ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
Ah, you guys are making me feel ancient not just old. blush.gif

MY first car was a 1950 Pontiac slope back with a straight 8 engine. My biggest toy was a '54 Mercury Convertable that I put a 57 T-Bird Engine in, put a custom top on it, louvered the hood, added three scoops and attempted a candy apple red paint job that was beyond my talents. Of course the stock electrical system in the merc was 6 volt and the T Bird Engine was 12 volt so the darn thing usually didn't start right so I always had to park on a hill. I would have liked to have had a big garage and parked the cars that I traded in for a few hundred including my 57 chevy as well as the 55. My first new car was a 61 Tempest LeMans convertable with the engine in the front and the tranny in the back. It made Motor Trends car of the year that year but I haven't seen any of those in ages. I guess my other favorites were my Javelin and my 78 Z-28 Camero. The car I miss the most these days was my VW Shirocco (SP?) which got 55 miles to the gallon highway and 45 city or so and I could drive for weeks on 5 bucks. The other I liked a lot was the Solstice I just sold to get a clunker (Cougar) for my wife to drive. She would have killed herself in the Solstice.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-08-10 05:44:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I have a feeling the next time will go better. Actually she drives pretty good now but just does something once in a while that scares me to death. For example she starts school on September 2nd. We were going up to her school for testing and you have to make a left on a busy road. There is a trafic light with a left turn arrow so it should not be a problem. There is one lane straight with two signals and then a sign for left turn and a third light with the red light or green left arrow. She saw one lane for straight and two green lights and was all ready to make her left turn just as a bunch of cars were zooming towards us and even though the left turn light was red. If I hadn't stopped her I probably would not be alive since they would have hit my side of the car.

We are now going down to DMV and running the whole driver test course with me making even the smallest corrrections in what she does so hopefully the next time will go ok. She hopes for her drivers liscence before she starts school so I don't have to take her. Actually I would rather take her than visit her in the hospital after a wreck.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-08-07 05:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
Well the last post I made about my wife was that the "first try" at her drivers test would be yesterday. That was a proper guess. The next try will be the 24th.

First off, being a Russian woman she went to the test in heels. She can't drive in heels so she wanted to take her test barefoot. The instructor had a fit. Finally after 10 minutes in the office he came out and said it was illegal in the state he used to live in but there is nothing in PA regulations against it. In the meantime she had put my shoes on and I was standing there in my stocking feet.

Well she pulled out, made a left and went up the wrong side of the road. Instant falure. She aced the paralell parking but did not use turn signals in our out, so that was another black mark. She also just glaced back when pulling out. In the test area she knew no one else would be coming so did not look as thoroughly as they wanted. They skipped the road part since she had already failed and she was there in tears.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-08-06 09:08:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
Drivers of the world BEWARE. Tuesday afternoon she has her first try at her drivers test. The American roads may never be as safe or even the same. She read my previous post about wishing I could bribe the guy giving her the test to fail her and since she is now speaking to me again I won't say much more. Of course when you say something that gets you into trouble sometimes them not speaking to you can be the best thing that can happen. You begin to understand the true meaning of the expression "Silence is Golden"
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-08-02 06:27:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I don't think anyone is drawing any swords. For many of us her taking a bus is not a viable solution. For those who live in a larger city with good bus service it is a good option. For Groov to teach his wife to drive with the idea she would drive everywhere she needs to go would also be foolish. Here we have about 3 or 4 busses a day. You have to walk a long long way to catch one and they don't go very many places.

On the driving front, I think we are getting closer to the day for the big test. The idea of her driving alone still would scare me to death. Too bad this isn't Russia. I could slip the driving test guy a $ 20.00 to fail her. He would probably be shocked since every other driver in Russia would be slipping him money to pass them. I have heard some stories that in Russia you can just buy (bribe) your drivers liscence without ever spending a minute actually learning to drive. One more reason the roads there are hazardous.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-07-10 06:04:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
QUOTE (Satellite @ Jul 3 2008, 09:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Turboguy @ Jul 3 2008, 03:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Want to try an experiment. Go on the website of the Smart ForTwo car and look at the prices. You will see base prices for this tiny two seater car with 45 GPM starting at $12,???,00 Now go on eBay and see if the prices you see for used ones don't hit in the $ 19,000-28,000 range.
Try another experiment:
Go to http://craigslist.org/
Then go to sales.
Then type any combination of:
"Salvage Civic"
"Salvage Echo"
"Salvage Carolla"
"Salvage Golf"
All very fuel economical cars, all well below prices you would pay at a dealership or Ebay.

