless child like figures. Then it dawned on my that they were probably space aliens and I was about to be abducted. My heart started racing a mile a minute. I jumped out of bed knocking a few of creatures to the floor and ran out screaming.

I finally realized what happened after I was outside for a while but I still have a phobia of filipinas. I get a shiver down my spine every time I see one.

Your story was very funny.  You might need to see one of those Alaskan psychiatrist regarding that phobia.  I have to guess the other guys were on you about that for a long time.  For me Filipino women would be right there.  They have that combination of Asian and Latin looks.

Hey this girl is half Filipino.  Maybe she can inspire you to get atleast half out of your phobia.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbokS-rYItA

[TXAK]

Not really sure what you're referring to as a "phobia" and Filipina's, but more power to you. I think you have me confused with Calipro. (Its his story)

Thanks guys,  I appreciate all your feed back