I have received in the past a few e-mails from ladies who come from Krivoy Rog, Ukraine.
This seems to be an out of the way place to get too and accomodation seems non-existent according to info on the internet.
I understand it is an industrial mining city of 700,000 in south central Ukraine and they mine/refine iron ore and its polluted and run down.
Anyone here ever been to Krivoy Rog and know of it?
It looks like a difficult place to get too, stay in or accomplish anything and it does not even have an airport apparently to fly into.
I also understand, very few people speak English there and getting a translator would be a problem?
Anyone been there? Is it really worth the effort and difficulties?
I've been there-- it is one of the longest cities in the world. (Very long, very narrow. The city grew along the mining path.)
I flew into Dnepropetrovsk, and took a little drive to Krivoy Rog. I seem to remember the drive taking a couple of hours. There is a pleasant, western style hotel in the center, next to the Mc Donald’s. I will try to remember the name for you. (It is modern, pleasant enough —- not a Soviet-style behemoth or anything like that. I don't think most westerners would have any problem with it.)
As for the city itself, your opinion of it will depend on how much you have traveled, and to where. If you have chosen to travel largely to western countries, Krivoy Rog could shock you a little. If you’re used to England, USA, New Zealand, France, Germany -— well, Krivoy Rog isn’t so pretty.
In my mind, ‘out of the way’ is VERY good for Ukraine. Odessa & Kyiv have had men going there looking for brides for so long that the marriage industry is pervasive. It also, in my opinion, can be a nasty and corrupting influence in the lives of the men and women that interact with it. Western men come in, flush with cash, looking for a beautiful girl, and then disappear a week later. The young women learn. It can be corrupting to the good girls —- and the bad girls can make a living off of it.
So, the fact that Krivoy Rog is out of the way is a plus in my book. But, it defiantly isn’t a village, nor is it totally removed and disconnected. There will be a couple of marriage agencies there —- but it won’t be so prevalent and pervasive to have become the machine it is in Odessa.
I’m sure that the people on this board that describe Nikolaev as a terrible place would say the same think about Krivoy Rog. It isn’t a pleasant and pretty city. It is industrial city, in a 3rd world country.
But, I really don’t guess you are going to see the city. You must have been talking with a young woman there. For me, I personally would prefer that to a city that Westerners can get to so easily -— because we have been going there looking for brides for so long that it has made some rather unpleasant environments. (You can get a non-stop flight from New York to Kyiv. If it is that easy to get to, then it means lots of men have been going there, and for some time. Sure, there are still girls there! But, the industry has been there for a long time too. My best advice for using an agency is try to meet girls that are new to the agency.)
Of course, even in the marriage-industry overrun cities, you could meet such a wonderful girl. The big agency ‘A Foreign Affair’ / loveme.com goes to Krivoy Rog as their side-city for their tours to Dnepropetrovsk. You could go there with them.
Or, you could go there at the same time they are hosting a social, and have a place to go if it isn’t working out with the young woman you are visiting.
So, just remember —- a mining town, in a 3rd world country. You aren't going there for the beautiful city. Also, it is indeed a little out of the way, and it is not so overrun with westerners trying to get their bride.
Jonny,
Are you back from Dominican....got let me in on details of how you arranged trip for girl from Russia. Sounds like something I'd be interested in. Hope it was not too hard.
I went to Krivoy Rog in the middle of March to see a couple of ladies there and i stayed at the Aurora hotel for two nights.
i tried to book for 7 days in the Aurora but it was fully booked up due some conference of local businessmen.The rest of my 14 day visit i stayed at apartments at Dnepropetrovsk , Zaphoroyze, kiev. The various other ladies i did meet were no better or worse than any other ladies that i have met in Dnepropetrovsk , Zaphoroyze, kiev.