Yes, but you will also get less when you sell it. We actually looked at a pretty nice Echo at a local dealership that had an R (salvage) title. We saw the car on Sunday and went back on Tuesday ready to buy it but it was already sold. I will agree there are some good values.

I had a pickup with an R (salvage) title one time. Bought it with 46,000 miles, sold it with over 400,000 miles. It did make it harder to resell or trade with that title. Everyone worries about what was really wrong with it. Still you are right, you can find some economical cars
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-07-04 05:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
QUOTE (Blues Fairy @ Jun 27 2008, 04:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Turboguy @ Jun 27 2008, 06:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
There were only a few cars she liked. Beetles, Hyundai Tiberon's Toyota Celicas and yesterday she added Cougars to the list so we got a Red Cougar.


A 6-cyl sports car for a new driver? You guys are crazy. wacko.gif


Well probably, but with the current price of gasoline it is hard to find or afford anything that falls into the class of 4 cylinder economy vehicles (you know the stripped down pieces of junk they normally can't give away) If you are lucky enough to find an economical vehicle and you ask them for a discount they look at you like you are nuts even though the price is sky high. The two cougars we looked at they nearly begged us to take them and my offer was nearly 20% below asking price. She does love her cougar and it does seem to get good mileage.

Want to try an experiment. Go on the website of the Smart ForTwo car and look at the prices. You will see base prices for this tiny two seater car with 45 GPM starting at $12,???,00 Now go on eBay and see if the prices you see for used ones don't hit in the $ 19,000-28,000 range.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-07-03 05:45:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I can't really find driving lessons around here. There is a vague mention of AAA offering them somewhere but I think we are past that point.

Blues, I agree with you when there is not a worried instructor sitting by your side it does increase the alertness level. I think when there is no one to ask if you are doing it right you just think it out yourself better. Besides all that screaming when I think death is close, covering my eyes and her worrying if I am ok when I turn white as a ghost must take away from her concentration as well.

Well, we bought her a car yesterday. Haven't seen it yet. We are heading to Michigan tomorrow to pick it up. We have been watching Craigs list, Ebay, AutoTrader and cars.com for a while. I saw a car that would be perfect the other day. It was a rebuildable wreck with the front totally smashed but drivable. I told her we should get it for her and anyone seeing that car coming down the road would get off the road in fear and give her clear driving. We didn't buy it though. There were only a few cars she liked. Beetles, Hyundai Tiberon's Toyota Celicas and yesterday she added Cougars to the list so we got a Red Cougar. Hopefully the bright red color may help people see her when she goes through a red light or stop sign and may help a bit.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-06-27 05:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I think for many of us teaching a Russian woman to drive is one of the most challenging things. I think part of why it seems so much harder for them than for Americans is that when Kids grow up in America they are driving a lot of things. There are so many toys that steer like a car, they ride bikes, they play with big wheels and 4 wheelers, they go the the amusement park and ride the dodgums and the Cadilac car rides and kids in Russia don't usually do that. Back in the stone ages I got my permit one week and took and passed my test the next week.

I would have been a lot better off reading the stuff they gave her myself as well because they talk a lot in the driving book about teaching someone to drive. My suggestion is to not just let her read it, read it yourself to, at least the part about teaching someone to drive.

The best advice here for someone begining the process is what Slim said about starting out in a big parking lot. I never thought about that and it cost me 5 grand. (the story is upthread if you missed it). Well we are maybe three months into the learning process with tons of time spent with her driving. The idea of her driving without me would still scare me to death. Yesterday she flew through a red light. She has a hard time with intersections that are three way stops. She misses stop signs sometimes and can't find her way anywhere. We were a block from home the other day and she did not know where she was. She confuses left and right. I think she could very easily turn onto a 4 lane divided highway pulling in the wrong way and find herself driving against traffic. The bad part is I think she could pass her test if I let her take it.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-06-25 05:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I could live without White Castle and probably do without the Chili but I have to agree with Kazan that I would love it if we had LaRosa Pizza here. The other pizza down that way I used to really like is Pizza Tower out by Kings Island. I have not been there for years now but used to stop any time I could.

