First Trip - Off to Tver

[oldbutspry]

Well guys, I just decided to take the plunge and go over there and see what it's like for myself.  I'm going over to Tver with Lifetime Partners from May 13th to May 29th.  I'm doing things a little differently than most.  I haven't yet written to any women.  (Actually, I chatted with a woman in Moscow briefly a while back but I am not going to see her).  So now I am about to start writing like gangbusters.  I just don't see the point of too long a correspondence since you can only learn so much about someone that way.  I know I will probably catch a lot of flak for my approach but we each gotta do it our own way.  I also like LP's way of doing things.  Everything is above board and there is no need to deceive anyone about whether you are meeting someone else.

On a related note:  I was thinking of getting 2 or 3 suits made while I was there.  Have any of you done this?  Would there be any problem getting them back here (how would anyone know where they were made)?  I would think clothes in general would be a relative bargain there.

What an adventure!

John

[KenC]

... in response to First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by oldbutspry on Apr 11, 2002

John,
Please understand that my experience with LTP was a few (4) years back and before the change in ownership.  Even though there is a new owner, I know that Clarke (one of the founders) and his wife are still involved with the agency.  I had no problem with "no shows" as some here relate.  There was only one woman (out of 9 or 10) that couldn't be reached by the office.  My now wife, Lena was waiting in the office for over 2 hours upon my arrival, because I was later than expected.  The next morning, another woman left her job to come in to meet me.  I later found out that she was supposed to be very picky, but she chose to come in for the unscheduled meeting after being phoned by Nadia (the office manager).  The only critisism I had with LTP was that the flat I had was rather shabby.  I would also have to agree with Bobby that the women in general that LTP have listed are limited in the looks area except for the age range that you mention.  At your age, you should have no problems in that area.  You have to understand that you are 10 to 15 years younger than most of their clients.  Have a great time and good luck.  Please feel free to email me with any questions.
KenC

[Bobby Orr]

... in response to First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by oldbutspry on Apr 11, 2002

I have been to Lifetimepartners twice, the last time March 2001.  It would have been once but I did a fiance visa with a girl and came to see her a second time (she had a young child which was my prime reason for leaving her there).  You are in for a most interesting vacation.  You are going to a pond that has been known for a long time and well fished.  The owner sold to a new owner who is trying to spruce up the agency - and has jacked his prices for good measure.  However, window dressing only goes so far.  Getting pretty girls is a big problem in a small town that has had 200 plus Americans per year for 8 years.  The interpreters / service you will receive from Lifetimepartners is first rate - the best I have ever dealt with.  Like I mention above, if you are going for a looker choices are slim.  You may have some young new girls (18 - 21) without children and a few lookers with children 22 to 30 - and that is it.  Chances are you will be meeting one dog after another in a coffee shop or restaurant that would have been long condemned in the US.  If you find a super girl you will not mind.  Half the girls you want to meet will not show up and you will be sitting around in their office.  I am not sure all the girls on their website or in their books are active members.  I guess if you have not been with a woman in years or do not care about looks you will be in hog heaven.  Tver is the worst dump (Novosibirsk was the biggest dump)I have ever been to in the FSU, but it does have charm because it is a smaller city and people are generally friendly.  Make sure you take some time and at least check out red square in Moscow.  Hopefully you can go to the Kremlin, St. Basil's cathedral, see Lenin in his tomb (it is all in the same are and possible in one day).  Luckily, the interpreters will hold your hand every step of the way, City Club is a cool night-time hangout and things are cheaper there.  You should not have to spend more than $200 for a two weeks stay for food.  Good luck.  I hope you get lucky.

[Philb]

... in response to Been there twice, posted by Bobby Orr on Apr 12, 2002

I was curious about your statement concerning Novosibirsk.  I have never been there.  But, I am considering going there as part of a back up plan.

[Bobby Orr]

... in response to About Novosibirsk, posted by Philb on Apr 12, 2002

I have been there last October on business and I'll be back there soon after I get back from Sochi, Russia this April.  Novosibirsk is a big pit of a place.  It is dirty, disgusting, primative with nothing worth seeing when you know anything about the Russian culture.  If you have never been to the FSU it would be ok.  The flight in is an absolute b@tch if you fly through Moscow because you get to Moscow and then have a huge wait for the Aeroflot flight to Novosibirsk.  Aeroflot flies to Novosibirsk once a day.  You leave Moscow at 10:30 at night and get there at 5 am the next morning.  The trip to Novosibirsk was easily the hardest I ever have taken to the FSU.  It took a few days for me to realize where I was.  I never felt that jet lagged anywhere else I went.  

As far as girls, there are good girls anywhere in the FSU.  One super positive is that things are really cheap in Novosibirsk.  Another is that there is little overt mafia presence there.  Another positive which you might feel is a negative is that any girl with half a brain must be truly desperate to get out of there.  I would only go there if there was overwhelming evidence that I had a super pool of girls to choose from.  Another positive is there has to be very little Americans going over there looking for girls.  Likewise there are few Europeans.

Why not go to a beautiful place like Sochi?  There has not been a reputable agency there until maybe now.  Very few Americans have been there and it is a resort area.

[thesearch]

... in response to Been there twice, posted by Bobby Orr on Apr 12, 2002

[squirecam]

... in response to Been there twice, posted by Bobby Orr on Apr 12, 2002

Hey Hockeybrain

Though your experiences with Tver have certianly left you bitter, that does not mean that LTP does not have nice women to meet. You wrote:

________________________________________________________
I have been to Lifetimepartners twice, the last time March 2001.
________________________________________________________

Well, there is a new owner now, and maybe things have changed since you last went.