I think they have seen it all before -it is a ritual to them. Man visits pays for taxi food, restaurants say nice words to them, some ladies smile and laugh- some look bored.
it is not too far for me from u.k and anyway i will return again in august september to ukraine with a different and i think a more succesful approach and procedure.
My trip to Dominican Republic with Oksana was arranged very quickly. I used frequent flier miles for her ticket-- an electronic ticket with Air France through Paris (using my Delta miles.)
With miles and an award ticket, the last name on the ticket has to match the last name on the frequent flier account. That is, she had to have the same last name as me. We're not married-- she has a different last name. No problem, I just gave her three names-- Her first, her last, and my last appended on the end.
Poor thing was at the airport in St. Petersburg and AirFrance wouln't let her board. She was intensly upset, verge of tears, and didn't understhand why I had put my name on the ticket along with hers. (I only did it because it was the only way to get the ticket issued. Otherwise, it would have been a paper ticket, which I would have had to mail to her-- and we would have run out of time.)
Poor girl. I felt intensly bad. I was on the phone with her as she was at the airport, talking to Air France. Hell, I was on the verge of tears myself, let alone her! :) I thought perhaps she would be endlessly mad at me, or she might have thought I was yanking her around.
Amazingly, she understood, after she was back home and not upset anymore. I wasn't able to put together a ticket-- the next AirFrance flight was several days later, and by the time that one came, both of our vacation times away from work would have past.
Her brother got her a ticket to Egypt for the week holiday-- and she called me and asked if I could come to egypt with her-- she said the room was already paid for! You know, when you do find a good girl in FSU, it can be so amazing. I've known her two years now, and she has never done anythign wrong to me, or with me.
In a way, this was a great experience. I mean, everybody can be sweet on a nice vacation. But, what is the young woman like when things go terribly wrong? Well, this girl was upset (naturally) -- and then two days later she was again trying to be with me, inviting me to go with her to Egypt.
I really liked that. It was one thing when she was coming to the Caribbean for a holiday, and of course I would be taking care of required expenses. But, when my ticket for her fell through, and her brother got her another trip-- she wanted to be with me just as much-- asking if I would come to her in Egypt.
I talked to her a few times when she was there-- she would call me and tell me about what she was seeing. She's in love with Egypt now! Just wish it was Dominican Republic (and me!) that she was with these last days.
Jonny, I am glad it do not turn into a total collapse. Why did they not let her board? I did want to know how difficult it would be a fly a girl from Ukraine to Dominican Republic and paying for the ticket....in terms of paperwork. Girls in Ukraine do not have much options on where to vacation other than Crimea.
I would also like to know what destinations Ukraine citizens can easily go to. So far I know this for sure:
- Russia
- all EU countries who have NOT YET joined the shengen countries
- Tunisia
- Egypt
- Thailand
- UAE
- Turkey
I have a vacation booked with my girl and her 2 daughters in Egypt, begin of July, and we already met in Prague, so they can travel but limited.
So, if anyone else knows, what other countries can they easily obtain visa to ?
Countries they can easily visit:
Antigua, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, FYROM, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Serbia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia**, Turkey, Ukraine, U.A.E, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Zambia.
I have heard UAB are now making things more difficult.
A Russian women I met recently was able to travel to Spain,Italy and just about anywhere,it depends on your girl. Generally to go to Europe and other places they have to show documentation that they earn big money etc. The girl I met told me this was no problem for her even though she earnt little money, She could write her own documents.))
This is Russia, very exotic country..))
Oksana holds a Ukraine passport. She’s living in St. Petersburg now, but she is Ukrainian.
I knew for sure that there were two countries that were easy to get to: Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. My friend Yana came to Jamaica to spend a week there with her Mr. Topeka, before they got married last year. So, Jamaica is an option.
Dominican Republic was also welcoming to Ukraine citizens.
We considered Jamaica, but the world cricket championships were there, and it was a busy time in terms of hotels and flights, so we opted not to go there.
Costa Rica was open in terms of visas, but the flights connect through the United States. That effectively eliminate that country as an option.