I think a lot of people have to learn a hard lesson on driving to take it seriously. Hopefully my wife's porch episode and slims jeep thingy cured them.

Off the topic of RW but I will never forget a young gal who lived with me for 3 + years driving my new Camero Z-28 to the laundramat very late one night by herself, making a right turn through an underpass and not allowing enough room, coming back at 4 am and telling me as she made the turn the wall came out and hit her.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-06-11 05:19:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I have to agree with Kazan. When my wife and I have cruised down the interstate she always comments about how beautiful the skyline of Cincinatti is. She does not say a word when we cruise past Columbus or Louisville.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-06-10 05:51:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I think the smartest thing I can do is avoid the "brand new car" for a while. The idea of her driving on her own still scares me to death. I think it is going to take a wreck or two as part of her learning experience. She does good about 95% of the time but still has problems with things like 3 way stops and not seeing a stop sign every once in a while. She still hugs the right too much too. Zipping along with poles and cars passing a few inches to your right has turned me into a seat belt believer.

Right after the guy came to check out my Solstice he bought on eBay she wanted to take a last drive in it with the top down. I said I didn't think it was a good idea but relented. I was really glad when that ride was over and happy it turned into a short ride.

Is it just my wife or do other wives seem to have a lot of difficulty figuring out where there are and where the way to go. Like going to English classes (she drives there) I have to tell her most every turn even though we have gone that way a million times. She is going to be helpless without either me or GPS.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-06-09 05:43:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
Yea, we are going through the "Her own Car" thing even though she does not have her liscense yet.

Lets see, these are the cars she likes. VW-Beetle, Toyota Yaris, Smart ForTwo and Jaguar. She just went on the Jag kick yesterday.

If she buys something low like the Jag I might strangle her. I am just finishing up selling my Pontiac Solstice which to me was my favorite car I have owned even though I rarely drove it because it "sat too low" about the same hight as you sit in a Jag.

I got myself into some hot water with the wording of my eBay add for the solstice. She never read the ad until the last day it ran. I talked about the equipment the car has and then in the ad I said:

"I got married not long ago and the wife says either the car goes or she goes and I can not find a catagory for her on eBay"

She did not like that wording all that well. One if the guys who messaged me back suggested I see if Craigs list had a catagory for her.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-06-07 06:25:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
I think the main thing they want with the physical is to keep anyone off the road that may end be prone to seizures or fainting spells or the like.

The residency requirements in PA can be tough as well. Voyager went through some difficulties with that part. We got lucky and breezed through that part. You need a couple of bills with your name on and a bank account to that address here.

Yes, I think AK got lucky. We go out driving every day for an hour and a half and I think she is a good month away from her test at best. She still misses some stop signs, has a hard time with yields and has some rough spots to work out. Yesterday I had her on her first expressway. It went ok. I am still alive and the pickup is still in one piece.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-05-13 13:18:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
Thanks Slim,

In Pennsylvania you need to take the written test and physical to get the learners permit. I guess it makes sense to know someone is healthy and knows the rules of the road before they get behind the wheel.

The rules of the road still don't seem totally in her noggin. She asks me on each intersection what she should do. I think she usualy knows but wants to confirm it. Then if there is a side road angling in and she sees a yield sign she thinks she should yield even though the sign is on the other road. I think my gal is a ways away from driving on her own but she does not seem to be in a hurry for the test.

I do get some white knuckles sometimes.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-05-12 13:22:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
QUOTE (Blues Fairy @ May 9 2008, 12:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'm getting ready to apply for my DL here in Raleigh as soon as my new SS card, with changed name, arrives.

Here's something I don't understand. I see that a car insurance is required to apply for a DL; since I don't have a car yet I'll have to have my husband put me on his insurance as the 2nd driver. BUT suppose I was here alone, without my husband, say on a student visa? What would be the right sequence of actions? First get a car, insure it, then apply for DL? But how to get a car and insure it without a DL? Looks like a vicious circle. wacko.gif

It seems odd to me that you are required to have insurance to apply for a drivers liscence. People are not insured, vehicles are. In Pennsylvania the car you take your drivers test in must be insured. Are you sure you are reading the instructions properly B.F. Remember they were written by government employees who are not recognized for making anything clear.

