op, I don't know why ukraine is so popular, but i will tell you why i go there (and not russia).
these are in no particular order:
1) i don't need a visa. (call me lazy)
2) meeting girls from different cities is never more than an overnight train away (i like the trains)
3) there 'seems' to be more dating agencies there.
4) there seems to be apartment agencies in every city that can take care of you when you arrive.
4) i go on group tours and they all seem to be in ukraine
There are still alot of out of the way places that most western men don't go very often. When I was in Poltava a few hundred kilometers away from Kiev, I met women who had only been to Kiev a couple of times in their lives. Not all of the women travel a lot and a western man was still something of a novelty.
In Kiev though, fuggetaboutit. The women there are EXTREMELY skeptical of any western man coming in thinking them to be "sex tourists" (I heard that a lot on my recent trip). A woman I know who works as an English teacher at a university in Kiev, had an incredibly jealous boyfriend. (She translated some things for me - I didn't date her.) He was convinced that western men only look for Ukrainian women to sell into prostitution or to make porn films with. I told him he was all wrong. We don't sell them into prostitution. We KEEP them as prostitutes ourselves (why sell a perfectly good asset?) AND make porno films on the side. (I'm kidding of course.)
Actually I started going to Ukraine when you still required a visa. Like gecko above I still prefer group tours - but perhaps I will vary that a little on my next trip, get a visa and try Belarus. Might be like Ukraine USED to be.
1) Yep, you are being lazy :)
2) Fair point.
3) Already covered in this thread, too many agencies and ladies in Ukraine for the vast majority of them to be bona fida.
4) Accommodation in most cities can be arranged via the web, agencies are there, in most instances, to rip off the punters.
5) Already covered in (3), too many to all to be bona fida, lambs to the slaughter in many a situation.
My advise (from Englishman who moved here) come to Kharkov, there are loads of genuine girls here and many will travel from the countryside. We had an Aussie come to stay last month, he went to clubs, dated a few beauties, then went to country villages and met a beautiful girl.
Poltava is only a short train trip away as well, it is a nice smaller city and well worth a visit. The country village girls do seem less likely to be scammers than the Kiev ones. Beware of Agencies everywhere. Try directly, that way you make your own mind up and are less likely to be scammed. Direct contact website many girls here use is Club10.com
Good independant free information website about this area is kharkovinfo.com
Since living here I have not heard of any cases of HIV/AIDS.
Best of luck - If you need any advice or help then PM me.
It isn't just being lazy or paying for it in getting a visa that is repulsive. It is also accepting the intrusive mentality of the Russian government. If they keep that much tabs on you, they must do it to their citizens.
In a very small way, getting a bride in Russia will mean you are helping their economy. Give Russia some economic improvement and it will soon look into again, invading his neighbors.
Russia doesn't need the pittance it may receive from tourism, Russia is an oil & gas producing nation, remember the fiasco of Ukraine blocking Russia supplying gas to much of Europe, and we all know how much oil and gas sells for!
Millions of people each year travel to holiday destinations where they need a visa in preference to destinations where they don't need a visa, applying for a visa remains a very weak excuse, I'm sorry.
Not that weak because it's not merely the financial part that plays a part. Still a small contribution is a contribution, nonetheless. Once Russia invades his neighbors, the US will more than likely oppose it through sanctions, travel restrictions or whatever. Having a wife from there will cause complications.
It's been 20+ years since the demise of the USSR, it's been 65 years since the end of WWII, best not to marry a German because once Germany invades it's neighbours the US will more than likely oppose it through sanctions, travel restrictions or whatever. Having a wife from there will cause complications.
This was probably in the back of my mind when that intrusive visa came up. It didn't deter me much, but it did. As I said before, my first visit was almost a Russian from Voronezh. I told her she will be my exclusive, and she decided to go on vacation and did not respond for more than two weeks. I moved on.
Russian are different than Germany. Russia still have nuclear missiles pointed towards Western Europe. They recently invaded Georgia.
But if Russia invaded it's neighbours, and Ukraine is one of the biggest thorns in Russia's side, then why the hell would one want to travel to Ukraine during such a situation regardless of any travel sanction?
And, I hope for phucks sake nasfan isn't reading this :) , if one is looking for a country that goes around invading other countries then one might look closer to home! :)
Aren't you concerned that those missiles are pointed your way? Yes, the US have missiles and have invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. Russia has opposed almost our every move. Isn't this a good reason for what we are talking about?
I'm laughing about when the 'entry' of Kosovo was about to happen, that was to be a Brit led operation, that had been previously agreed, but the US had a new president coming to power, the Yanks wanted to show what they were made of and an argument broke out between the Yanks and the Brits and, whilst they continued arguing who should be the first in to Kosovo, the Brits or the Yanks, the Ruskies snuck in the back door and they became the first to enter Kosovo :)
It was only a few years back the Ruskies were attempting to penetrate UK airspace with their Bear bombers, flying around the top of Norway they had all sorts of interceptor aircraft shadowing them, a nuke from western Russia would barely have time to get off the ground if pointed at western Europe, they'd hit us with aircraft such as the Bear's, I think you might just find that Russia's nukes, their long range weapons, might just be intended for a target much farther afield than western Europe!
The upper winds generally blow west to east, that's why your flight time to Ukraine is less going than it is coming back, so if the Ruskies did nuke western Europe odds are that the winds would carry the fallout back to Russia etc. anyway.