Print Page - You need to be a wealthy man...

Well if not a wealthy man at least a well off man. I've read what you maried guys are doing and have done for your wives, several trips over to Russia, paying for a lots of addresses and more to Jack or other agencies owners (How much did you pay Oscar for meeting tons of women?), paying for her to come to you, then you have a new family both with you and back in Russia. You will need to pay for phone calls, presents, support your family in law, pay for your wife when she goes back home. Last, but not least, you'll need to offer her a decent place to live. You know, everybody has high expectations when they marry an American man.

It looks to me that you will need a lot of money to pursue this endeavour. What do you think guys. What advice should we give the newbies, how much money should he be ready to spend, and how well off should he be not to disappoint his bride when she arrives in his home?
Is this enterprise for everybody or only for well off men?

Haroshij

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

In costs...of anything, there is the short term cost and the long term cost. In this little pursuit, your short term, up-front cost will be more expensive. Not alot you can really do about these if you want to swim in those waters. For the average guy (not wealthy) the initial outlay can quickly add up and even be discouraging. Things such as addresses and phone calls and travel and lodging etc can become a formidable initial cost. Then, her visa a plane tickets etc can add up. Certainly more expensive and frustrating than dating the girl down the street, although some girls down the street can be pricey in other ways as Ken C mentioned.

However, I beleive, if you choose wisely---in the long term (like 10 years) the costs will all average out and your initial outlay will be defrayed in time because you married a very practical and beautiful Russian girl. In the final analysis, marriage and women do cost money. Like the old addage, "You can pay now...or you can pay more, later." My 0.02 on this whole money thing, of course grasshopper...one must choose wisely.

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

Haroshij,
I think you put too much emphasis on the extra costs after marriage to a RW. ANY woman you marry will be an extra expense. If you are too frugal to accept this, stay single. There are "different" costs involved in pursuing a RW other than a local one, but I don't know if I would say it is higher. The travel costs of course are higher, but I dated a few "high maintenance" local women that burned quite a bit of my cash. When you take into consideration the high cost of wine-ing and dining, concert/play ticket cost and an occasional weekend get away, I don't know if there is any cost difference. Of course there are no guarantees in either pursuite. You may make many trips (or date many women locally) and come up empty in the end. Or os it really "empty" not to be married to the wrong woman? Any attempt to equate affairs of the heart to your pocketbook will come up short. There is no way to compute this. You could meet your true love at a grocery store on a chance encounter or on your first trip to the FSU or never. There are no rules.
KenC

... in response to or lucky, posted by KenC on Jan 12, 2003

Ken, I think you and others are continuing to misinterpret Haroshij. He is not talking about being frugal. He is telling and asking about the 'marginal' costs of marrying and staying married to a RW vs a home country gal.

We all know that on boards such as this, both the married guys and the looking guys idealize and fanticise about the RW, make things look better than they really are, etc., except for the rare case when we hear the horror story. And then when the horror story appears, the bulk of posters rush to state how it is really the fault of the man.

It just defies logic to think that it will not be much more expensive to pursue, marry and maintain a RW, all other things being equal. All the talk about expensive outings and dinners for AW equalling the costs of overseas travel. This is all presuming the RW will never get to experience these things when she is married to AM and living here.

I don't think we have seen a full accounting of the costs of supporting the extended family of the RW for the average case. Just look at the paucity of postings below under my question and compare to posting under your phone question. And look at the wording of some of those who did post. They are very defensive about this issue and refuse to answer. Rather than answer, the easy thing is to talk about how love cannot be measured in dollars, etc. Similar to politicians waving the flag, talking about mom and apple pie, etc. All of this is a great disservice to newbies.

... in response to Re: or lucky, posted by juio99 on Jan 13, 2003

"It just defies logic to think that it will not be much more expensive to pursue, marry and maintain a RW, all other things being equal"

First of all, all things are NOT equal, or we wouldn't be looking in a foreign land to begin with.

Secondly, although the pursuit is PERHAPS more expensive, I'm not sure why you think it is more expensive to "maintain" an RW. (Gosh I hate to think of what that even means!)

Do you mean the weekly calls home?

Hell, my phone bills are NOTHING compared to when my ex-wife used to call home to Pittsburgh every weekend. THAT was expensive, because she would talk for hours. Kherson for an hour a week is cheap compared to that.

What else does one need to "maintain" an RW? And how is that different? More make-up? Buying fresh vegetables instead of frozen? What is the "cost" of maintenance? I'm not sure what costs you are referring to.