Our driving lessons are going much better. She has not hit another house since the first one and I don't think I could take paying another 5 grand out of my own pocket so that is good. She graduated a few weeks ago from parking lots to back roads and Friday we took our first drive on a highway. I still have a little hair left. It might be a little whiter than it was but I have not pulled it all out yet.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-05-12 06:27:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
Thanks Mox. I can't say it has broken my heart that we have had too much snow for more driving lessons. Perhaps once the paint dries I will feel more comfortable with her behind the whee. We are going to stay with parking lots for a while yet before we try the streets again. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been someones porsche instead of someones brick porch (undamaged)
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-03-04 22:04:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusSo.... how are the driving lessons going?
My one word of advice is to not rush things. I found that out the hard and expensive way. The only thing I think she ever drove before coming to America was when we drove go karts in Barnaul in my first visit and she could not go 10 feet without crashing into the walls for most of the time then she got to where she was going around the track at about 4 mph while the rest of us flew past her.

Well in PA you have to take the written test first and she aced that. She seemed to be doing well so I was letting her go on city streets that were not busy. On her third driving lesson she crashed into some ladies porch. I did not want to turn it into my insurance company and start her off bad so I paid the $ 4800 repair bill on my pickup out of my own pocket. Ouch. Ever since I have kept her in parking lots and away from any city streets.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-03-03 19:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMedical exam in Moscow
QUOTE (Blues Fairy @ Sep 27 2008, 11:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Very risky to do the medical a day prior to interview. They might find some reason for additional tests, as it happened in my case, and that would extend the waiting time. However, you can still go to your scheduled interview and they may approve your visa pending your medical results. Try to work with that silly Dr. Luchaninova but schedule another medical at IOM, just in case.

It should not be that dangerous Blues. Worst case scenario if there is a snag on the medical is that you would get a 221-G for the medical and once they received it they would issue the visa. If there should be a delay in getting the medical go to the interview without it. Rescheduling would take a long long time and entail another trip to Moscow. The 221-G could be satisified in a day or two whenever you got the medical report. It is unusual to have a snag with the medical anyway. Yes it can happen but would be a minor problem.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-09-28 06:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusMedical exam in Moscow
There is a DHL office in the building just to the right of the Embassy so going in the morning for the physical then going to the DHL office for the mailer and back to the clinic for the results would be easy enough to do.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-09-23 04:58:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusAOS Interview yesterday
Congratulations and also to BluesFairy as well. Our interview was a lot tougher but never a grilling. Ours lasted an hour and a half at least. The first question she asked threw me for a loop. She asked me who X X was and it turned out to be my wives first fiancee and first K-1 trip. Had she asked by first name only it might have been better but we never talked about his last name. She just kept asking questions and we kept answering them correctly. When we left the office was full of people. Probably the ones she should have been interviewing if she had not gotten so stuck on us. Anyway, that is behind and I am sure you are both happy to have that step behind you.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-09-30 15:37:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusElection and Russia
It sometimes amazes me that we have the long drawn out primary system and we pick the people who run for office and still seem to pick cantidates that send us to the polls voting for the least of two evils. With the vast number of people in this country why can't we get some good cantidates?

I like Palin. To me she is the only good cantidate I have seen running for top office since Reagan. I don't agree with everything she supports, but I do think she has the good of the country at heart. More experience would be good but I personally think I would prefer someone who has good ideas and less experience to someone with bad ideas and a lot of experience.

We also hear that men look for a wife overseas because they want a wife with traditional values. Oddly enough my first wife, American of course, had traditional values. She stayed at home raising our two kids and never worked until after we divorced. My new wife is pretty much a feminist. At 29 she has no interest at all in having kids. She does the house stuff but more because it needs to be done and is the most focused person I have ever met on getting a good education and having a successful career. That sorta goes against some of the things we hear.

My 18 years of marriage to a women with traditional values was totally miserable right from day one. My wife and I are a few days short of a year since her arrival and I probably enjoy being with her as much or more than anyone I have ever met and I can't say even one day of that time has been bad. I don't think values have much to do with happiness. I do think two peoples values need to be the same. At 24 when I married my first wife I would not have wanted to marry someone who did not want kids. Personally I think the thing that can help an international marrige succeed is that RW seem to value a good marriage more than American women. I think they often work to make thier husband happy and AW tend to take their men for granted.

