dark

[dav11]

Has anyone ever been to Latvia? Would it be a good place for a farmer to look for a wife there?

[Frank O]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

I had a real snafu on my first trip with a scam agency in Lugansk. However while there I had a friend whom I'd met through virtualtourist.com. Anyways he told me if I was serious about MARRIAGE I should look OUTSIDE the big cities such as Lugansk & into the small villages. He then explained why & introduced me to several ladies. I noticed the difference RIGHT AWAY. When I decided to run an ad I chose to look for ladies away from the big towns. I struck gold. My wife is from a small town with a population of 15,000 in the Zhytomir region. They had no internet, no running water, bad telephones (party lines) etc. But her family is made up of some VERY genuine people. I quickly fell in love with her & her family (now MY family). I think if you run an ad through Jack (or some other agency if you like) & mention what you are seeking you can find what you are looking for. When I went to her hometown, most people there had NEVER seen an American, much less a Texan. You could have easily found what you are looking for in her town as most people there do farming in one form or another. For example her family plants they're own vegetables (out of necessity) & her grandmother has a lot of cattle & pigs etc. I would suggest you look in Ukraine & run an ad.

[Yorkman]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

Latvia, nor none of the Baltic countries would be a good place for a farmer to look for a wife for several reasons.

First, these countries are split between native populations and Russians whom to Soviet system sent in to Russify the countries.

Now, since quasi independence, there is growing friction between the natives and the Russians.  It is the Russian women who want out, but the natives are not at all looking to leave.  There is actually a fairly high standard of living in the Baltics, so no need for the native ladies to be looking to leave.

But, the Russian women basically live in the large cities.  Large city women will never (3 percent excepted) be happy on the farm.  For instance, about half the population of all Latvia lives in Riga, the capital city.  This pretty much rules out Latvia for a farm wife.  Sure there are women who live on farms, but they are Latvian.

There are two exceptions, that I know of.

One is Navara, Estonia which is right on the Russian border and Visiginas, Lithuania which is also on Russian border (or is it Belarus border?).  These cities are both basically composed of Russian people with many women who want out.  The cities are not large, so maybe some of the women could be happy on a farm.

But all in all, given the small total population of the Baltic countries and only the Russian part of the population looking to leave, it would be far from an efficient use of time and money for any man to even think of looking for a wife there, and certainly not a farm wife.

By far better to look at medium sized Russian and Ukrainian cities where you could bring in ladies from the surrounding smaller towns.

[Jeff S]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

.. about where you're looking, but here's a great story:

http://www.planet-love.com/wwwboard/search/searchdisplay.php?page=asian&archive=000080&id=28524
http://www.planet-love.com/wwwboard/search/searchdisplay.php?page=asian&archive=000081&id=28719

- Jeff

[Roark]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

I'm glad someone asked about this, because I've been wondering about it too.  I'm not a farmer exactly, but I live out in the country in the Midwest USA.  I plan to stay here, so I'd like to find someone interested in the same lifestyle.  I figure the culture shock of coming from the FSU to the USA would be enough without piling city-rural culture shock on top of that. :-)

I'm just getting started with this concept, somewhere between curious and seriously getting used to the idea.  It took me a while to track down this forum; but I figured there had to be one somewhere that focused on the initial search and not just on the Visa part of things.  I suppose my best bet would be to post a profile on a couple of the matching sites and let the ladies who want to live in the landlocked countryside come to me.

[Philb]

... in response to Farmer looking for wife, posted by Roark on Mar 17, 2004

[This message has been edited by Philb]

What Zink says below is right on.  It is possible to find a girl who will fit into a rural lifestyle, it just takes a little more work and time.

It is true that alot of these girls in rural areas will not have regular internet access.  But this is changing.  I spent three weeks last spring in a small town and there was internet access through the post office and on a limited basis through the schools.  

I live in a town of 50,000.  My observation is that a town of this size in the USA has all of the amenities of a city of 500,000 in the FSU (and in many ways more).  Granted there are some exceptions to this statement but over all this has been my observation.

As I said below I think the best advice I can give is to take your time and be selective.

These girls are out there.

[Roark]

... in response to Re: Farmer looking for wife, posted by Philb on Mar 18, 2004

I did a forum search last night for 'rural' and a few related terms, and learned a lot.  Apparently I'll need to be very explicit in my ad about what it's like here, and take plenty of pictures so they can see that when I say "country," I don't mean "suburb."  (Plenty of Americans from big cities make the same mistake.  When you say "rural" they think of towns under 100,000.)