Maybe I am blase to the costs because I can afford it. I don't know. But I am pretty damn sure I am SAVING money now as opposed to what I was spending when I was single. (And that is WITH the added make-up and lingerie costs :-)

And, please don't dismiss the costs of the girl up the road. When I was dating AWs, I was spending over $100 a week. Victoria would let me have it if I spent that much on her. Part of the reason I was able to go to Kiev to meet her was that I swore off dating AWs, and saved the money every week. It was AMAZING how fast I could afford the trip then.

So... YES! I agree, any man interested in this should count the costs. Of course! And the Visa process IS expensive. If a man is struggling to get by, he shoudl forget about this. It DOES cost money. Absolutely.

I just disagree with the concept that once the RW is here she somehow ends up costing more.

I don't see that... I really don't...

... in response to Re: or lucky, posted by juio99 on Jan 13, 2003

and makes your choice.

Before courting my wife, I had spent a lot of my money on holidays and travel to Western Europe, something I now don't have the time, inclination or money for, what with all the trips to Kiev we do now. It's a trade off. Spend your money on whats important for you.

Apart from the early days when I financed everything (all the trips, visa, new cloths etc.) My wife now takes care of the additional costs herself and helps a little with the household bills.

My wife displays a frugality when shopping, she's not cheap, just careful, she has changed my eating habits (the food bill in this household is now about £10-£15 pw less than when I was single, and eating better for it as well.

The gas and electicity charges are less now than before, cheap enough here anyway, it is she who is careful with the thermostats and timers.

Other habits have changed too, whereas before I would think nothing of spending £100 or more on a night out, she would rather we take a drive to the seaside and walk on the pier with a picnic. (which brings me to my next post)

... in response to Re: or lucky, posted by juio99 on Jan 13, 2003

JR,
I answered your posted questions regarding additional costs after marriage with "nothing out of the ordinary" and I meant it. Of course there will be addtional travel expenses for the trips back home, but this is easily offset by the ingrained frugality of my wife's shopping habits. My exwife could easily hurt my budget (greater than a cost of a ticket) with one or two trips to the mall. This is not to say that my current wife has cheap taste either. She just shops better (looking for deals) and makes far less purchases. My in laws have great pride and good jobs so they have not been a financial burden in anyway. Like I said in my previous post, if you want to truly save money, stay single.
-
As far as the costs involved with finding the right woman, it is a bit harder to judge. Just how lucky will one be is not known. I am not even considering the guy that picks one gal out a group of strangers and hopes that it work. If that guy were included the "low end" could be $1,500 or so. The high end has no limit. Like in life there are no guarantees. Oscar made many trips, met many women and spent a lot of money. The truth is that all that didn't guarantee that he would meet right the woman for him. He could have just spun his wheels and not found Miss Right. Even now, there is no guarantee that he has, although it sounds very promising. Or we could look at StanB, who made one trip and by luck was introduced to his current wife. (They appear to be very happily married) Quasimoto has burned $25k, even got married over there, but still is alone today. There is no tangible connection between your pocketbook and finding true love. None.
KenC

... in response to Yes, you can be lucky. Look at the post ..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 12, 2003

Horoshij,
Again, I do not think this is a project that you can throw maney at and be assured of success. I probably spent a total of $5,000 before I brought my wife here. And I had dealings with a rather expensive agency which had very little to do with our being together. The best thing they did was put both of us in a position to meet each other. Fate has run it's course and we are closing in on our fourth anniversary. I see guys post here that this is a numbers game and it is. But there are no guarantees that you will find the right woman for you in X, Y or Z amount of women you meet, it really is up to fate. You can do everything "right" and still not succeed or everything "wrong" and marry the woman of your dreams. We have a saying here, "I would rather be luccky than good".
KenC

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

from any marriage.

It's all a matter of a choice - depending on what type of the lady you are looking for, how as a couple you do your budget. You can find independent RW who will start working here in a couple weeks after she comes to US, you can find AW who would prefer to stay at home (or vice versa). You can blow $25,000 on the wedding, or you can use this money as downpayment on the house, etc, etc.

As far as for courting money - I see people spending much much more here going to fancy Martini bars on Friday nights or buying tons of "toys" they would never need and then financing them with highest interest rate possible. It all depends on your priorities.

Russian Wife

... in response to not any different , posted by RW on Jan 12, 2003

Hi Elena. You should post more often. We miss your clear insight :-)

Yes... I could not agree with you more.

