10 days in Lvov with an angel

[Lord of the Dance]

Rosco, you've said it better than I possibly could!


But the bottom-line is if a man decides to be with a woman, she will be a "10" for him in every respect and treat her and behave accordingly.  I couldn't agree more!

I confess I missed Rosco's golden comment

Credit were it's due

+1

I've never understood the 1-10 scale; beauty is so subjective. Beyond that, there's no empirical evidence / standards to assign each number of the scale (for the sake of consistency). As an example, my body isn't perfect, but my teeth actually are (I really lucked out because both of my parents wore braces as children), so between my future wife's body and my teeth, we'll be set. 

But seriously, I want to be together when we're old and grey... with such goals, that number scale business goes out the window real quick (not that I don't want an attractive mate, but you get my point).   

[Lord of the Dance]

I didn't mention I have German ancestry.

Typical American, I'm 10% English, 12% Irish, 68% Korean and 10% German therefore, I feel the need to mention it in some stupid way. You're an American, that's like me saying I'm Scottish despite the fact the last Scot born was 4-5 generations ago, all born in London since.

I have Neanderthal ancestors , I don't mention it to anyone!

 

[Lord of the Dance]

There's an LA-Moscow direct!  Hope there will be a next time!  If you're lady is lovely and all goes well, hope you would be planning travels back there to see her family with her...

I'm not cut out for this travel. I'm at JFK right now. I missed my flight from Borispyl to Frankfurt because I was asleep at the switch, so I had to travel across town to Zhulainy for a 6am flight. I missed what would have been a good night's sleep in my hotel in Warsaw and it cost me $250 to boot.

I have some relatively minor lower back trouble and sitting in the Economy seats isn't good for it. I fly premium economy for the longer legs of the journey. It takes me a minimum of 24 hrs of travel one way and it has been as much as 52 hrs. I told her that if she marries me she will be making the trips back to see her folks solo.

When I was her age I didn't mind as much as I do now. Then again, I didn't really travel that much back then. I think I need to get rich and buy a private jet with a bed if I want to keep this up.

One cool thing is that she is interested in RV'ing around America. I have had many RV's and have fantasized about going semi full time for years. The idea would be to sell my main house and keep my cabin. Then maybe rent it out Abnb while we are on the road (which I'm doing now anyway), although I wouldn't really need to do that.

She thinks it is a good idea for some of the same reasons as me. You aren't always schlepping your luggage around and you always sleep in your own bed. If you get bored, drive somewhere else. The Pacific Northwest is a particularly appealing place to RV in my opinion. Then there's Canada and also the option of heading south for the winter.

It's just a dream for now. But it's fun to dream sometimes.

Just a dude, thanks for taking the time to keep us apprised of your recent trip / travels. It sounds to me like everything carried out well, all things considered (and excepting the rough travel arrangements and delays). I'm going to share a few of my thoughts, but bear in mind that I am even less experienced than you, so take my words with little weight.

It seems to me like you're really rushing things. Why did you feel it necessary to propose so soon (especially considering that you already suspected she would respond with a less than sure answer)? I also find it strange that you want to travel the States in a motor coach but you're uncomfortable spending a day or two traveling to the FSU by air. If you're going to realize those cross-country aspirations, better read your back the riot act. My untrained, inexperienced opinion is that if you really want this relationship to materialize in the long run, you're going to be doing a lot more flying to the FSU. As other members have suggested, thoughtful travel planning will result in more comfortable passages.

Hope you're auto project is coming together nicely. Speaking of cross-country dreams, when I finish up the sculling wherry I'm on right now, I'm gonna start building a kit plane. I want to fly across the States, Canada and eventually Alaska. My dad turns 60 this year (who knows how much longer he'll be with me) and building an airplane is something I've always wanted to do with him. We're thinking strongly of the Zenair 801-Super Duty STOL (already have the rudder for it). As much as they say they'll travel with us, maybe our wives can hang out together while we live out our dreams, eh?

By the way, did she keep the ring or did you bring it back with you? ~ Doug 

 

[Lord of the Dance]

No, not burned.  This is just my impression that I've got from some of the dating sites and the girls I've seen or communicated with there.  Also, its not uncommon to see very beautiful women where everything about them screams that materialism is a very important component of their life.

Of course, what I said are generalizations and won't be true in every case.

