After I have read a lot of discussions about FSU girls, and conrresponding to several girls from www.fiance.com for a quite while, I have decided to make a trip to Ukraine to find out 1st hand experience myself.
Here is my 1st hand experience and I hope it is useful for new people and some information maybe useful for people who is going to travel there as well.
Before trip:
I have already been scammed by one girl in Zaporozhye because:
(1) The professional pictures on the website and actual pictures she sent to me were totally different and you cannot even tell it is the same person at all.
(2) She asked for $130 to buy airline ticket to Kiev, and at that time I have already lost my interest in her but to test whether she is real or a scammer, I sent $130 by Western Union. Later on she said she spent the money and need $300 to hire a driver to airport to meet me there. I told her I didn't want to meet her anymore. Then she called to my celluar phone a couple of times a day for 2 or 3 days before I left.
Since I bought the tickets already and I decided to make a trip there to check 2 things:
(1) If you guys pay attention to the girls from Nikolaev, there a lot of really young girls 18 - 19 looking for guys up till 50 to 60 years old, I have been always suspecious it is not real. It is just the agency to use girls pictures to get reply letters and to make money from it.
(2) How the agency actually works in real life?
During the trip
(1) I have been corresponding to a girl (ID#86535) from Nikolaev for a while before the trip, she gave me her phone number. I have called her a couple of times before the trip, and then I told her that I would be in Ukraine and like to meet her. In her previous letter, she called me "baby" this and that up till the 2nd to the last e-mail and "really like you and want to be with you", etc. Soon after I told her that I would like to meet her in person, she would say "I don't know", "I have to check with agency", etc and don't answer the phone calls any more.
(2) I went to Ukraine and hired the a driver and translator who are really honest because it is my 1st trip ever to Russian speaking country, I cannot read and speak Russian. I asked my translator to call her up to set up meeting. Since the phone number is from Ukraine, that girl picked up the phone and answer. She told my translator to ask me to call her directly.
(3) Next day, I had to borrow the phone from the driver, and called her for the whole day because her phone was turned off. Finally she answered phone at about 9:15PM, just told me she already sent me an e-mail and read it.
(4) I checked e-mail 1.5 day later, and it was a nasty turned down e-mail. Strangely enough another girl (ID#82456) from Nikolaev who hasn't replied to me for 3 months suddenly start writing to me something "maybe we will develop wonderful relationships".
I will leave for your guys to decide whether girls in this agency in Nikolaev is real or not, or it is just the agency to use the pictures from the girls to write letters by itself.
(5) I visited an agency in Melitopol, and I was sitting there for 2 days and watching how it was working. This is the real agency. I saw the girls came in, and wrote letters by hand. Then the maneger would translate them into English, and send through website. I also see there are a lot of hand written letters on different color or style of papers stacking in her folder which are waiting to be translated. This means it is real. Also the manager and other stuffs there are very friendly. They let me to use the internet there as well. I cannot find internet cafe in that town. They even showed me what the professional pictures of the girls look like when the real girls came in so that I can do comparison. At least you can tell which girl is which by looking at the pictures and real persons. Not like that I cannot tell who is who from the daily life pictures and professional website pictures for at least 2 girls from Odessa and Zaporizhzhya.
(6) Here is the contact information of agency I visited, the translator and driver. For the new guys, it is extremely important to have someone who can speak English to help you because most people do not understand English and you cannot even order in the restaurent because there is no picture and English on menu let alone to get around by taxi to tell where do you want to go.
The agency: Harmony Agency, Metlitopol, Ukraine, 50 Let Pobedy 28, Office 210, Tel: 380-0619-4211-41 (I don't know whether you should dial 380-0619 or 380-619).
The translator: Aliona, cel: 380-989827249 and her e-mail: kv-elena.06@mail.ru
The driver: Yura, Cel: 380-96-752-33-63 and his e-mail: yuratq@ukr.net
The translator and driver even would help me to post ads in the local newspaper.
I think the real honest agency like one in Melitopol should get support from guys like us. The one like Nikolaev should NOT. Also for new guys if you cannot line up at least 2 girls who agree to meet you before the trip, you had better not go because it would be waste of time and money. Unless you just want to do the sight seeing. You can visit Crimea which is very beautiful even if now in middle of March. It is really expensive to get round in Ukraine and the money are burned out fast.
