Hi to everyone out there reading rw_man’s blog!
I’m certainly happy to be here, and I mean that in more than electronic form.
Yes, I did it, packed up and moved (perhaps more appropriate than saying “got fed up, planned, and left”) to the former FSU.
I really don’t miss my ‘ol home one bit.
It’s weird you know, because on a strictly physical comparison there is no contest.
Let’s see: do up a comparison: my home city .. more beautiful setting, check .. better climate, check .. higher quality of life, check .. more activities available, check .. modern, high tech, convenient, check check check.
So the runaway winner is…
The envelope please – here! The winner going away, it’s not even a horse-race!
Now I’ve travelled a bit so I had a fair idea of what to expect.
I decamped in this area for specific reasons though. My expectations have been fulfilled. Anyone familiar with this blog knows what I’m talking about..
We’re talking Dyevushkee’s. Punemiyo?
You see, my experience has been that one can have all the physical trappings of success and not be content. Add in that I was bored. So bored.
Well that’s all changed!
What I really really wanted is to pursue the old classic romantic avenue of relationships.
This will be a challenge and I’d have it no other way. It wouldn’t be sincere if it wasn’t.
Notice the words I’m emphasizing.
Romantic, classic, challenge, sincere. Not “girls gone wild”, pick-up , marriage agency.. any of that.
It’s almost impossible in the west to find an attractive lady that isn’t putting on an act or playing head games. With the confused and deteriorating social structure at home the hope for any of this is about nil.
Here the rules are quite clear, though the learning curve is steep.
I’m prepared to climb that curve.
See ya at the top!
- Newexpat
July 13, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Yeah man! Keep on dreaming! And don’t give up…The odds are with you in those lands…
July 13, 2007 at 11:06 pm
I hope to meet you and RW_man in person some day.
July 14, 2007 at 7:53 am
Hey, thanks guys! Certainly the odds are with me. I am trying to be realistic about how quickly I will adapt .. I still have traces of reticince in my approach due to the negative programming when interacting with the women of the west. Classic approaches , as you know, are scorned, ridiculed, and demonized there. Be glad to shake that monkey off my back.
Hmm, that sounds like a future topic.
July 14, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Hey Newexpat, how about telling us some more about you like your age, profession, details of your move to Russia, etc. (If you already posted this info elsewhere and I didn’t see it, then sorry-my bad).
July 14, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I agree with hero. If you share more details about your person, your story could inspire even more.
July 14, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Congratulations on your move.
Did you arrive on a 1 year Visa? And if so, is it true that after the first six months that you must cross the border out and then again return?
You can get a Visa renewal where? when you plan to remain for another or more years?
Russia is a big place. Do you have any ideas yet as to where you might like to settle without actually giving the specific names?
I’ve been to so many places in Canada that I’ve found that each city and town has its own character. And then, therefore, each place more or less suits a particular type of person.
It would be curious to know about the various characters attached to each city or town. We’ve all heard about Moscow and St-Petersburg….
Continued best wishes.
July 15, 2007 at 8:06 am
I’ll do my best to answer your questions guys, but for various reasons — personal, or maybe just not knowing some of the answers yet to questions about here — some details may be unclear.
You might think of me as “early retirement “. I’m not 50, so I guess I’m lucky to depart the continent ahead of schedule so to speak. I was a business manager in my past life .. if you’ve been uptodate on RW’s writing you may have already surmised I speak in the manner of “ooot and abooot ”
My story is legion. Factors : Paucity of attractive or slim women. Bad bad attitudes. Rampant double standards and inequality. Constant threat of allegations — and that IS scary when you observe it in play on other guys so often ( actually, that is what sealed the deal in my decision to leave). Sorry, but I am just not going to expose my ass-ets to such marginal opportunity.
Having been over here before I knew that to have hassle-free travel I would require a 1 year multi-entry business visa, which I obtained. That’s my recommendation to any other guys by the way.
Canuck , yes, I do notice that certain areas or cities have their own characteristics. I’m hanging out south and east in Siberia. ALso,it’s immediately apparent comparing my other trips that there is just a magnitude more attractive ladies here .. and places like Moscow & Kiev etc aren’t exactly barren soil in the first place.
Again, thanks for the cheers guys!
July 17, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Mr Expatriate,
It would be a coincidence if this actually is your surname
Anyway, welcome aboard and great to hear that you seem to be getting on just fine.
