Risky Business

[KenC]

The point has been made here that pursuing/romancing and marrying a RW is no more risky than with a hometown woman.  I sincerely believe that that notion is absurd!  So as in way of explaining some of the additional risks involved with RW I have compiled the following list with help from a few others.  (Thank you guys for your help, you know who you are.)

The list is in no way all inclusive.  I am sure there are many more risks that have not been addressed here.  Feel free to add to it.

I also do not wish to minimize the risks faced by the RW which IMO are far greater.

In an effort to sidetrack some counter arguments, travel simply must be included in this list of risks because it is required where as if dating a local woman, it is not. 


Risks in the Search
•   Selecting the method to search for a RW is a high risk proposition in of itself.  Pick the wrong agency and you will burn money like kindling wood (with little or no results)  Many agencies are dishonest and will mislead the man purposely just to milk him for money.  He may or may not even be in contact with a woman as some agencies regularly answer letters that the ladies never even see.  Picking a free site is also fraught with risks as the number of scammers go up at these locations.  Even if the man should find an honest agency, it still does not insure that the lady he selects has honest intentions. 
•   Once you find a woman or a group of women with whom to communicate, it is very difficult to verify whatever she is feeding you is truthful.  The absence of verification adds to the risk that the woman you are communication with may not be who she pretends to be.
•   There is an ongoing game being played by many women listed on various sites.  The name of the game is to get the man separated from his money.  Faked illnesses, family tragedies, or other heart wrenching emergencies are the tools of the trade here.  Last minute travel complications that can only be resolved by the man sending money is another often used ploy.  The risk of having someone play with your heartstrings in order to get at your wallet is real and all too common.
•   Once you get past the women that are only interested in your wallet, you are not out of the woods yet.  There are another group of women that are just insincere in their motivations.  They might be “professional daters” or just looking for any way out of their dismal life.  The risk of being heartbroken here is significant because their goals are more important than you are to them. (Search “Mule” for more details.)

Risk of travel to fsu
•   The risk of being out of one's element and not fully understanding the laws. When one travels from one state to another, they are basically assured that laws have a great degree of uniformity. I.E. Being caught speeding in Alabama will get you a similar traffic citation as being caught speeding in Wisconsin. Not so in the FSU where often times laws are contradictory, so compliance with one law may in fact violate another. On top of that, one may at any time be subject to arbitrary enforcement as a means to supplement some local officer's income.
•   The risk of being at the mercy of the consulates. Visa schemes change quickly and often in FSU and it is entirely possible that one could have a fully valid entry visa upon departure, yet find out upon arrival at their intended destination that the rules have changed.
•   The risk of travel related theft. Bags can and do get "lost" between departing and destination airports. Some bags are recovered intact and others get "rifled" and relived of high value items by ground crews
•   The risk of being stranded. Weather plays a profound role in travel to the FSU, especially during the winter months, and snowstorms don't really care if your ticket is non-refundable/non changeable, or if your tourist visa expires tomorrow
•   The risk of illness/injury. Most agree that the doctors and nurses in FSU are on par with their colleagues in the West. One should not expect however, the hospital in a small town in Siberia will be as well equipped to deal with emergency health issues as a hospital on the outskirts of Baltimore, due to lack of medicines and medical apparatuses
•   The risk of dealing with the local militia and customs officials.  Not knowing the bribe system could lead to jail time.
•   The risk of being taken advantage of by "clever" Russians in general.  With the language difficulties, it is much easier to be taken advantage of.  Think about the fact that just not knowing the monetary denominations could expose you to anyone you deal with there.
•   The inherent risk of not being able to read Cyrillic could put one at risk.  Not be able to read "danger" or road closed signs for example.

Risks of romancing 
•   The risks of spending a great deal of time and money to romance the wrong woman due to your inability to read the woman’s intentions because of culture and language differences.  How valuable is your vacation time?
•   The risk of being too generous.  It is an easy trap to fall in to because of the disparity between financial standings of the man to the woman (usually).  Some middleclass men have difficulty handling having the new position of being considered “rich” by the women of the fsu.
•   The risk of being taken advantage of due to lack of understanding the culture and language.  Too many “love sick puppies” get bilked by unscrupulous RW because their actions are passed off as what they think is expected of them.  There is no such unfamiliarity with customs in your home country.