However, one thing I wanted to add about you saying it is no different than finding a woman here is there is a difference. My experience with AWs was that it was hard to find an intelligent, educated woman, who took pride in her appearance, and enjoyed exercising her mind, who thought that staying home and tending house was a worthy pursuit of her time.

The women I found who were intelligent and attractive were also women who had (or wanted) a career and wanted to squeeze being a wife and mother into the space left over after her career.

The women who were 25 pounds over-weight and unmotivated, were happy to stay home with the children.

It was VERY hard to find a mix of the two here. Not impossible, perhaps, but after dating twenty to thirty women in a two year span, I gave up.

As for all of the communications problems I am supposed to have with my wife because she is not completely fluent in the language... I am still waiting.

Haven't seen any yet...

... in response to not any different , posted by RW on Jan 12, 2003

If you find a local girl, she is well established. She knows the language, has a education that is approved in the country. It's more likely that she can contribute to the common budget. You don't need to travel for thousands of bucks. You don't get parents in law that more likely than local parents in law will need your financial support.

I think you RW is very special. It will take a long search and a lot of money to find someone who could get a job so quickly as you did and my Elena did. I think that is the exception that confirm the rule.

I think it's important to be aware of these fact. This "mail order bride" business is growing big, and many of these agencies want to tell us that it is so easy to find a foreign bride. Then there are the cultural differences. I will post about that tomorrow.

Haroshij

... in response to I think there is a difference, posted by Horoshij on Jan 12, 2003

It will take a lot of search to find a girl free of debt in USA :))) LOL
It takes lots of search and effort to find a good spouse to start with. Yes, the local girl might have a language skill, but it takes much more than that to have a good marriage and happy life. People can be talking the same language, but actually do not understand each other.

I am not advocating for marriage agencies. I gave up on that idea long time ago. If people want to buy a nice story, it's their problem. They can invest in many other sweer ideas and financial schemes in US - starting with Carlton Sheets, Mary Kays, Emus, you name it :)

But... what I do advocate is that everybody has a choice - be married or stay single, do it on their own or with the agency, to send money or not, to find girl with good education and language skills, to bring her on K1 or any other way, to discuss money matters and family budget or not, to portrait a true picture of yourself or try to look like a wealthy stud and get yourself 19 year old. List can go on and on. I think the biggest problem is that most of the guys refuse to see that it was their choice to do all of the above and they have to pay for consequences.

I personally do not see ANY cultural differencies in this marriages. All I see is desire/refusal of people to face the reality, put any effort into "preparation" work and than marriage and think that somehow it will work after meeting sombody in Russia. That's all. Most of them do not care to do a little research, think with their brains, talk to professional people about any sort of advice (financial, legal, etc). I see people doing more preparation work before investing into stocks. And then they come back crying about "evil" Russian empire. No kidding.... :) Some of those russian sharks will eat you alive :)

Everything else - money to in-laws, trips, INS papers - that is all such a small fee to pay that I don't think it is important to become a major focus.

Russian Wife

... in response to not convinced, posted by RW on Jan 12, 2003

I agree it can be difficult to find a good partner. It was that for me, and for me it seemed easier to find one in Russia. However, when you talk about difficulties of understanding each other regardless of what language you speak, I can only say that these problems are universal, and it doesn't make it easier with a foreign lady.

I agree also that we all have to make choices, still I think you have greater possibilities to do what you want to do if you have enough money to do it. It's too easy to say that money don't count when you have enough of them. If you are living from hand to mouth it can be difficult enough to finance several long travels pluss all the rest.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone. I'm just pointing to something I've noticed.

I also believe that most of the men here on the board and the ladies who are searching for a foreign man, are resoursfull people. You need some initiative to try to do something to change your life. However, there are many examples of how bad such relationship can be.

Haroshij

... in response to not convinced, posted by RW on Jan 12, 2003

I don't think I have seen a post that I agree with more then what you just wrote. Many people tend to group everyone in the same catagories when everyone is very different. It can work if you are not wealthy, it can work if you marry the first women you meet, it can work if you're filthy rich.... But it may not last if you don't do the right things with the right woman. It's up to YOU on how you want to go about it... And you're right, it's not the Evil Russian Empire... :) Sometimes it's their fault for jumping into bed the first day they meet and mistake that feeling for love instead of lust, which is what it is. Maybe it's as simple as painting the wrong picture...

