by Francis
(Canada)
Hi
It's been a year since I started searching for a wife. I've been to Kiev and Poltava for 10 days last February (which wasn't enough). I personaly think that the best way to meet your future wife is simply to go to Russia or Ukraine and set up some dates using dating agencies. You date women until you find the special one. The catch is, in order to do that successfuly, you need to stay there for a couple of months. This way it's guarantied you'll find the woman of your life. I saw some seriously good looking women in Ukraine.
But unfortunately, we don't all have a few months to go live there. We all have jobs and we're not all millionaires. We have responsibilities in our country and we usualy only have 2 to 4 weeks vacation a year.
I'm registered on elenasmodels.com and ukrainedate.com and use the correspondance approach. I find this approach is very good but often you don't have many clear and good pictures. And when you ask for more/better pictures you don't get them. It can feel weird to ask for more clear pictures again!! But I still do it and then they get offended.
So anyway, the real question is: How do you make your trip in Russia or Ukraine the most efficent for a 2 weeks stay? But a really efficent way.
Thanks
Francis
Bob's Answer:
Hi Francis!
Good to hear from you!
I'll start with the easiest thoughts first... When I see a Russian/Ukrainian woman's profile that doesn't have enough good, clear pictures to attract me, I move on to the next one. In such a case I just assume that they posted their best pics, so if the pics posted aren't very clear, there's probably a reason. And this is especially true once you're already in touch and won't send clearer pictures. And if that's the case, it's easy to see why pressing for more, clearer pictures upsets them. AND, asking for more pictures runs the risk of getting you labeled as being obsessed with looks.
Second, what you describe ("go to Ukraine and set up some dates using dating agencies") is typically called the "Individual Tour", but it doesn't really need to take a couple of months. And in my experience, Angelika Network offers the best service in that category BY FAR (I've mentioned that to you before).
But there are things about Angelika tours that really answer your main question as well. You'll need to confirm that the particular affiliate you choose will do this, but I've been on a tour in Kharkov where the deal went like this... The "Individual Tour" was some $100/day (in 2006, maybe a bit more now) and included airport pickup/drop-off, unlimited introductions, up to 25 pre-arranged dates (i.e. you tell them your favorite 25 and send the office a generic intro letter and pictures, and they go through your list contacting each girl, showing them your letter and pics, and ask if they would be willing to meet you. If they are willing, they schedule a meeting), unlimited "office support" (ask the people in the office for advice on whatever you need... where to take a date, what to avoid, advice about a particular girl, help scheduling taxi, etc.), AND... APARTMENT included.
Now here's the part of the deal that isn't on the "first page of the brochure" because it would be too convoluted to try to explain... A minimum length tour is 5 days, BUT, at least in Kharkov when I was there, I had the option of taking the 5 day tour, but staying a whole three weeks in the same apartment. So the first five days included apartment and all the other features mentioned above, and after that I could stay in the same apartment for $50/day (the $100/day was for apartment plus all the features). AND, the agency I dealt with still didn't "cut me off" after the first 5 days. I could no longer request unlimited free intros, but they still spoke to me, gave advice, etc. They even agreed to schedule appointments for me (like my secretary), but only with girls I already met during the first five days (in other words, no new intros were included).
To me that is just an awesome deal because for the first five days you NEED their help much more, and you NEED the intros. But if you do it right, by the time your first 5 days are finished, you have (1) a list of women you want to meet again and their phone numbers, and (2) you know your way around a little better and don't need so much "hand-holding". You mostly only need the apartment after the first 5 days.
So that's one way to go that's extremely "efficient" in my opinion. It's the most economical housing and seriously jump-starts your time there. It looks like now Poltava charges 100 euros/day and Kiev 140 euros/day. But I'm certain that the apartment rental beyond the full tour period would be between 50% and 75% of that full tour rate.
And while you are there nothing stops you from arranging your own dates through other agencies or directly through online connections.
OR, you could save a few dollars and completely bypass the introduction services and just try to book an apartment with the help of a private guide or agency. For example, Daisy Bride (an Angelika affiliate in Kiev) advertises apartments (click the "Apartments" link), and I'm assuming you can rent the apartment without using any of their other services.
OR, depending the time of year, just booking a room in Hotel Rus (http://www.hotelrus.kiev.ua/en.html) can be economical (as low as $86/night, and that includes their AWESOME all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet every day) and 10-15 minutes walk to Independence Square.
As for your several-month program challenges... Read The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. Amazon let's you preview a few pages to get a sense of the subject.
Hope that helps!