Risks of marriage to a RW
•   The risk of being denied a visa for the woman after you have decided to marry. (Ask BillyB about this risk for more details)
•   The risks of spending great effort, time and money to bring a RW here on a K-1 only to find out it will not work for various reasons within the 90 day period.
•   The risk of choosing a woman too quickly due to time, money and travel limitations (Read “Wedded Strangers” for more details)
•   The risk of having a false DV charge filed by your wife from the fsu.
•   The risk of financially guaranteeing that your future wife from the fsu will never be on assistance programs here in America.
•   The risk that the marriage will not work.  All marriages are a risk, but there are additional risks involved with a marriage to a RW.  Besides the “regular” risks of marriage there is an uphill battle that will be fought to have the woman acclimate to her new country and culture.  Simply put, some do not handle the adjustment and return to their Motherland.

[Ooooops]

It's a dangerous, dangerous world!   That's why so many Americans never even had a passport, till travels to/from Mexico and Canada started to require one.   

[Misha]

It's a dangerous, dangerous world!   That's why so many Americans never even had a passport, till travels to/from Mexico and Canada started to require one.   

And, let's not get started about the risks facing Americans traveling to Canada: igloos collapsing, dog teams in Vancouver attacking unwary American tourists, grizzly bears mauling tourists deprived of their right to bear arms on the streets of Toronto....

[steviej]

The point has been made here that pursuing/romancing and marrying a RW is no more risky than with a hometown woman.  I sincerely believe that that notion is absurd!  So as in way of explaining some of the additional risks involved with RW I have compiled the following list with help from a few others.  (Thank you guys for your help, you know who you are.)

Ken, what an extraordinary list. Really well thought out. I've been married to my RW for over 5 years now, very happily, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world But I've also had the feeling that this is not an adventure for a younger man who has never been married before, who does not have financial security, who does not have worldly wisdom of how things can and do go wrong,  and can't necessarily deal with it when they do. It takes a  high level of emotional and financial security, the ability to handle a lot of extra responsibility, and some exposure and knowledge of worldly ways, to navigate through all this successfully. For guys like me, I highly recommend it. For younger never married guys, I think they can get run over by all the risks. What do you think about that?

[KenC]

Well Stevie,
I think it takes a confident (but not cocky) and patient man to be successful in this game.  Considering that "younger" is a subjective phrase, and me being 56, I would have to disagree with you.   Seriously though, we have a young guy here in his 30's called DKMM and he is doing just fine now.  In the beginning it seemed as though he was making all the rookie mistakes, but fortunately he didn't hurt himself too badly.  I also have to say that I have witnessed some very dumb moves by men older than me too.  But you are right that it takes a certain amount of financial abilities to pull it off (young or old).  Some men can also get pretty stupid around beautiful women no matter what their age.

Thank for the compliment and glad you enjoyed the post.
KenC

[IAmZon]

Ken -

I also wanted to give you a special thanks for writing this post.  I think it should be appended to the RWD FAQ section.

[OlgaH]

And, let's not get started about the risks facing Americans traveling to Canada: igloos collapsing, dog teams in Vancouver attacking unwary American tourists, grizzly bears mauling tourists deprived of their right to bear arms on the streets of Toronto....

Misha, I guess you know that there are thousands of stray dogs in Russia, and you always can get a chance to be bitten by a dog that carries rabies... 

[Gator]

Misha, I guess you know that there are thousands of stray dogs in Russia, and you always can get a chance to be bitten by a dog that carries rabies... 

Two legged or four legged.

[Misha]

Misha, I guess you know that there are thousands of stray dogs in Russia, and you always can get a chance to be bitten by a dog that carries rabies... 