- RW Wrote; "It will take a lot of search to find a girl free of debt in USA :))) LOL"

Now that is funny! :) And very true...

- RW Wrote; "It takes lots of search and effort to find a good spouse to start with. Yes, the local girl might have a language skill, but it takes much more than that to have a good marriage and happy life. People can be talking the same language, but actually do not understand each other."

Amen to that... I believe many women that I have dated speak a language I don't even know.... :) When I started on this journey, a few months ago, I wrote to a few women. All but one said they spoke English good. I came into this thinking it is important that the women spoke English good. It turns out the one I like the most is the one that hardly spoke English. Even those early calls we understood each other more then most AW that I dated. After only a short time we are able to communicate well and getting better each week. I am glad I didn't let that hold me back.

IMHO the hardest part in doing this has nothing to do with money, communications or cultural differences... It's the emotional toll of being so far apart after you meet someone that you think is the right one. If you truly love each other then that love will strengthen with time away from each other. But that's my humble opinion... :)

... in response to Re: AMEN TO THAT RW!!!! , posted by Horoshij on Jan 12, 2003

anyone here will ever do is finding a person to share their life with...an interpersonal relationship...going from ME to We, and getting it right. This is more difficult than a job or career, or having or not having money. If you know of something more difficult you will ever do in your lifetimes, please tell me, as I have not found it!

Ken is right as there are no rules. Our friend from Norway is right in that it is better to be lucky. Others are correct in that it is better to be able to communicate, than to be able to converse (I personally prefer both.)

There is no easy way. There are no shortcuts. There is not a place in the world where you can go to meet the perfect group of women. There does exist in the FSU though, a place where you can meet many, many, good looking girls, in a short time.

I have known mine for 2 years, we email almost every day, and I'm still not sure, as I worry more about me than I do about her.

There is just no easy way. Any relationship can turn to sh1t. How lucky do you feel? You can fool yourself, lie to yourself, and not look at the way things really are, as opposed to the way you would like them to be.

Put your own house in order first, be realistic, then begin your search.

But then, I don't know much, and am only a Moe...thus, just my opinion.

Cheers.

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

of course, it really depends upon who you are and just what you are looking for. It is a good idea to have a decent income. This is not for the budget-conscious. And meeting and marrying your candidate in the FSU will be more expensive and time consuming than meeting and marrying the girl who lives 20 miles away.

However the true "costs" of a marriage are not evident until one is married. The $$$ spent in meeting the "right" candidate (here or there) is really the chickenfeed. The courting costs---- any way you cut it---it is after marriage that the true costs are evident. Whether you spent $1000 or $10,000 to get to the marriage stage is really of little consequence. The true cost is tallied AFTER the marriage. Then, keep adding zero's.

Love and marriage is gonna cost some money. No matter who you marry or where they are from. Choose wisely. In the long run one may be better off spending $10K just to meet the "right" girl. Rather than blowing a quick $2K and marrying the first one who you encounter. The so-called "courting money" is money you should be prepared to spend. And possibly loose.

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

I also feel that being wealthy is not as much of an issue as some people try to make it seem. If I dated an AW over the same time I am writing a Ukrainian woman and visiting her, I'll bet I will have spent the same amount. By going to Ukraine or Russia it may seem like more, because the two week trip can add up. As long as you know how to budget your money and you are honest about it, you really do not have to be wealthy to do this.

I went to Ukraine about 9 years ago. Expenses now our minimal compared to back then. There were no discount's for phone service at that time and it was expensive. Before I went, my phone bills were $200 a month and that really wasn't talking that much. Now you can get .16 cents a minute or less and so even phone calls are minimal.

I know that after meeting and marrying expenses will deffinately go up. It will also go up with anyone you marry. Also your household income should go up as she starts to get out and find a job or career of her own. I don't believe a guy working a minimum wage job could do this but an average income is enough as long as you are able to budget your money and spend wisely. You can do that without being cheap. As someone else just said, you can save enough money just by not going to the local pub as often as you were...

Also IMHO it is wise to discuss all this early and to be honest about it. I think that is the most important issue.