And I wasn't talking about scammers or gold-diggers.  In my experience there are very few of those here in Moscow.  Usually when girls have expectations of finding a man that will fund an expensive lifestyle, they are quite open about it.  If someone is able and wants to fund that, then by all means and perhaps it will be a very happy relationship.  It's not for me and I'm also realistic about what I can afford, so I don't bother with the girls who's expectations I will not be able to meet.

Have fun in Moscow!  It's a lovely city!

Materialism is very important to many people, I'm a capitalist pig who'll buy the latest iPhone and Samsung mobile, I'll drop £1k on clothes at a moments notice and I spend a lot of money on restaurants, hotels and bars. I earned very good money and I spend it well, I can understand that some women have the 'sugar daddy' mindset to put it politely and that can be offputting to many and rightly so as who wants to support someone who won't work?

I fully understand where you come from re: expectations, I expect a lot in terms of financial equality, I've found that girls my age who come from rich families are easily accessible in Russia and Ukraine, too easily I'd say but meh. So that's what I look for, I'm actually seeing a girl in Moscow who's currently vacationing in the Alps, her parents own a chalet out there and they've been there for nearly 5 weeks now celebrating Christmas. We match on what is an important level for me, so we shall see what else we match on (it's quite a bit more but dating LD vs. IP are different kettles of fish).

I will enjoy Moscow, it's actually my last trip before I head to Paris for the weekend and then move to Dubai as I've been offered a job out there, I'll probably kick in this little exercise as I won't need to leave Dubai to meet many beautiful women from all over the world!

So Poldark, you appear to know the rich veins fairly well. I will hire you to mine me three beautiful, wealthy Russian women, collect on delivery. 

[Crusader]

I told her that if she marries me she will be making the trips back to see her folks solo.

Sounds to me like you've been shopping for a trophy.

You say trophy like it's a bad thing))
I didn't start out on this because I wanted a woman who's not as hot as the women I meet in the US. I agree it doesn't sound good, but in context maybe it wasn't so bad. Her ex was controlling and jealous of all other relationships. He didn't like her traveling without him. Yes, it's a bit selfish on my part, but I also wanted her to know that I'm cool with her doing stuff on her own. OTOH, I would be cool with moving her parents to the US, and even living with us for a while, although we didn't discuss that. Her Dad wrenches on cars like me. I do want to meet him. At any rate, she didn't seem the least bit concerned about it.

Good for you. They are just jealous because they can't pull a Hott chick. But they can look on the bright side; Prince Harry is in the same bout as them and he is a "Prince" 

[Crusader]

Please tell us that you visited Kryjivka cafe and shot Stalin in the face 40s style.
And don't give any cucks the password. 

[Crusader]

No, not burned.  This is just my impression that I've got from some of the dating sites and the girls I've seen or communicated with there.  Also, its not uncommon to see very beautiful women where everything about them screams that materialism is a very important component of their life.

Of course, what I said are generalizations and won't be true in every case.

And I wasn't talking about scammers or gold-diggers.  In my experience there are very few of those here in Moscow.  Usually when girls have expectations of finding a man that will fund an expensive lifestyle, they are quite open about it.  If someone is able and wants to fund that, then by all means and perhaps it will be a very happy relationship.  It's not for me and I'm also realistic about what I can afford, so I don't bother with the girls who's expectations I will not be able to meet.

Have fun in Moscow!  It's a lovely city!

Materialism is very important to many people, I'm a capitalist pig who'll buy the latest iPhone and Samsung mobile, I'll drop £1k on clothes at a moments notice and I spend a lot of money on restaurants, hotels and bars. I earned very good money and I spend it well, I can understand that some women have the 'sugar daddy' mindset to put it politely and that can be offputting to many and rightly so as who wants to support someone who won't work?

I fully understand where you come from re: expectations, I expect a lot in terms of financial equality, I've found that girls my age who come from rich families are easily accessible in Russia and Ukraine, too easily I'd say but meh. So that's what I look for, I'm actually seeing a girl in Moscow who's currently vacationing in the Alps, her parents own a chalet out there and they've been there for nearly 5 weeks now celebrating Christmas. We match on what is an important level for me, so we shall see what else we match on (it's quite a bit more but dating LD vs. IP are different kettles of fish).

I will enjoy Moscow, it's actually my last trip before I head to Paris for the weekend and then move to Dubai as I've been offered a job out there, I'll probably kick in this little exercise as I won't need to leave Dubai to meet many beautiful women from all over the world!