Only dogs, we have bears climbing going into back yards in search for food and moose wandering around the streets of our city. Trust me, faced with an ornery moose during the fall, you will wish that you were only attacked by a pack of rabid dogs 

[OlgaH]

Two legged or four legged.

and this fact redoubles the risk 

[GreginGa]

A very well thought out thread Ken. It would take a complete imbecile to try and refute the very valid points that you so easily detail out. There are huge risks involved for the American or whatever man involved with this process. I think it should probably be a prerequisite that all guys should read this before they are allowed to register and post here. I'm not saying that this will deter anyone from going to the FSU to pursue a soulmate,but it will certainly open up some eyes. I once thought that when I got married and my wife arrived that the hard part was over. I was wrong. That was the easy part.

[Pike]

Excellent post Ken. 
Thanks for spending valuable time in thinking about and typing out the items.
Always strange how, after such a well thought out and logical post, others will post very illogical and not on point responses.

[Ooooops]

Ok, I should apologize for sidetracking the thread.   

I agree with some points (running into scammers, keeping long distance relationship etc), but I disagree with others - travels to FSU, marriage itself ect.   I've already wrote about it in other threads, so no use in repeating myself.

[chivo]

Ok, I should apologize for sidetracking the thread.   

I agree with some points (running into scammers, keeping long distance relationship etc), but I disagree with others - travels to FSU, marriage itself ect.   I've already wrote about it in other threads, so no use in repeating myself.

No need to apologize. I also agree with some points like you, but some of these, the travelling risks especially, are a reach. More paranoia than anything out of the ordinary.

For instance, just to refute one (and I could refute others as no worse than normal, or just plain crap) my flight was cancelled at the last minute the day my visa expired, and it took 3 extra days to get on another flight. Not only was there no problems leaving the country, the airline paid for everything while I was "stranded"  .

Another would be the 10 yr sponsorship or support that is rarely if ever enforced if the woman leaves, as I know many men where this has happened, and once the initial situation was settled, that was it.

IMO one would have to be imbecile to buy into it all. Life has risks. They are certain risks that a man must take for sure, and yes, some come with the territory, but only a handful go beyond what I would consider normal. More inconvenience than risk.

I'm not sure what type of man should do this or not. Meaning I've seen men not unlike our infamous John do OK, and others with more on the ball flame out. One does need money for sure. How much is another story.

A fool and his money are soon parted is nothing new, this is just another venue for it. Broken hearts and empty wallets happen everywhere, just ask Paul McCartney.

chivo

[msmoby_ru]

The point has been made here that pursuing/romancing and marrying a RW is no more risky than with a hometown woman.  I sincerely believe that that notion is absurd!  So as in way of explaining some of the additional risks involved with RW I have compiled the following list with help from a few others.  (Thank you guys for your help, you know who you are.)

The list is in no way all inclusive.  I am sure there are many more risks that have not been addressed here.  Feel free to add to it.

I also do not wish to minimize the risks faced by the RW which IMO are far greater.

In an effort to sidetrack some counter arguments, travel simply must be included in this list of risks because it is required where as if dating a local woman, it is not. 


Risks in the Search
•   Selecting the method to search for a RW is a high risk proposition in of itself.  Pick the wrong agency and you will burn money like kindling wood (with little or no results)  Many agencies are dishonest and will mislead the man purposely just to milk him for money.  He may or may not even be in contact with a woman as some agencies regularly answer letters that the ladies never even see.  Picking a free site is also fraught with risks as the number of scammers go up at these locations.  Even if the man should find an honest agency, it still does not insure that the lady he selects has honest intentions. 
•   Once you find a woman or a group of women with whom to communicate, it is very difficult to verify whatever she is feeding you is truthful.  The absence of verification adds to the risk that the woman you are communication with may not be who she pretends to be.
•   There is an ongoing game being played by many women listed on various sites.  The name of the game is to get the man separated from his money.  Faked illnesses, family tragedies, or other heart wrenching emergencies are the tools of the trade here.  Last minute travel complications that can only be resolved by the man sending money is another often used ploy.  The risk of having someone play with your heartstrings in order to get at your wallet is real and all too common.
•   Once you get past the women that are only interested in your wallet, you are not out of the woods yet.  There are another group of women that are just insincere in their motivations.  They might be “professional daters” or just looking for any way out of their dismal life.  The risk of being heartbroken here is significant because their goals are more important than you are to them. (Search “Mule” for more details.)