I was single for a long time. Being somewhat older than some of you I have done a lot of dating with AW and probably more searching among the slightly older crowd than some. Do RW go downhill faster than AW? First off, I think AW are more apt to put on a lot of weight. RW do more walking and eat more veggies. I think some elements of life in Russia can age people a little faster. I have seen attractive older women in both countries. There are probably more older women in America who would be very attractive if they lost 75 pounds and more women in Russia who look better as an overall package the way they are.

It seems to me I hear a lot of AW say they are looking for someone to grow old with and AM would prefer thier wife to never get old but to stay young and beautiful forever. Both men and women seem to like a younger partner when they do get older. When I used to search though the American singles sites it was rare to see a beautiful older women looking for someone her own age or older. Most wanted a boy toy.

Edited by Turboguy, 06 October 2008 - 05:50 AM.

TurboguyMaleRussia2008-10-06 05:46:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusGot a visa!
Congratulations. I think we all spend months worrying endlessly about something that can sometimes go smoothly and it is always such a relief to know that it is behind us. Best of luck.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-10-18 05:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusAdjusting to Life in USA
I am not far enough into this to offer any really good advice or show any great examples. We just celebrated the one year annaversary of my wife's arrival a few weeks ago. I do think Slim had some good advice in not encouraging them to get Russian TV and or in being real involved in the Russian community. The less they hold on to their Russian the quicker they will become an American. The more they are around the Russian language the less they are around English.

I am lucky in that my wife is very motivated and very focused. I offered to get Russian TV when she arrived. She wanted nothing to do with it. I suggested a trip to visit her family and she did not want to set back her progress in English by being away from it for a month. As it is, next summer she will go back for a visit.

Getting their degrees evaluated is not hard. There is one place in Florida that I have heard a number of people recommend. I don't recall the name or info but I could find it if it helps anyone. My wife chose to not use her 4 year degree in psychology here and is starting over studying accounting and in her first semester has the highest scores in her classes by a wide margin. She enjoys school. I wish I had been as focused in studying when I was in school. She wants to end up being a forensic accountant. It is something she would enjoy, has a great aptitude for and has excellent pay. My recommendation which she chose to ignore was to transfer her education and go right for a masters degree but she feels a psychology degree has little benfit in accounting and she needs the basics to build on. I can't totally disagree with her logic.

Edited by Turboguy, 28 October 2008 - 05:26 AM.

TurboguyMaleRussia2008-10-28 05:23:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusOfficial Translations
I know one that is outstanding and inexpensive. I would totally recommend Anasataia Ash. I have done 2 K-1's. She did the second. It was half the price, much more professional, and she had it to me in an amazingly quick time. She is active in another forum I go to and everyone who has used her services raves about her.

I don't recall exactly what she charged me but it was in the $ 25.00 range. She has a website. www.regaltranslations.com If you use her you will never regret it.

Edited by Turboguy, 19 December 2008 - 05:24 AM.

TurboguyMaleRussia2008-12-19 05:23:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusBuying airfare for the summer trip
QUOTE (russ @ Dec 12 2008, 11:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Why no Aeroflot? They operate US built aircraft (B767s) to the US. I would consider that "safe." (I'm a pilot).

I have flown Aeroflot to Russia several times. I would gladly pay a few hundred extra to fly almost anyone else but not so much for safety, however:

Yes, they fly US aircraft on their international routes. Inside of Russia about 95% of their fleet is Tupelovs. Russia has one of the highest ratios of crashes in the world. The interesting part of that is that almost all of the crashes involve the 5% of their fleet made by Boeing. The reasons for that I hear sited most often is that thier mechanics are not as well trained on Boeings. If someone is concerned about safety that might be a consideration.