JFZ....pretty sad if you sent girl $130 dollars if you knew she was a scammer. If you have been reading this forum, first rule is never send money to girl you have never met. You did not mention if girl in Nikolaev ever said she wanted to meet you, only you told her you would be in ukraine and wanted to meet her, not a good sign. From pics of girls you wrote to from Fiance.....what strikes me is their desire to show skin and be sexy, a sign girls are not serious and only seem to be flirtacious. My rule is, go to see more than one girl in each city, fact is multiple girls, you can never tell what will happen. I do think problem is not only your girls but maybe you should reevalute your decision making process. Very few girls I go to visit have not met me, I must be dioing something right since I am not the most handsome guy in world. I am glad you made the best of your situation and did not come back slandering girls from FSU countries. You really got around to visit those 3 cities.....Melitopol is just in little round town where there is not much to do...guess hanging out at agency is highlight!!! :))) You must have paid an arm and a leg for driver and interpreter all that time!!!! I'll be out there soon and have a logjam of girls to weed thru, two things for sure...a smile on my face and having a great time!!!!
Expensive to me is that I have to pay about the same price by hiring driver to get around in Ukraine as that of my flight from California to Kiev.
Beemer18,
Thanks for your advice but I never got a chance to arrange to meet several girls in one city. Strange enough soon after the turned down letter from Nikolaev, there are 2 girls who didn't reply to me for 3 - 4 months start writing to me. I think the agency there is really suspicious. I have already set my mentality as a tour in Ukraine especially Crimea region for my trip. That is why I am not disappointed. In the hotel and appartment in Melitopol, they don't have phones. I understand the rule not to send money before meeting, and it was really hard to turn down her request after I bought airline ticket and she asked for money to go to the airport to meet you.
Just curious - how old are you? You don't mention it in your post (unless of course I'm blind and just don't recall seeing it).
The girl who didn't want to meet you is 19. 19 is a flighty age - even in Ukraine. Women don't really get serious about dating a foreigner until they seem to be mid-twenties anyway. And they are more open to being with older men as THEY get a little older themselves.
If YOU are quite a bit older - or even in your late 30's - you could easily scare a 19 year old away. She may have enjoyed getting her feet wet by writing to you - but meeting you puts her under some pressure. It was proably too much for her.
Also her English is rated at 8 out of 10. but she mentions that she wants to me her "man of the dreams". Its my guess that a rating of 8 for English is a little high. She might not have This and her wondering what you expected from her - might have scared her off as well.
Both these girls are stunners and both are open to relationships with men who are old enough to be their fathers.
The first girl is posing naked in her pictures and the blonde is showing off her figure to the full.
Is it just me or does anyone else think that at even over age the age of 35 this type of girl is pointless.
Do you think these girls really have so much trouble getting a boyfriend in their own country that they have to look overseas?
They're playing with you.
My point is that there might be no such girls and the agency is just using the pictures from the girls to get reply letters to make money from us.
By the way, do you really think the blonde one ID#82456 is 49 Kgs? Look at her arm and how thick it is. From the picture, she is at least 60 kgs or even 70 kgs. The point is that the scammed agency cannot even guess her weight correct from the pictures. Believe me when I am in Ukraine, I ask for girls weight and height when ever I have chance. I know at 173cm what 49 kgs looks like.
Point is JFZ, it doesn't matter what height and weight girl puts, you wrote to her knowing full well her weight was not correct in your eyes. YOUR girls put such sexual pics to attract guys like you to spend your money on them. They didn't attract me because I know why they put such pics...they are not really serious about finding guys only finding money. Maybe you should try writing to girl that is not so seductive with pics, works for me!!!
Ditto beemer18. What you see is what you get. If a girl is posing in silk dress, bikini, f**k me boots or whatever, she is false. What you get is false.
If she's wearing jeans and casual top or jacket she is presenting herself as she is.
JFZ, what you have just described is a condition known as 'TUCK-SHOP LADY ARMS'... It is very unsightly when ladies have arms on them bigger than popeye.