Risk of travel to fsu
•   The risk of being out of one's element and not fully understanding the laws. When one travels from one state to another, they are basically assured that laws have a great degree of uniformity. I.E. Being caught speeding in Alabama will get you a similar traffic citation as being caught speeding in Wisconsin. Not so in the FSU where often times laws are contradictory, so compliance with one law may in fact violate another. On top of that, one may at any time be subject to arbitrary enforcement as a means to supplement some local officer's income.
•   The risk of being at the mercy of the consulates. Visa schemes change quickly and often in FSU and it is entirely possible that one could have a fully valid entry visa upon departure, yet find out upon arrival at their intended destination that the rules have changed.
•   The risk of travel related theft. Bags can and do get "lost" between departing and destination airports. Some bags are recovered intact and others get "rifled" and relived of high value items by ground crews
•   The risk of being stranded. Weather plays a profound role in travel to the FSU, especially during the winter months, and snowstorms don't really care if your ticket is non-refundable/non changeable, or if your tourist visa expires tomorrow
•   The risk of illness/injury. Most agree that the doctors and nurses in FSU are on par with their colleagues in the West. One should not expect however, the hospital in a small town in Siberia will be as well equipped to deal with emergency health issues as a hospital on the outskirts of Baltimore, due to lack of medicines and medical apparatuses
•   The risk of dealing with the local militia and customs officials.  Not knowing the bribe system could lead to jail time.
•   The risk of being taken advantage of by "clever" Russians in general.  With the language difficulties, it is much easier to be taken advantage of.  Think about the fact that just not knowing the monetary denominations could expose you to anyone you deal with there.
•   The inherent risk of not being able to read Cyrillic could put one at risk.  Not be able to read "danger" or road closed signs for example.

Risks of romancing 
•   The risks of spending a great deal of time and money to romance the wrong woman due to your inability to read the woman’s intentions because of culture and language differences.  How valuable is your vacation time?
•   The risk of being too generous.  It is an easy trap to fall in to because of the disparity between financial standings of the man to the woman (usually).  Some middleclass men have difficulty handling having the new position of being considered “rich” by the women of the fsu.
•   The risk of being taken advantage of due to lack of understanding the culture and language.  Too many “love sick puppies” get bilked by unscrupulous RW because their actions are passed off as what they think is expected of them.  There is no such unfamiliarity with customs in your home country.

Risks of marriage to a RW
•   The risk of being denied a visa for the woman after you have decided to marry. (Ask BillyB about this risk for more details)
•   The risks of spending great effort, time and money to bring a RW here on a K-1 only to find out it will not work for various reasons within the 90 day period.
•   The risk of choosing a woman too quickly due to time, money and travel limitations (Read “Wedded Strangers” for more details)
•   The risk of having a false DV charge filed by your wife from the fsu.
•   The risk of financially guaranteeing that your future wife from the fsu will never be on assistance programs here in America.
•   The risk that the marriage will not work.  All marriages are a risk, but there are additional risks involved with a marriage to a RW.  Besides the “regular” risks of marriage there is an uphill battle that will be fought to have the woman acclimate to her new country and culture.  Simply put, some do not handle the adjustment and return to their Motherland.

Hi Ken

thanks for posting such comprehensive advice... if followed a lot of heartache could be avoided

My "extra" tips..

I would like to suggest that "agencies" can easily be avoided if you communicate directly with ladies on interactive websites.  ( Sorry to the ladies who don't have a pc / internet connection at home ).. but of course it doesn't remove the risk that they aren't "real" but it is harder to fool a WM when the responses should be coming more quicker and more often.