My wife is planning her first trip back to Russia when her school lets out in May. Hopefully I can get a decent rate on Delta. If she has to fly Aeroflot I really am not planning to lay awake nights worring about the flight and I am sure she will make it fine.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-12-16 07:06:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusTrouist visa advice
My suggestion would be for them to be very specific about thier travel plans when they have their interview. We brought my MIL over for a visit last spring. The lady they interviewed before my MIL was asked why she wanted to go to America. Her answer was that her daughter was married to an American and was expecting a baby in a month and she wanted to visit her daughter and help out with the baby. The next question was how long to you plan to stay. The lady said, oh I am not sure, maybe two months, maybe 3 months, I haven't decided. The next thing the C/O said was application denied. My MIL went next. Was asked why she wanted to go then how long she planed to stay. My MIL said she wanted to stay 30 days and planned to go to America on the 3rd of April and come back on the 3rd of May. The next thing the C/O said was "Do you want a one year visa or a two year visa" My MIL has family, propery and a job but I do think the quite specific answer to his question was the key to her approval.
TurboguyMaleRussia2009-01-20 06:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusDating Website
QUOTE (slim @ Nov 19 2008, 02:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Did anyone ever use AFA?


Actually I met my first fiancee through AFA but not at one of their socials. I did make three trips that were European Connections socials and very similar to the ones AFA holds. EC has stopped doing socials but AFA still does them but not as many or with as many men as before.

I would recommend anyone to avoid the AFA type social. The biggest problem is the men are a little new to the scene and nieve. They invite women in off the street and the prodaters and scammers did not take too long to figure out they are going to a room full of suckers that don't know much and it is easy to give them a little encouragement and get them to open up thier wallets. I am still friends with some of the guys from my EC tours. All came back thinking they had found thier woman and none worked out. One of my friends still does that route. He did about 5 of the EC socials and has now done at least a half dozen of the AFA socials and is still looking.

That friend is a bit nieve to be kind. He is a really nice guy. One of the things I remember him telling me was that the girl he really liked was Katya who he met on an early trip. He says Katya would like to marry him but does not want to leave Russia and her family. He added they may never end up together but they will always stay friends. Then he added to that. At least I hope we will stay friends if I ever quit sending her money.

I don't think too many hear are in the searching stage but there is one tour type of thing that is pretty good. I think the advantage to a tour is if someone has never traveled going with a group makes it easier and it can be a lot of fun going with a group of guys. If anyone wants to go the tour route Jack Bragg's www.FirstDream.com is a good one that can have results. He operates very differently then the big agencies.

There are a lot of rip off agencies out there and I would agree with the thought to avoid any where you pay per letter and go for ones you buy addresses.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-11-19 08:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusDating Website
QUOTE (LvivLovers @ Nov 6 2008, 09:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I met my wife on elenasmodels.com so I have faith that there are real women out there. But there are a lot of scammers also. I'd recommend he get her phone number and contact her using Skype (www.skype.com). In my experience it was a much better and cheaper connection than normal telephone, calling card, etc. I'd start with that...talk to her on the phone. At least then he can be sure she is at least a real female. Then, I'd book a trip to meet in person...that's the only way he can really be sure. Good luck!


I also met my wife on Elenas and yes there are some scammers but most of the women are real and since you get the contact info and write directly there is no "per letter fee" which is where most of the scam agencies make thier money.

I think making a trip to meet this girl would be very risky. I doubt she knows he is alive.

Jim's list is ok but he does have his biases. Donate a little money to his site and you get a much better review. All in all it is ok though and much better than nothing.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-11-08 06:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusDating Website
Hot Russian Brides is basically a scam site and the odds are 100 to 1 the girl he is writing doesn't even know he exists. Sites like that and Army of Brides, Global Ladies, E-700, AFA sometimes and Anastasia pay secretaries a to write men Lots of guys have even gone so far as making a trip to meet a lady that doesn't exist.

Have his stay with sites like Elena's models, Merry dating, freepersonals.ru, bride.ru, Cindy agency and he will save a lot of money and be corresponding with real women. Tell him not to waste another penny on HRB.
TurboguyMaleRussia2008-11-06 08:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusquestions about love and commitment relative to K1 process
QUOTE (mox @ Jun 27 2009, 11:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.


It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

TurboguyMaleRussia2009-06-28 06:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusquestions about love and commitment relative to K1 process
Clueless, those were good comments. I think a lot of foreign women see the USA as a land of opportunity with lots of high paying jobs. It can be very hard for them here. They can have a college eduction in their home country and have a hard time even landing a job at WalMart here. Some professons of course transfer better than others. Many can't drive and have a strong enough accent that makes a job dealing with people harder to get. Having realistic expectations and a supportive husband can make a world of difference.