I just wanted to agree with the statement made by Canuck, above, about telling / teaching us a little bit about the characters of the various cities in Russia, and the attitudes of women in each.
As you appear to be a bit of an experienced traveller in those parts it would be interesting to know. And any insight you can give in relation to comparisons between cities would also be a benefit I’m sure.
For my own personal reasons I would especially like to know what your (or anyonne else out there), (GL and Wonderlander maybe you can help also), views and opinions are of Chelyabinsk. Both by itself and in comparison to other places.
Many thanks in advance,
Tom
July 18, 2007 at 9:27 am
Sure Tom, I’ll do my best but I am surely a rookie in comparison to some of even the commentors here.
Really, these are just my own notes , mileage may vary.
Moscow was a positive experience for me, which is strange I guess as others have had less gratifying visits. It’s a busy city with more seriousness than others I have been to. The girls may be more worldly and citified , yet for just one example visiting nightclubs — typically a hard nut to crack — getting numbers were not a problem.( I prefer dealing with the staff !) Expensive yes, but nothing unexpected. Worth it just for the museums and sights alone IMO. Dyevushka’s.. well maybe there are superior locations.
Lately I’ve heard expectations have shot through the roof. Is it spoiled?
Kiev was more difficult than Moscow, but I think that was just the way the cards played out. At that time I was still way down on the learning curve .. if I visited again I would approach it all much differently. The trick I think is to stay out of the core but it’s not easy because certain areas aren’t that safe for non-veteran travellers.
These are capitals but the real gold is in the smaller centers. Why go where it is heavily travelled. Why not travel to where there is less jadedness, you are more unique and desireable, and the pickin’s are better? Slam dunk to moi. So Chelyabinsk .. hmm.. well smaller is good, how far from Moscow is it ( further is better ), what’s the gene pool like?
July 19, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Anecdote…
I had been approached by a very charming Russian girl of Asian decent. She lives much nearer to China than to the Ukraine. She asked about my desire to have children. Her comment was very telling.
“Of course, I understand that for every man a son is most important and that every man must have a son.” This came after I asked about her preference of gender.
A Siberian city girl spoke to me about “her” desire to have a girl. I love the idea too. But this is not the point. The point is how sociology and place can influence a girl’s “options and ambitions”.
Directly, the power of place is key. And what may be heaven for me, may be only alright for someone else, and vice versa.
Is it true that Volgograd, fareastern Russian girls are more demure than Russian girls on the border of Finland?
There is little broad knowledge yet about the various regional characters for us to refer to easily.
The Asian rim’s influence cannot be discounted. And neither the influence of Europe on a girl from Kaliningrad, between Lithuania and Poland at the Baltic Sea.
Simply keep in mind your best fit and where you might more likely find it. It may be a plan, who knows, listen to all comments, to follow one’s gut, to be relatively flexible and open and then putting one’s feet in the water before diving.
Russia is a huge place. And so is this question of finding “a little piece of heaven”.
Perhaps we should hunt for a Russian man who works for the national railway or Aeroflot and buy him a vodka, or dinner if he’s a talker?
July 19, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Context… A place which produces these kind of girls is an enigma. And that’s always interesting to a curious Westerner. Attached or not, to know more about what made “her” the way she is can help to know her better.
Off the beaten path? Very good transportation or reliable mass. And I agree with Newexpat, about where to look for gold.
But… she just could be someplace you didn’t expect.
What I’m saying is to consider the wisdom of following your heart every step of the way, instead of a rigid travel log.
Remember the guessing game, where your guesses are commented according to “warmer” or “colder”?
There’s the Russian Starship Enterwise costs. Or there’s, The Cult “Enter At Your Own Risk” costs, which very often includes the cost of a house for someone you don’t even like.
I really hope that you all find her. Such beauty without a fine man is simply not right.
March 13, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Mr. Expat
Can you expand on the subject of obtaining the appropriate work visa? What was needed? Hard? lengthy? Thanks.
March 14, 2008 at 3:24 am
T,
You can only get a business visa if you wish to work and you will need an official invitation from some very established firm or institution in Russia to do that.
You can check out these guys if you’d like to help you with a possible long term tourist visa.
http://www.visatorussia.com/
March 14, 2008 at 11:45 am
Thanks for the tip
T.