Someone reading this list should note that knowing the  Cyrillic alphabet... which isn't THAT hard, when you put your mind to it.. should be a prerequiste, as many signs in airports , metros, etc are easy to follow.

If you're serious about a lady, then frequent meetings and a visa for a third country together ( holiday?) demonstrates your intent to one's home country.

Try living together before you get married. Sorry if that offends some .. but if you think that means sleeping with your future partner before marriage that is a matter of personal choice



 

[Shadow]

Interesting how you can replace the FSU with basicly any non-local country. 

[KenC]

No need to apologize. I also agree with some points like you, but some of these, the travelling risks especially, are a reach. More paranoia than anything out of the ordinary.

  I guess you missed where I wrote "In an effort to sidetrack some counter arguments, travel simply must be included in this list of risks because it is required where as if dating a local woman, it is not."  I do not see any paranoia in what I wrote.  I was trying to show as an inclusive list as possible. While the travel risks are of little concern to the veteran traveler, they may be more significant to the inexperienced one. 

For instance, just to refute one (and I could refute others as no worse than normal, or just plain crap) my flight was cancelled at the last minute the day my visa expired, and it took 3 extra days to get on another flight. Not only was there no problems leaving the country, the airline paid for everything while I was "stranded"  .

How is this refuting anything?  You still were inconvenienced for 3 days.  While that may have been OK with you, to others it may have been a bigger complication.  Let's say if a guy has maxed out his vacation time (or more), a 3 day delay in returning home could put him in hot water with his employer.

Another would be the 10 yr sponsorship or support that is rarely if ever enforced if the woman leaves, as I know many men where this has happened, and once the initial situation was settled, that was it.

  Any time you sign a legal document guaranteeing anything theire is an inherent risk.  How do you know the mood of powers that be won't change over time?  How do you know for sure that you won't be the first to pay?

IMO one would have to be imbecile to buy into it all. Life has risks. They are certain risks that a man must take for sure, and yes, some come with the territory, but only a handful go beyond what I would consider normal. More inconvenience than risk.

What is it that you don't buy in to?  That the risks are valid or that they are insignificant to you?  Again, what may seem like an insignificant risk to you may be a major problem for another.  Only an "imbecile" would not recognize that.

I'm not sure what type of man should do this or not. Meaning I've seen men not unlike our infamous John do OK, and others with more on the ball flame out. One does need money for sure. How much is another story.

A fool and his money are soon parted is nothing new, this is just another venue for it. Broken hearts and empty wallets happen everywhere, just ask Paul McCartney.

chivo

A different topic for another thread.  I tried to make this list as "all inclusive" as possible.  It is up to the individual to make their personal decision as to whether they find the risks acceptable or not.  To spread paranoia was never the goal here, but to inform the novice was.
KenC

[chivo]

  I guess you missed where I wrote "In an effort to sidetrack some counter arguments, travel simply must be included in this list of risks because it is required where as if dating a local woman, it is not."  I do not see any paranoia in what I wrote.  I was trying to show as an inclusive list as possible. While the travel risks are of little concern to the veteran traveler, they may be more significant to the inexperienced one. 

I guess you've never had a long distance relationship with somebody in your own country. I have had a couple, one with a RW to boot who lived in Boston. I will contend there are more long distance relationships within America than outside, and I would include all country's in that opinion. But for sake of argument, I'm positive that there are more than Russia.

I've also had more problems with missing luggage and flights domestically than internationally, which goes to the point that it can happen anywhere, and is not inclusive to travelling to Russia

Sorry, even as a novice the risk, looking back on it, was minimal, and mostly a figment of my imagination before i left based on hearsay like this.

To continue along with this type of thinking would be equal to saying that with local women, you have more of a chance to get in an accident on your way to her house as most accidents happen close to home, and you'll be travelling there much more often than Russia .

