Geography is against me

[rwnovice]

The whole Odessa/Kherson thing has to go.  Simply no quick way to get to Lugansk from there.  So, I think I'll use Kiev as a backup.  I'm thinking of either meeting the Lugansk girls there first or of going to Lugansk first and retreating to Kiev if there is no chemistry in Lugansk.  I liked Kherson because it seemed to have the biggest cluster of attractive girls.  But, how many do you need anyway?

[Oscar]

... in response to Geography is against me, posted by rwnovice on Sep 20, 2002

You know, this is talked about a lot, that this or that city has more or less "beautiful" girls..  But the bottom line is that they ALL have beautiful girls and as long as it's not just some small village, you will never run out of beautiful women in any of them!  It's just that an agency in a certain city may post more girls or whatever so you might think there are more girls there.  I really do not for a second believe that there are any more beautiful women in one city than another (again, I am talking average to large size cities.  The key then just becomes what city do you want to work from?  A suggestion would be to run a few ads in a couple of cities and wherever you get the best response, go there.  Then get connected with an agency or two and start writing a few girls there as well as the ones you will be writing from your ad..  
I did what you are thinking of doing-  My last trip, I went to Dnepropetrovsk, a place not a lot of guys go.  But it is quite a large industrial city (one of Ukraines largest) in the middle part of the country.  I met about 15 women there I had planned to meet, and unknown to me at the time, my future fiance.  Then I went on to Odessa to meet about 15 girls there I had planned to meet.  But I really liked the girl who would later become my fiance, so after meeting the girls in Odessa, I went back to Dnepro to her.

Kiev is a great city and you will never run out of beautiful ladies there.  For whatever reason, I never see as many women on web sites from there as some other cities, but I guarantee, you will have no problem ever coming close to running out of lovely ladies there.  It's a fun city, I have been there on 2 trips and there is a lot to do there, but also a LOT of American and other foreign men go there and for that very reason, I decided to go off the beaten path to Dnepro this last trip and I was glad I did.  

It is a LONG way from Lugansk to Kiev or Odessa as it is in the very eastern tip of the country.  In looking at the map, you might consider Dnepropetrovsk (which I think is an untapped gold mine for girls), or Poltava.  Your profile doesn't mention your age but if you are on the younger side, Kharkov would be a good choice as there are a lot of university girls there.  But these 3 cities would all be easier for your girls from Lugansk to get to and they are not too far from Kiev for you to retreat back there if you wish.

For what it's worth.

[rwnovice]

... in response to Re: Geography is against me, posted by Oscar on Sep 20, 2002

Mark has exposed a scammer in Lugansk.  I was recently told by the "internet cafe manager" that my favorite Lugansk "girl" would be cut off from communication until her translation bill was paid.  She wants $100 a month for unlimited translation.  I told her I was getting Ukrainian/English translation software and have not heard from the "internet cafe manager" or my "girl" since.  I even had my own interpreter send Ukrainian messages in the last couple of days without reply.  Really discouraged right now.  Has anyone heard of translation money scams from "interpreters"?

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Re: Thanks Oscar-but bumming right now, posted by rwnovice on Sep 21, 2002

Wait a minute.... I said I THINK she was a scammer. I can't say I "exposed" her.

However, I sent you an email telling you how you CAN expose her if you are interested...

[Oscar]

... in response to Re: Thanks Oscar-but bumming right now, posted by rwnovice on Sep 21, 2002

Yes, it really sounds like this was one to walk away from, no doubt, but if you are serious about this endeavor, you can't let one bad apple ruin your whole outlook.  There really are a ton of nice, sincere women there waiting for a sincere guy!  I know because many here, including myself, have found them!
I will tell you seriously how I would personally proceed if I were still looking.  This is how I would proceed, others may feel differently.

First, decide where you want to go.  Kiev is fine, Odessa, Dnepro, Kherson, wherever..
Then run a couple of ads there.  Jack can help you with putting together a great ad.  One very important factor in using ads is to have a local address and phone number for the girls to call for more info and to drop letters and pics to.  Jack can set that up for you and have one of his people scan photos and letters to you for next to nothing!  If you are very specific in your ad, and have a well done photo, you can get a lot of good responses.. Then get with a reputable agency (again, Jack can help you with this as he works with many different agencies and usually knows if they are scam agencies or not).  You pick some women from their web sites and start writing.  But I will again reiterate-  I think if you go, you plan on meeting at least 10, hopefully more, girls that you are really looking forward to meeting!

When I went on this last trip, I was corresponding with about 18 different women!  I found them all on free web sites (not something I recommend if you don't have experience with scammers because there are a lot of them on these free sites!  My ad in Dnepro ran really late so I didn't get the results really until I got there.  But my fiance found me through my ad!  She has never been in an agency and had no desire to join one.  She saw my ad in the paper and she tells me that when she saw my photo and what I had to say, she decided to contact me through the local address.  Again, VERY low scam factors from personal ads.  I was very excited to meet a lot of the women I was writing to.  Some I wrote to more than others and three or four I had spoken to by phone quite a bit as well and I ended up with NONE of these girls! LOL!  It often happens this way, I have heard it many times!  Again, chemistry online is not the same thing as chemistry in person!  

This endeavor is NOT for the faint of heart or those who give up easily.  With every girl you write, every girl you speak to by phone and every girl you meet and go out with once there, will greatly expand your experience and your confidence level with them!  Once you find the right girl there, you will not believe how great they can be!  So I hope you don't give up..  You can learn a lot here and if you want it to work, it most definitely can, but you must be willing to pay the price for success!

Oscar

[rwnovice]

... in response to Re: Re: Thanks Oscar-but bumming right n..., posted by Oscar on Sep 21, 2002

I would have thought the large agencies were more of a scammer haven than free sites.  Whatever.  Ok.  I'm beginning to see the wisdom of the multiple contact approach.  And then only briefly before you meet in person, I think.  I've done internet dating domestically, and I know what a waste of time phone and emails are until you look them in the eye.  So I'll now expect a percentage of my contacts to be scammers.  I guess that's part of the risk of looking for attractive women.  Really didn't want to do the personal ad thing in local papers.  But it's beginning to look like the same needle in the haystack operation it is domestically.  I'll tell you, I've gone out with over 3 dozen different girls since my divorce 2 years ago from my scammer AW.  Things are looking bleak all over at this point.

[KenC]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Thanks Oscar-but bumming rig..., posted by rwnovice on Sep 21, 2002

Novice,
If you're an experienced Internet dater, you should be able to do just fine in FSU.  Some of the same tactics should be used in the FSU as you should have used here ie., don't fall in love over the Internet, don't even get too attached until you meet.  I also dated quite a few AW I met from the Net before I went to Russia and I thought that it was very good prep work.  The biggest difference, as I see it, is that AW were very reluctant to show their photos, where FSU women lead with their photos.  (Hmmm, there IS a message in that)
-
Keep your radar up for possible scams, but don't get too paranoid about it.  Some basic common sense is your best tool here.  You must know that any self respecting FSU woman would never ask you for money.  On the other hand any agency is in the business of making money.  There can be some real curve balls thrown at you in this process.  Just remember that you are dealing with a different culture and language.  Leave a little "wiggle room" for miscommunication because of them.  Don't jump to any quick conclusions (good or bad).  The truth (good or bad) will usually come to the surface in time.  Best of luck.
KenC