So Poldark, you appear to know the rich veins fairly well. I will hire you to mine me three beautiful, wealthy Russian women, collect on delivery.

For some reason I have Poldark pictured in my mind as Gopher on the Love Boat. 

[rosco]

But seriously, I want to be together when we're old and grey... with such goals, that number scale business goes out the window real quick (not that I don't want an attractive mate, but you get my point).

Everyone does, or at least most people do. The secret is knowing your own worth because I see a few out of shape, relatively poor blokes looking for something way out of their reach and in the end they get frustrated and shout scammer. Some guys think just because they're in Russia or Ukraine, model types will automatically accept the guys flaws because he's western.

Similarly, they'll ignore women who are probably good matches for them and most would suggest the blokes still punching above his weight. That bloke is looking for a miracle, not a partner.

Still, us guys generally prefer beautiful slim, well turned out ladies and it just so happens that part of the world has more of them available. We wouldn't go through all the hassle just to settle with a chubby feminist but its about being realistic and knowing your worth.

I've just gone 5 1/2 years married, my wife's 26 and of course I enjoy being out with her when she gets extra attention because of her looks. At New Year another beautiful lady came up to her and said I saw you as my competition as soon as I arrived. My wife enjoyed the attention and of course I love her to bits.

But what's more important at this stage is how we live together and how we make each other feel. There's that old saying - With every stunning girl, there's some poor bloke putting up with all her shit! 

[Poldark]

So Poldark, you appear to know the rich veins fairly well. I will hire you to mine me three beautiful, wealthy Russian women, collect on delivery.

Only becuase I worked with insanely rich people before my current job, I'm going back to working with insanely rich people for the new job in Dubai. Once you know how they dress, their attitudes, how to act etc. it's easy to fit in and it's easy to pick them out only Russia and Ukraine have obviously rich people whereas in the UK, it's more muted and harder to figure out.

For some reason I have Poldark pictured in my mind as Gopher on the Love Boat. 

I had to Google that, no thanks! Not me

[dcguyusa]

I’ve often noticed the local guys with girls whom I would consider pretty average or less. And I often notice the beauties alone. I wonder if the Russian guys know something the rest of us don’t.

It proves that character is more important than looks.  Beauty is only skin deep, but ugliness lasts forever.   

[justadude]

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve got issues and that I may seem inconsistent.

RV traveling is obviously different than airline traveling. I can decide for myself when to stop and I can install any kind of seat I want, with the needed amount of backrest angle. I also don’t have to sit next to John Candys character from Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  I’m a bit of a germophobe (my gf mocks me for it, and the inconsistency of getting all greasy in the garage and the junkyard) and I know when the bedding has been washed last in the RV.
 I place too much importance on looks also.

Speaking of looks and lookers, I sent her a few videos to show her things within walking distance around my Home. She was thankful and a bit relieved. I also asked her what she would do while I’m at work. She said learn English and go to the gym( which is good news to me as fitness is a priority). So I showed her where there is a nearby gym and found some local ESL classes for her.

I think she has been very close to throwing caution to the wind and saying yes a couple of times. I’m trying to maintain a balance of making sure she knows I want her and not being pushy.

Once in a while she’ll throw in a comment about how she’d like to implement some rules. For example, no shoes or greasy clothes in the house. But she also said she’d still kiss me if I’m car dirty.

Maybe some of you guys think I don’t deserve a girl like this. I probably don’t.

[justadude]

Some progress on the beetle. I made a height adjustable Cart to position the engine for trial fitting.

LOTD the kit plane sounds awesome. What engine do you think you’ll use? BTW, John Denver, who wrote the opening song of this thread, bought the farm in a kit plane, right? But I hope trust you’ll be more careful!

[Contrarian]

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve got issues and that I may seem inconsistent.

RV traveling is obviously different than airline traveling. I can decide for myself when to stop and I can install any kind of seat I want, with the needed amount of backrest angle. I also don’t have to sit next to John Candys character from Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  I’m a bit of a germophobe (my gf mocks me for it, and the inconsistency of getting all greasy in the garage and the junkyard) and I know when the bedding has been washed last in the RV.
 I place too much importance on looks also.

Speaking of looks and lookers, I sent her a few videos to show her things within walking distance around my Home. She was thankful and a bit relieved. I also asked her what she would do while I’m at work. She said learn English and go to the gym( which is good news to me as fitness is a priority). So I showed her where there is a nearby gym and found some local ESL classes for her.