I live 2 miles from a village of 250 people, with a nice butchershop that has some groceries.  Ten miles away is a town of 1400, with grocery, hardware store, bank, library, doctor, restaurants, and various other shops.  Thirty miles away are towns of 18,000 and 50,000, with all those basics plus a few colleges, theaters, malls, and so on.  100 miles away is St. Louis.

So while I don't mind the idea of my wife going to market every day for fresh food -- in fact, I really like the idea -- it's really not practical here unless she learns to drive.  I have a garden for fresh vegetables much of the year, but I suspect that's not really the issue most times.

The other thing we don't have here is any sort of ethnic Russian community (that I know of).  It's a predominately white, middle-American population.  No ethnic restaurants beyond the usual Chinese and Mexican chains, and no ethnic groceries as far as I know.  If there's an Orthodox church I haven't heard of it.  So while this is hardly the 'frontier' in the American sense, I can see how a woman from the FSU could feel isolated like a true mail-order-bride from the US's frontier days.  (I haven't yet scoured the area for Russian presence, so there may be more here than I'm aware of.)

Thanks for the tips.  I'll definitely be as clear as possible about my situation and intentions, and be patient.

[Zink]

... in response to Farmer looking for wife, posted by Roark on Mar 17, 2004

I was searching for several years and never did find an answer to the farmer problem. I'm a rancher and I figured out the problems that will add to your search. Here's a couple.
#1 There aren't many computers or internet connections in the countryside. So you won't find an abundance of farm girls on the net.
#2 Country life over there is pretty rough. A lot of the people who get off the farms don't want to go back. Some realise that it isn't quite the same here. But you'll probably find ladies that'll say they'd rathe die than go to a farm or village. Of course you run into those attitudes here often enough too.

About the only advise I can give is try smaller cities and your ad idea. You may be able to find people that will help you find a country girl. It's not that there aren't any nice or willing girls available, it's just hard to contact them. Some people say that Ukraine is a good bet, but Russia is mostly rural also.

[WmGo]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

Riga is a really cool city, very historic and beautiful. As was said below, most of the Latvian ladies who are into "MOB" are Russian. I do not recommend Latvia if you are looking for a country girl. The pond is too small and most of the MOB girls live in Riga so it is doubtful you will find one there who wants to live outside a decent sized metro area. I think that you will have better odds in Ukraine.
Good luck!

[Burt]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

I went to Riga for a few days to meet several ladies, and my impressions are about the same as the other guys, i.e,, Latvia might be a long shot.  However, if you're new to this MOB scene (and I don't know), I strongly recommend you first dig everything you can out of the archives.  Much info available.  After that, come back and ask more questions here.  The old hands can be very helpful.  Good luck.  --  Burt

[BubbaGump]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

I went to Latvia.  I can only guess if it's a good place for a farmer to get a wife.  Riga is a big city with over 800,000 people.  Outside of that it's a flat wooded countryside.  Latvia has a lot of forrest and sells timber.  Riga acts as a port for other countries on that river that runs through Riga.  I took a bus from Riga to Daugavpils and then took the train back.  It's only about a 3 1/2 hour trip either way across the country.  

It is not easy to get Latvian girls to move to the US although I think they are the best looking girls out there.  Most of the girls looking to leave were ethnic russian.  The Lats speak a different language which russians don't care to learn.  One reason maybe Latvians don't want to leave so much is that their country is not so bad off at least from appearances, compared to Russia.  Out in the countryside there are a lot of big houses around 5,000 sq feet I'd say.  They have one 9 hole golf course in the whole country and I played it.  I didn't score too well.  It's a tight driving course.  If you're good you can enter the Latvian open.  The scores aren't that great.  

I met a former european teen model on my trip and probably the hottest women over 40 that wants to be a MOB.  She is a stunner in pictures and in person.  Look around on the Bluesapphires or Russiansladies web site if you're curious.  Latvia requires no visa and was a one stop trip with British Airways through London Gatwick.

[Philb]

... in response to dark, posted by dav11 on Mar 15, 2004

I am small town guy and I have found the right girl ( although it took me a while). I would imagine there are plenty of girls in Latvia who would fit into a rural life style.  Just concentrate on the smaller towns and take your time.

And good luck.