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

I cannot say for sure as I have not put the ring on my future wife’s finger as of yet. But I am not real wealthy I save my money and have a goal. I have changed my lifestyle to make what I want happen. The economy in the U.S.A. is not playing in my favor but I refuse to let that get in my way. I myself have gone over to EU two times. I did it completely on my own with no help from agency except for advice and paying about $100 total to pick women and write to them. I got lucky and feel that I have found the one for me, but as I said the ring is not on her finger and I have not started the visa process as of yet. In saying this I refuse to think that you must be some rich man to make this happen. If you choose wisely and simply take things slowly you can handle the expenses. My budget so far has been saving about $500 to $600 per month for this endeavor. So lets say I travel to Russia in May. I start in January and save $500 per month. I purchase my plane ticket in February, searching out the best deal. I then continue to save the same $500 a month for expenses while I am in Russia. Now as I have said, I got lucky so far. My girlfriend in Russia pays for all travel for herself in her country as well as many things like some food etc. It is my feeling that for this really to work it must go both ways. I save and spend and she saves and spends as much as she can. It shows that she really feels as much about this as I do and that she is not trying to scam me or anyone else. It is about love and friendship. If you work hard to find your true friend in this EU area and this actually happens, you will be rewarded beyond what you could normally find in your area that is if your area is the U.S.A.

Now this is my opinion but if your not a very attractive man maybe over weight and your not very sociable your going to have to be very lucky or spend a little more money to go through the ups and downs of finding the right woman for you. But when you find the right woman you will be happier that you have ever been in the past. My opinion is that for these types of men to find the right woman they have to make sure their standards are in line. But this thinking has always been common sense for me, if your ugly and pick some model then your going to spend the money to find the right one, even when you think your have the right one your going to have to work so hard to keep her. I myself am average looking, I found and average looking woman, she is 10 years younger but I also look young. Our goals and dreams are in line and we are both taking this whole process slow as well as the fact that we are both putting the same money and effort into making our dreams to be together come true.

Rich always helps this process go faster, it can also complicate things as it can become so one sided that it creates suspicion. I do not feel that money has anything to do with this process money is a means to an end. The agencies have created the money issue by making promises and presenting ideas to partner you up with a woman as fast as possible. They are providing a service to those men that sometime have little social skills by holding their hand and walking them through EU. This of course will cost you they are providing a service a service that some seem to not be able to accomplish on their own.

... in response to (*/*), posted by Jack on Jan 12, 2003

I am in the process of applying for a privet visa as my last visit over I went on a tourist and when I went to register at the registers office in Togliatti they made us fill out too much paper work. It was really no problem and they gave me the visa, probably because I am just so dam cute. Anyway next month I will purchase my plane tickets and fly into samara where my girlfriend and her father will pick me up. We will stay in Togliatti for a couple of days long enough for me to ask her father for his daughter’s hand. Then my girlfriend and I will fly to St. Petersburg for the 300 celebrations, she has some friends in that city that we will be staying with. I will propose in this city and give her the ring that I designed myself with her favorite stones, with of course Russian gold or as we know it Rose Gold. We will then go back to Togliatti and I will fly home. At that time I will have the paper work going and then play the game. I am again in the process of changing jobs and it will not be so easy but she has a great job so we are both saving. We are still madly in love I received some great Christmas gifts from her one was a shirt that was advertisement for the Lada car from the auto plant in Togliatti. I love wearing it in the local bars here in Detroit they get quite a kick out of it. Still have my bottle of Russian Champaign I just couldn’t open it on New Years like I planed. I will wait until Ol is by my side.

... in response to Wealthy man is it needed? It really dep..., posted by Ryan on Jan 12, 2003

Ryan, just so you don't mess up things.
Russia is not a member of the European Union. When the new members (the biggest of them are Poland) are accepted, the EU will be the biggest market without customs duties in the world. Norway is not a member, but we have an agreement that gives us access to the inner market. Most people here have been thinking that we would be better off alone since our economy is so good. I regret that because for me the economical issue is not the most important aspect, but the greatness in making a union in a part of the world where it has been so much bloodshed. Im in for the idea, and it's a pleasure for me to notice that the opinion in Norway against the EU is beginning to change. Right now there are more than 50% that want to join the union.

I think it will be a long time, very long time till Russia will be a member. They are too big, and the problems are too comprehensive.