I saw the figures a long time ago on the percentage of K-1's that actually marry and I don't recall exactly but it was in the 60% range. Someone said a few posts back that we all intend to get married. I don't think that is always the case. I think most of the AM I have seen intend to marry the RW but I do think a number of the RW want to come here to make up thier mind and really everyone should have their mind made up first. I have seen a number of failed K-1's with the people I have known. Of course I was even one of those myself several years ago. I am sure there are some cases where the guy says he has a nice house and a good job and when she arrives finds the nice house is a run down double wide and his nice job is as a garbage man but I think in most failures it is that she learns more about the man and decides he is not someone she wants to spend her life with. Most of the failures I have seen have been one week wonders. The man went and spend a few days or a week with the woman, started a K-1 and never went back. I think had they followed up and spent time getting to know the other person before doing a K-1 it might have saved a lot of disappointment and hearbreak. Mostly it is the women who decide to go back. I only know of one case where the guy decided to send her back and that was after 5 days together. I have to think getting to know each other better would have shown whatever he saw.

I do think if people spent the time getting to know each other first the 40% that go back would be greatly reduced. Blues Fairy talked about it cloging the system. If there were 40% fewer K-1's it would unclog the system, wouldn't it?

Personally I think everything that goes wrong gives ammunition to those who want to make the system tougher. Failed K-1's, Green Card Girls who fake abuse, and all other problems and the better everything works the easier it will be for everyone. People really should take the time to get to know someone they plan to spend thier life with and be sure of their intent before they file for a K-1.

TurboguyMaleRussia2009-06-27 22:09:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusquestions about love and commitment relative to K1 process
I am a little tired tonight so I apologize if I come off as a hard azz. The K-1 visa is not intended as a chance to see if you might want to get married. It is a visa for two people who have already decided without a doubt that they do want to get married to have time to arrange their marriage. Blues Fairy is a very smart woman and is 100% correct. If there are doubts you should get them resolved before filing for a K-1. To use it as a vacation together to see if you might want to marry is borderline visa fraud.

Why can't you use it for a chance to see if you might want to marry. I can give you a one word answer. IMBRA! If it doesn't work you are partially screwedd. If you do want to marry a foreign woman you need to either wait two years or file for a waver. Your next shot could be your last if they start enforcing IMBRA more. I have been the biggest complainer about IMBRA but your post may almost make me think it is a good thing.

Did anyone ever do it. Yes, I did and it was a big mistake. In my case I was 200% committed and my first fiancee after starting out wanting it got wishy washy. She stayed 89 days and went home. My first fiancee was beautiful and had the most wonderful personality you could find but mentally she was a mess. I exchaged a few e-mails with someone I know and from what I heard afterr me, she did another K-1 but didn't go to the interview and then another and came back to America, Texas I belive, married and left him 3 weeks after the wedding.

In my case I started a new search and met a wonderful woman about 9 months after my first fiancee went back. I spent a lot of time with my new fiancee and made sure both of us had no doubts, filed another K-1 and had to file a waver. It was approved but because of the former K-1's we ended up in Administrative Review for 5 months and our visa really took a long time. We have now been married for a year and a half and my wife describes us as being the happiest couple she has ever met. To be honest I think one of the things I really liked was the total committment of my wife. After going through all the stuff my first fiancee put me through it was nice to fall in love with someone who had no doubts about what she wanted or that we were meant for each other.

I have seen a few others bring someone on a trial basis. I am trying to recall the handle of one I knew here. Sky Wolf or something like that. He was totally in love and she was wishy washy and ended up going back and breaking his heart. To be honest, having done it once where I was committed and the woman was unsure I would not even think of doing that again no matter how hot she was. It just wasn't worth the hurt and the heartbreak and the problems with IMBRA.

Personally in a situation like yours I don't think most people are looking for advice. I think they are really looking for confirmation that they are doing the right thing and you are not.