I think she has been very close to throwing caution to the wind and saying yes a couple of times. I’m trying to maintain a balance of making sure she knows I want her and not being pushy.

Once in a while she’ll throw in a comment about how she’d like to implement some rules. For example, no shoes or greasy clothes in the house. But she also said she’d still kiss me if I’m car dirty.

Maybe some of you guys think I don’t deserve a girl like this. I probably don’t.

A woman like her is going to want to have a career and work.

If you really want her you MUST go back and meet her parents, IMO.

[Lord of the Dance]

But what's more important at this stage is how we live together and how we make each other feel. There's that old saying - With every stunning girl, there's some poor bloke putting up with all her shit! 

Yep, that's the tradeoff I hear. 

[Lord of the Dance]

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve got issues and that I may seem inconsistent.

RV traveling is obviously different than airline traveling. I can decide for myself when to stop and I can install any kind of seat I want, with the needed amount of backrest angle. I also don’t have to sit next to John Candys character from Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  I’m a bit of a germophobe (my gf mocks me for it, and the inconsistency of getting all greasy in the garage and the junkyard) and I know when the bedding has been washed last in the RV.
 I place too much importance on looks also.

Speaking of looks and lookers, I sent her a few videos to show her things within walking distance around my Home. She was thankful and a bit relieved. I also asked her what she would do while I’m at work. She said learn English and go to the gym( which is good news to me as fitness is a priority). So I showed her where there is a nearby gym and found some local ESL classes for her.

I think she has been very close to throwing caution to the wind and saying yes a couple of times. I’m trying to maintain a balance of making sure she knows I want her and not being pushy.

Once in a while she’ll throw in a comment about how she’d like to implement some rules. For example, no shoes or greasy clothes in the house. But she also said she’d still kiss me if I’m car dirty.

Maybe some of you guys think I don’t deserve a girl like this. I probably don’t.

It is my opinion that most of us desire nice things and relationships with people who we probably don't deserve, but that's part of life. If we wanted to make life fair, we'd have to make ourselves blind, deaf and dumb to equal the lowest common denominator. Better to recognize that life isn't fair, it's definitely short and we should appreciate our position in life and 'reach for the stars' as much as possible.

I think producing a short video of your home-life / surroundings is a good one, especially in a situation like yours (since you already know her fairly well). When I mentioned this idea to my parents, they thought it was akin to boasting of nice things as if you're dangling bait, but of course not when you are dealing with a person you've already met and know is serious about a future together. I can see how content like a video tour would reassure / relieve the woman (eliminating some of that 'fear of the unknown' stuff).

I can also understand your point about airline travel... I remember when I was a kid (certainly after the 'golden years' of commercial aviation) flying was still kind of fun. Not so anymore; today flying can be anything from alright to absolutely miserable. That said, a willingness to spend some additional money on upgraded seating as well as careful planning will usually net decent travel experiences. You're right that you can't help if you get stuck next to an undesirable travel-mate. Once I had to sit next to a very large man with a body odor problem... I would've taken John Candy any day (this guy was bad!).

Mom hates to fly and has been pushing to buy a big motor coach for some time but dad ain't budging. We actually rented one a few summers ago for a week-long trip. This machine was a fair-sized caravan with a huge 'rent me!' advertisement on the side, complete with graphics of a happy family; quite the contrast to the real family inside, ready to kill each other after about the third day. I'm sure it would be a different experience with your own, customized vehicle and just your wife, making whoopee at every other stop.   

[Lord of the Dance]

Some progress on the beetle. I made a height adjustable Cart to position the engine for trial fitting.

LOTD the kit plane sounds awesome. What engine do you think you’ll use? BTW, John Denver, who wrote the opening song of this thread, bought the farm in a kit plane, right? But I hope trust you’ll be more careful!

Glad to hear the Beetle is moving along (well, maybe not literally yet, but you get what I'm saying). You know you're invested in the project when you're building equipment to move / position the engine!

Yeah, musician John Denver bought it in a Burt Rutan-designed kit plane (called a Long-EZ if I'm not mistaken). As with many of Rutan's designs, it's an odd-looking, canard aircraft. IIRC, J. Denver purchased the kit airplane already assembled from the original builder, who had elected to place a fuel selector switch in an odd location in the cockpit (kind of hidden behind the seat or something?). He departed with less than full fuel and exhausted one of his tanks, then couldn't find the selector switch to start on another, starved the engine of fuel and went down in the ocean. Too bad... Love 'Rocky Mountain High.'