Haroshij

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

I cannot say that one needs to necessarily be a wealthy man for this endeavor. I have a friend who makes 35K a year and he and his RW have been married for 2.5 years and are doing just fine. Some of these women actually do marry for love and not just for money. ;-)

On my first two trips, I did not pay for any addresses as meeting as many women as I wanted to was included in the cost of the trip.
The third trip, I went totally on my own without any agency help (this is the way I persoanlly recommend). I met women in agencies once I got there, I went to the agencies in person with my interpreter. I never paid more than $10 per address/phone.
My last trip, I used Jack to help me with interpreters and flats and I used some of the internet agencies like Absolute Agency and American Singles to find women to correspond with before going. They pretty much have a $19.95 per month deal for all the women you wish to correspond with, but I would say that I could not recommend them to a guy who has not had experience with FSU women before. They have a very high scammer rate and if you have not paid your dues to develop your scammer radar, you could be eaten alive.. ;-) I met some very nice girls from them but really had to weed out a number of scammers beforehand.
This last trip I also ran an ad for the first time and that is how I found my fiance. Wish I had used ads sooner! I am totally sold on this method, not just because I found my girl this way, but because I met a lot of very nice, sincere girls this way. It cost next to nothing to run it. Jack is the one who set it up for me in Dnepropetrovsk.

It's hard to say how much a guy should look to spend because it depends on how many trips it takes to find her and what method you use. One trip on your own, staying in private flats (I was able to get excellent flats in Kiev for $20-$30 per night through my interpreter there) running ads, etc., is not very expensive. But if you're doing a major tour, staying in a first class hotel and wanting to pay $100-$150 per night, it's obviously going to be much more expensive.
Certainly it takes some cash to bring her here for travel etc.. But I don't think it's particularly prohibitive for most guys with a job.

... in response to You need to be a wealthy man..., posted by Horoshij on Jan 11, 2003

We have to fly such a long way and it costs us a little more in time. Then it takes us 1 to 3 days to recover from the time change. During the summer which is the best time for us to travel the air fares double. We don't have much vacation either, normally 2 or 3 weeks. Is it easier for you to maybe drive or take a train to Helsinki or Oslo and take a direct flight to Saint Petersburg? The English can go to Gatwick airport and get a direct flight almost anywhere in Europe. I always thought the venture was tougher on Americans, Canadians and Australians since we have so far to go.

We did compare costs a while back. I've spent over $10,000 so far but I have to be ready to spend at least that much more to become successful. Our former board cheapskate MDante had his girl pay her way to get here and it cost him just over $2,000 for himself. I expect they're divorced now.

From what I have read the average man going to Russia from the USA anyway has a college education and a higher than average income. This is mostly for well off men.

... in response to Is it any easier for Europeans?, posted by BubbaGump on Jan 11, 2003

You're right it's cheaper also in Norway if you live in the Oslo region. However, even if Norway has a little population the country is big in extension. We have some big distances here. Traveling from the northenmost part of the country to the southernmost is the same distance as from the southern point to Italy. Domestic flight with SAS is very expensive. They have higher prices here than for example in Sweden because they say that the market is willing to pay for it.

Though, if you are living in Finnmark (the northermost county of Norway) it's a short way to the Russian border and to Murmansk. The city of Kirkenes has even some of the street names in Russian because of all the visitors from Russia.

I believe it's cheapest for our friend here on the board from Southern England to travel to Russia or Ukraine.

I'm not a rich man either, but I'm able to save some money every month, but when I was looking for a foreign lady, I for a periode spent more money than I made.

Haroshij

... in response to Is it any easier for Europeans?, posted by BubbaGump on Jan 11, 2003

I live within a stones throw of Gatwick, 3 1/2 hours flying time to Kiev with a time difference of just two hours. London actually has five international airports and an international rail terminal, so finding cheap tickets to anywhere isn't a problem.

During the courtship time, I went over every four or six weeks for a long weekend, Total cost of each trip around £300+. Add the phone calls, cost of her tickets and visa etc. Expensive? Compare that to what I had been spending on nights out in Londons West End.

I didn't buy any addresses,newspaper adds,interpreters, use guides, agencies, cabs everwhere, luxury Kreshatik flats, VIP lounge at Borispol or visit those gaudy Kiev nitespots, prefering to visit the hydropark, museums, ballet, circus and just usual Ukrainian restuarants and bars, or spend time alone with my lady or with her family and friends.

Call me cheap if you want, but being able to get to know my girl really well over an extended time....priceless.

I don't consider myself "well off" by any means, I earn just a little above average for here and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. I get four weeks paid holidays from my job, but I take (as is usual here) another four weeks unpaid holidays.

For an average Englishman to afford this venture is no great shakes, he won't need to earn top money or have any special education. Just give up the visits to the pub.

Can you give us a run down on what you've spent that ten grand on?

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GoodWife / Planet-Love Archives => Threads started in 2003 => Topic started by: Horoshij on January 11, 2003, 05:00:00 AM