Questions about traveling

[Tsar]

What amount of money would a person need for a one month vacation in Russia and Ukraine? Can I approach girls on the street asking for dates? I don't speak the language, would the girls understand me if I speak English? Best months with warm weather and girls are outside?

[djfourmoney]

You could easily do Russia for $500 a month on the low end, but to be safe I would say $700-$750 US.

This would cover lodging (hostel or apartment rental), food (food is cheap) and the dates you go on, which shouldn't cost much at all otherwise she's a gold-digger.

Any woman interested in you is more interested in YOU the person she's spending time with and less about where you go or what you do. If she is pushing you to go to expensive restaurants or go shopping for expensive items it goes without saying, drop that hoe.

I would say American Women do this too and should be judged just as harshly...

I wouldn't worry about speaking Russian, its overrated unless you going to live there and I'll give you an example. Eduard who doesn't post much here because his services are high end and expensive, one-on-one coaching + matchmaking; Went to Russia to find his wife. Great, but she spoke a little English but wasn't comfortable speaking it. That was fine when he was courting her, they could communicate (he's a native Russian speaker). However when she came to America, she was taking ESL classes but still wanted to talk to Ed in Russian. He put his foot down and said look you're in the US and you need to get used to speaking English so it improves. She resisted at first, but she understood and now hardly speaks any Russian at home and only when as is the case with most bi-bilingual couples only speak Russian when they don't want you to know what they are saying.

The children are bilingual as well..

So get yourself a electronic translator or get a cheap unlocked Nokia or Android Smartphone and use some translation software. You can use human translators but only if its in your budget.

IMHO you are not overlooking that many women if you just seek out those that speak some English. There just too many women over here, sure the amount of women that speak some English is somewhat lower than in say Ukraine at this point (its related to Nationalism). I mean of course you can meet women who don't speak English at all, they'll learn it in a hurry however if you're worth it. In fact, I would judge that as a positive sign if the woman you select doesn't know English but is taking classes and progressing well.

The founding members of Dream Connections, none of their wives were fluent English speakers. I believe Alyona Jackson did take English in primary school but of course with no chance to practice, she can understand it but couldn't really reply back by speaking. They used a translator (over the phone) for awhile but she had started private ESL lessons and by the time Law came for her, she spoke well enough for them to not use a translator.

You'll win either way, good luck and keep us posted.

[have2fly]

I would take a little more for 1 month, like $2-3,000 to stay safe. Now it depends what city you go to and what you want to do. Of course if you hit on glamour looking girls with flashy outfits, expect to spend more money - that's just common sense. If you hit on decent girls - again it depends. Some of those girls are very smart and want a decent guy, money comes along as important, but not the main thing. These girls are rare, unfortunately, because as a foreigner you will run into bitches much more often, so be careful. Many girls may look decent, but in the reality they lived in poverty (or relative poverty) and want to find any means possible to enjoy money-rich lifestyle (think of former ghetto crowd in the U.S. - once they become rich, they buy all the gold they can get to bling and flash, CIS girls are similar in nature often). Language becomes important later, once you are trying to understand whether you want to marry or not.

Now, can you talk to girls on the street? YES. Can you take them for dates? YES. Just learn basic Russian. I would go to smaller cities. In Russia that would be Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Kursk, Murmansk, Chita, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Tyumen, Volgograd etc. Remember, the more local girls are exposed to foreigners and money, the worse they are. Girls are pretty bad in Moscow and Kiev, lazy and "western" in many ways. Not all of them, but in general it is true, I experienced that myself. However, Moscow and Kiev are great cities to live "Western" lifestyle, since night clubs are very high class. There are amazing clothing stores and other amenities.

Once you are in the city, just come to a girl and ask something stupid, like "do you know where is McDonald's?" That will be enough to strike up a conversation. But be careful, you have no idea who is that girl. She may take you to distant part of the city where her friends will rob you. Just use common sense, it is true for any country in the world.