The Zenair 801-SD will take a number of good powerplants, I'm looking primarily at the Lycoming O-360. Though I must admit that I'm also entertaining the thought of trying to install a small turbine engine, making the aircraft more like a miniature Cessna 208. If I would go this route, I will definitely employ a firm to install it for me (it will require numerous airframe / mount / cowl mods). Be super cool though and would get me away from costly avgas and into cheaper, readily available Jet-A (important for remote tundra flying). Burn rate on a turbine is higher per shaft horsepower than a piston, but the 801 can carry double fuel reserves. It'll be an experimental category either way, so on the one hand, why not go all-out? On the other hand, tried and true will get you through.

I'll be careful, but you know we all die eventually anyway. 

'Rocky Mountain high'

 

[Lord of the Dance]

A woman like her is going to want to have a career and work.

If you really want her you MUST go back and meet her parents, IMO.

Definitely agree about meeting her parents. Seems like the gal's father could be a cool cat if he's interested in working on cars too.

Speaking of career and work, Just a dude's first post on this thread mentions that the woman is making about $1200 a month in her current means of employment. Is $14.5K / year considered a decent salary in the FSU?

[Markje]

A woman like her is going to want to have a career and work.

If you really want her you MUST go back and meet her parents, IMO.

Definitely agree about meeting her parents. Seems like the gal's father could be a cool cat if he's interested in working on cars too.

Speaking of career and work, Just a dude's first post on this thread mentions that the woman is making about $1200 a month in her current means of employment. Is $14.5K / year considered a decent salary in the FSU?

Average wages for Ukraine is $200/month... so $1200/month would seem more than decent, more like well-off salary.

Also:

FSU-women tend to be more traditional in family values. I.E. If her dad says no, she will say no to the dude.

[Lord of the Dance]

A woman like her is going to want to have a career and work.

If you really want her you MUST go back and meet her parents, IMO.

Definitely agree about meeting her parents. Seems like the gal's father could be a cool cat if he's interested in working on cars too.

Speaking of career and work, Just a dude's first post on this thread mentions that the woman is making about $1200 a month in her current means of employment. Is $14.5K / year considered a decent salary in the FSU?

Average wages for Ukraine is $200/month... so $1200/month would seem more than decent, more like well-off salary.

Thanks Markje, didn't realize that.

[rosco]

Also:

FSU-women tend to be more traditional in family values. I.E. If her dad says no, she will say no to the dude.

Unless they have daddy issues. They were my favourite kind back in my dating days!! 

[Contrarian]

A woman like her is going to want to have a career and work.

If you really want her you MUST go back and meet her parents, IMO.

Definitely agree about meeting her parents. Seems like the gal's father could be a cool cat if he's interested in working on cars too.

Speaking of career and work, Just a dude's first post on this thread mentions that the woman is making about $1200 a month in her current means of employment. Is $14.5K / year considered a decent salary in the FSU?

Average wages for Ukraine is $200/month... so $1200/month would seem more than decent, more like well-off salary.

Thanks Markje, didn't realize that.

She’s doing very well in Ukraine and her friends and family are right there.   

[justadude]

She said YES yesterday. I/we are working on the visa application.

[Lord of the Dance]

She said YES yesterday. I/we are working on the visa application.

Congratulations! 

Do I see a surprise visit in your near future?

[Steveboy]

A woman like her is going to want to have a career and work.

If you really want her you MUST go back and meet her parents, IMO.

Definitely agree about meeting her parents. Seems like the gal's father could be a cool cat if he's interested in working on cars too.

Speaking of career and work, Just a dude's first post on this thread mentions that the woman is making about $1200 a month in her current means of employment. Is $14.5K / year considered a decent salary in the FSU?

Average wages for Ukraine is $200/month... so $1200/month would seem more than decent, more like well-off salary.

Also:

FSU-women tend to be more traditional in family values. I.E. If her dad says no, she will say no to the dude.

Average wages for Ukraine is $200/month

So if you send some women over there a second hand i phone 4 you are GOD ?

[Markje]

So if you send some women over there a second hand i phone 4 you are GOD ?

Not if her other lover just sent her a new Iphone-6s