That could be an important little side note-- as something to watch out for. Even though the destination country (like Costa Rica) would welcome a Ukraine girl without a visa, if the flights only connect through countries that require a visa, then it essentially eliminates that location as an option.
(France requires a visa, of course, but you can connect through Paris no problem—Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) has an extensive transit-zone, so you never have to enter the country proper. You just stay in the international zone and connect to your flight, without ever passing customs and entering the country proper. Airports in Germany allow this too—but as far as I know the U.S. does not allow this. My ex girlfriend was flying back to Dnepropetrovsk from the U.S, and when she went to make her connection in Europe, they wouldn’t let her fly to Austria, because she didn’t have a Schengen visa. They ended up sending her to Moscow, then down to Kyiv—even though she only would have been in Austria 55 minutes. Since there was no international zone in Austria, it wouldn’t work. As you might imagine, changing routing to go through Moscow was a bit of a freaking pain.)
For our planned trip, Oksana just went to a travel agency in her city and asked where she could go. I knew about Jamaica from my friend Yana, and I knew about Dominican Republic from another girl from Ukraine that went there.
Back two weeks ago, they wouldn’t let Oksana boar because the surname on the ticket didn’t match the surname on her passport. I’ve traveled a lot, maybe 30 countries, and I bet I could have made it work. But, this was all new to Oksana, and for her it was impossible.
Thats a bummer Jonny. Hopefully you both can work things out. I was in Egypt last November for a few weeks. Beautiful sights and the water is great. The downer is Egyptian dudes are like flys and the food sucks. I wouldnt recommend the place.
Really, I want to know daily costs of hotels in Krivoy Rog and the costs of apartments.
How much for a 2 week stay and what is cost of food like, places to eat and things to do.
I don't want to pay $50usd a night for a basic room when locals pay $100 a month for an apartment..for a country such as Ukraine, its ridiculous to pay "Western prices" for accomodation and I hear in many places you don't have 24 hour hot water and often get a cold shower.
Aussie, I agree with you that the economics seem completely out of wack. Unfortunately it is reality. If you can get a room that is worth staying in for $50 a night, I would take it. Prices for anything in Ukraine/ Russia make no sense. The funny thing is, it is not just the Western tourist that is creating these prices. It is the the wealthy from Moscow and Kiev that are the big travellers. They seem happy paying.
It is a case of supply and demand, that does not look like it is going to correct for a long time.
I feel sorry for the average local. Can you imagine going to work for $50 a week and when you go to buy food at the market,it is the same price as in Australia. And a half livable single room appartment will cost them more than their $50 weekly wage to rent. How do they do it? You can not live on the street, you will die in 30 below.
It is impossible for the average person to buy even a shabby run down single room apartment. If you do not inherit an apartment there, you will never own one.
Because a man there has no options, it is not surprising a $2 bottle of vodka looks attractive.
On the other side of the coin. If you know the right people and can start a business, it can be very lucrative. Even a cafe will charge the same prices as in the West, but the wage bill is only 10%. This makes it very easy for a business to make big money. And they do.
Aussie,
What are talking about....tell me of any place in Ukraine you can rent an apt much less than $50! Do you not live in a capitalistic society.....you charge the price you can get. If you plan to stay for a couple years and know the language maybe you can get your $100 a month price. Personnally, I don't mind paying upwards of $100 a night if it is nicer and right in middle of town. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Try renting a shack and pay $25 a month and have bugs everywhere and water works half the time...so much for being petty about apt prices.
I was in Krivoy Rog, march 2007.
The Aurora hotel is pretty good and you could book this hotel online:
http://www.online-translator.com/url/tran_url.asp?lang=de&direction= rg&template=General&transliterate=on&autotranslate=on&url=http://www.online-tran slator.com/url/tran_url.asp%3Flang=en%26direction=re%26template=General%26transl iterate=on%26autotranslate=on%26url=http://www.kryvyirih.dp.ua/russian/main/hote ls/hotels.htm
as ian ng2 mentioned in his post above here the Aurora hotel in krivoy rog can be often difficult to get a vacancy in it, so it is best if at all possible to book well in advance.