TurboguyMaleRussia2009-06-25 21:46:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusDriving? What did you do?
I will never forget when we just began to move from the big parking lot stage to the back road stage we would use the parking lots at our mall after they closed. There was a very back road that connected the mall and another shopping area that was perhaps a mile long or less. I would have her driving in the one parking lot and then go to the other and even with light traffic her going 3 miles an hour on that road would have irate drivers backed up a long way.

Now she drives like a Moscow Taxi Driver.

The other funny memory was when she took her test for the first time. Being a RW she wore high heels. Of course she could not drive in them so she planned to take them off to drive and take the test barefoot. We waited for the officer that would administer the test. He got in the car with her and went totally ballistic. He stormed out of the car, went in the offices for 15 minutes and came out with a sheepish look on his face. He had looked through all the PA driving laws and could not find one that made it illegal to drive barefoot although he expected to. He did let her take the test and the next time she took it she wore sneakers.

TurboguyMaleRussia2010-01-01 06:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusDriving? What did you do?
One word of advice I learned the hard way. If you decide to teach her yourself what someone mentioned about a large parking lot, ie school parking lot is the way to go. I made the mistake of teaching my wife on back streets. She did great the first two days and just as I was getting a little confidence in her we stopped at a stop sign, made a right turn and she kept turning right over the curb and into the porch on a house doing $ 5,000 damage to my pickup. I didn't want it on her record so I paid for the repairs out of my own pocket, (ouch).

Big parking lots are the way to go. Better yet a professional teacher.
TurboguyMaleRussia2009-12-25 09:11:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusHow many times did you meet with your fiancé before submitting I-129F?
Personally I think there is risk in one short meeting and nothing more on a K-1. Not so much a risk that your visa may not be approved but I think a relationship is like a flower and needs to be nurished. I think it is a time to build the bond between you and to let your relationship develop. It also lets you find out more about each other which might help prevent mistakes. Then again during that period I really wanted to spend time with her and emails, phone calls or skype are just not the same.
TurboguyMaleRussia2010-01-24 06:33:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusHow many times did you meet with your fiancé before submitting I-129F?
I have seen people who met only once for 2 or 3 days and get approved. In my case we met twice before filing and twice more while we were waiting and one of those last two visits was spending most of the summer together in Grenada.

If you have things in your situation that may cause concern it will create more problems for you than having just met for a few days. For example if you are 80 years old and she is 19 or other things that may make it seem you are not a good couple such as no common language at all which will make them wonder how you plan to communicate but even those things won't stop anything, just make them ask a few more questions.
TurboguyMaleRussia2010-01-23 06:19:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust got back - The report part 1

i love the taxis in russia...these people have bad driving down to an art,next time just sit back and enjoy the ride,they have been doing it for so long they know how to drive like ####### and survive

I have not been to Russia for a while now and any time I miss the way the taxi drivers drive I can just take a ride with my wife.
TurboguyMaleRussia2010-01-24 06:35:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusReport on Vonage service
Whatever you do make sure you find out what you are spending in advance.

About 3 years ago in my pre Vonnage days I had a gal visit me from Russia for a week. I was using MCI in those days and when I called to the FSU, which wasn't often I had something akin to a card I used. She couldn't get the card to work for some reason and I told her to just call through on the regular line but not to talk forever.

When I got my MCI bill she had made 4 calls totaling one hour and five minutes and my bill for those calls was $ 715.00

I just came back from 8 days in Aruba with my wife a few days ago. I took my blackberry and we took our laptop. Since the hotel charged for internet and the time there would have cost us $ 55.00 for internet access we decided to just use the Blackberry since I have an unlimited data package. Two days before the end of our trip the internet stopped working. It was on the news that RIM was having some tech difficulties so I didn't think too much of it. Yesterday I called my wireless provider (ATT&T) They said they had shut my service of because of the charges I was incurring. My data program only covers the US and intenational data is $ 20.00 a kilobite.
TurboguyMaleRussia2009-12-29 06:57:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusReport on Vonage service
My calls to Russia using Vonage were free until about 4 months ago, now I have to pay around 6 cents a minute. My Vonage bill now hits $ 45.00-55.00 a month which is not bad. The service seems fine.

Still, I think I am going to change to a Verizon land line and with the unlimited international calls for I belive $ 15.00 a month (could be 20) I can still save a few bucks.
TurboguyMaleRussia2009-12-25 07:51:00