_______________________________________________________
Getting pretty girls is a big problem in a small town that has had 200 plus Americans per year for 8 years.
___________________________________________________
Maybe you have to look again at the website. And I dont mean just the 18 years olds... And anyways, arent you in this search for a good wife? One that will Love you, treat you right, always be there, ect... Looks fade with age anyways, Its the person inside that counts most.
___________________________________________________
The interpreters / service you will receive from Lifetimepartners is first rate - the best I have ever dealt with.
____________________________________________________
Ok.

_____________________________________________________
Like I mention above, if you are going for a looker choices are slim. You may have some young new girls (18 - 21) without children and a few lookers with children 22 to 30 - and that is it. Chances are you will be meeting one dog after another in a coffee shop or restaurant that would have been long condemned in the US. If you find a super girl you will not mind. Half the girls you want to meet will not show up and you will be sitting around in their office. I am not sure all the girls on their website or in their books are active members. I guess if you have not been with a woman in years or do not care about looks you will be in hog heaven. Tver is the worst dump (Novosibirsk was the biggest dump)I have ever been to in the FSU, but it does have charm because it is a smaller city and people are generally friendly.
__________________________________________________________
So a city full of friendly people are all ugly dogs? Again, this seems to be out of line.

This guy is 33. He should meet many nice, attractive, available women from 18-33. He should have few problems unless his personality sucks big time, which I'm sure it does not, just by the tone of his post.

For the record, I am not R Woody, nor anyone affiliated or financially interested in LTP. I am sure this is the first thing the inevitable flamers will claim....

Squirecam

[hockeybrain]

... in response to Re: Been there twice, posted by squirecam on Apr 12, 2002

Nah, not bitter.  I am just giving my experience with Tver and the agency Lifetimepartners - which is not bad.  I learned alot about the FSU and the fiance visa process from my time dealing with that agency.  However, if a guy wants the girl of his dreams the chance of finding her in Lifetimepartners has slipped greatly.  Now, find Lifetimepartners service / care for the client in another city that was not trolled over by Americans and you have a winner - until that pond becomes overfished.  In any size city there are only going to be a percentage of the women who want a foreign man to start with.  Many cities have pretty looking women.  It is finding cities with pretty women in your age range, with characteristics you are seeking that actually want Americans that is the key issue.
I doubt much has changed but window dressing in the year since I have been gone because the key issue is availability and numbers of outstanding women in the category you are searching for.  In any event, all a guy needs is one - to end the search.

[squirecam]

... in response to Bitter?, posted by hockeybrain on Apr 12, 2002

I agree that all it takes is one. However, look at what this guy has going for him..

a) he's 33. That makes just about every woman available to him

b) He's going... and soon. Not writing month after month

c) Tver is very near Moscow. Should he actually meet no people, he can call plenty of agencies in moscow to arrange additional meetings, and he can get there easily.

As for being "bitter", I just though you were ruining this guys trip before it began. Not all women there are dogs, and he is in the best age catagory to get a "looker" as you call them.

Squirecam

[hockeybrain]

... in response to Re: Bitter?, posted by squirecam on Apr 12, 2002

I did not mean to ruin this guys trip before it began and agree that he has one of the best chances agewise to find a great girl.  Still, I had to alert him to the realities of what he most probably will encounter.

[Oscar]

... in response to First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by oldbutspry on Apr 11, 2002

Hey John.  Tver is an ok place, and Lifetime Partners is a legit agency.  But I hope you are a young guy, because the girls there are VERY young for the most part... Mostly early 20's..

Best of Luck,

[oldbutspry]

... in response to Re: First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by Oscar on Apr 12, 2002

Since when was early 20's "VERY young"?    I'm 33, BTW.

[Oscar]

... in response to Re: Re: First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by oldbutspry on Apr 12, 2002

There is a MUCH bigger difference in emotional maturity between a 20 year old girl and a 33 year old man than there is between a 28 year old woman and a 40 year old man!  Did you know what YOU wanted at 20?? NOT!  I will agree that people in the FSU do mature more quickly in some ways than we do here in the USA but still, you can have only so much "life experence" by 20..

Also, what Bobby says about the "no-show" rate for appointments there with women is true..  My friend and I figured it was about a 50-60% no-show rate.  No call, nothing, they just didn't show up!  I have not found this anywhere else, not in Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk or Odessa!

I think part of it is that many of the girls there are kind of sick of the whole thing in a way!  Many of them have been in the agency for years!  A 20 year old may have been in the agency for 2 years or so, and they can get a little jaded and disillusioned with the process over time..  I get a kick out of visiting their web site still once in a while, just to see what girls they have put up as being "new" who I met there almost 3 years ago! LOL!  
They are not a scam agency because of this, many agencies do this, but Tver is not very big and there are only so many women there.. So they kind of "recycle" them and re market them every once in a while..

[KenC]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by Oscar on Apr 12, 2002

Oscar,
I too keep any eye on LTP's site.  I see nothing wrong with them updating photos and bio's of girls that have been there for a while.  Geez, some guys complain that the photos and bio's are outdated.  What's an agency to do?  LOL
KenC

[BrianN]

... in response to Re: Re: First Trip - Off to Tver, posted by oldbutspry on Apr 12, 2002