Beemer $50usd a night for an apartment ( self contained with 2 rooms and kitchen ) equals $350 usd a week which is a lot for a country such as Ukraine.
I don't think its reasonable to pay more than that outside of cities such as Kiev.
Kiev is very expensive, and I have seen things for $100 a night or more there.
Remember Australians are also disadvantaged by the exchange rate to US dollars as our dollar is sitting around 80 to 84 cents US so roughly Aussie dollars changed to US dollars is 20% more expensive for us so $50usd a night is really $60 a night in our terms so it is very expensive for us.
For Australians, the flight to Ukraine is 16,000 kilometres ( 10,000 miles ), a bloody long way with a big airfare ranging from about $2500 Aud in the low season to about $4000 AUD in the high season for a flight to Kiev so you would want to stay more than a few days and for say a 1 month stay with accommodation the cost of the trip is at least $10,000 Aud, just for one meeting with a girl, so for us, you need to have many "back up plans with women in reserve to meet" as the travel expenses are astronomical.
Its a 27 hour flight from here in Melbourne to Kiev involving 3 changes of aircraft.
What astounds me is the attitudes of a lot of Ukraine/Russian girls..they think it is nothing for a man to travel 1000s of miles for a meeting and that we can do it all the time and that we bring home 100,000 plus salaries ( not many do in Australia and those that do are on 47% income tax rate! ).
I don't think most of the girls are serious and have a blaise attitude..it is a big deal and expense for a man to travel so far and spend so much money just to meet them and they should respect that for what it is worth and roll out the red carpet!
They should be honoured that a man would do this for them, yet they treat it like just another blind date with a countryman when its far from it..how many men in there countries would go to so much expense and trouble to meet them..its more than just a date!
And many Ukraine girls, treat the Western men that visit them as nothing more than "cash cows", to pay for everything, do extraordinarily expensive things that they do not do on there own and theres no intention in there little minds for a serious future and marriage, just short sightedness to gain money and gifts in the short term.
I have never heard of a culture, so motivated by money as Russians and Ukrainins..human feelings are trashed and out the window as far as they are concerned all in the name of the buck.
I hope the moderator does not censor this because this is my perception of them based on what I have heard and read.
They are not angels and they do not make perfect wives..nobody is perfect and they are just like other women but it seems to be me, they are more motivated by money, and a more vain and bitchy and many Western men will not tolerate there behaviour.
The divorce rate for Ukraine is 65%..I wonder why..it seems to be a fault with the women as it seems Ukraine men are blamed a lot for "excessive drinking and being unemployed bums" but they don't all drink.
I was told by my Polish friend, Ukraine girls "have very big mouths" and are not to be trusted and are motivated by nothing more than the buck!
It seems to me, that theres a cultural dislike between the Polish and Ukrainians.
I believe women have rights in a marriage but there are times when a woman needs to keep her mouth shut and know her place to keep the peace..a Ukrainian woman does not know when to keep quiet and will argue over every little thing and are manipulators.
The idea of trying to find a Russian or Ukrainian wife seems to me to be a very negative and costly business in which a lot of us guys, who attempt it end up getting hurt.
Theres a saying "only fools wander in areas where angels fear to tread"
Are we fools then for ever wanting or trying to get an FSU women for marriage?
aussieman
there does seem to be this problem with ukranian that you have highlighted here. I have been twice now to ukraine and though this does not make me an expert on the female characterstics of ukranian women i think i agree with your observations certainly with regard to their attitude with men and money. i am wondering weather to continue with my search in ukraine for woman.
i guess some men have relationships with these women in which maybe love comes first and money second or third option .
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