 How is this refuting anything?  You still were inconvenienced for 3 days.  While that may have been OK with you, to others it may have been a bigger complication.  Let's say if a guy has maxed out his vacation time (or more), a 3 day delay in returning home could put him in hot water with his employer.

yeah, staying in a 4 star hotel for nothing, eating like a king for free, and having 3 extra days with my lady was a real inconvenience

I see you working here, but in my experience, if I had a legitimate excuse for not being at work, it was never, ever, a problem. Even for someone who runs his own business, if he can get away for 3-4 weeks and be alright, a few extra days isn't going to matter.

as far as refuting, you also mentioned visa problems and non refundable tickets as being a problem (risk), and this just isn't true, plain and simple. I had no problem getting on another flight at no cost and my expired visa wasn't a problem. And no they just didn't do it because it was me and i was experienced in travelling to Russia.

Any time you sign a legal document guaranteeing anything theire is an inherent risk.  How do you know the mood of powers that be won't change over time?  How do you know for sure that you won't be the first to pay?
Anything can happen, but in the cases I know the women didn't persue it. Most, no all, just wanted their own lives. If you read the horror stories here, this is also the case eventually. Point, it isn't so much about the law as it is the women involved.

I agree in this area though, when bringing a RW to America, that the risk is higher, no question.

 What is it that you don't buy in to?  That the risks are valid or that they are insignificant to you?  Again, what may seem like an insignificant risk to you may be a major problem for another.  Only an "imbecile" would not recognize that.

Sorry, but this is just a paranoid attitude IMO. Only an imbecile would see some of these as problems. As i mentioned, it happens everywhere. I was a novice once as well, and I'm glad I didn't see this thread before i left or I might have been more paranoid than I already was from all the hearsay, much of which was exactly that.

you often mention men who shouldn't do this, well IMO, anyone who can't handle the majority of these situations when travelling also should be added to that list.

A different topic for another thread.  I tried to make this list as "all inclusive" as possible.  It is up to the individual to make their personal decision as to whether they find the risks acceptable or not.  To spread paranoia was never the goal here, but to inform the novice was.

Not really. You talked about women who look to separate you from your money, and I just gave you one of a million cases where it happens with people from the same culture, with the same language. Case in point, that it's not restricted to Russia.

Since I've been in many similar situations many times as both a novice and seasoned traveller with regards to missed/cancelled/delayed flights, the police, visa issues (including overstays), bribes, hooliganism, dealings with the Russian Embassy, confronted with the possibility of jail time when I did nothing wrong , etc., much more frequently than you, I disagree with the level of risk you equate to these issues.

Matter of fact, as someone who has travelled here and lived here, I can safely say that most of the above has a much greater impact in my life living here now, as opposed to visiting as a tourist. Not even close, and its still not much of an issue.

I'm certainly not insinuating that your "trying" to spread paranoia, as I do agree with some points. I just think you went overboard with others.

To me, if I lived my life thinking about all the bad that COULD happen, I'd never leave home. Of course we need to understand the pitfalls of life, and of this journey, but lets keep things in prespective.

Instead of continuing on about it, as I will never agree with some of what you wrote (lets agree to disagree and leave it at that), let's just let the novice decide which road he wants to take. Good luck

chivo

[GreginGa]

Ken
Dont worry too much about trying to explain reason and logic to some folks. There's a classic movie "Cool Hand Luke' where the warden says "Some people you just cant reach, if thats the way he wants it, he gets it".  We're not trying to build a spaceship here but you can be rest assured that a lot more people have failed at this process than have succeeded.

[HiTech]

I believe there are multiple issues hidden in the word risk.

If the word risk is used as a catch all then people can just pick and choose what they want to use to satisfy there point. How both sides of one choice can be a risk. The risk of not being a rich is much higher if you work for some one else. The risk of loosing all your money is higher if you work for yourself. Both sides have the term risk, so to try have a generic discussion of "Is searching in the FSU a risky business" is a completely nonsensical argument because WHAT is being risked is not defined.


I think the true question of risk should just be risk of achieving your goal vs risk of failing  as compared to the same risk in your country of residence.

I.E. will you have a better chance in the FSU than at home. This is the real risk, all other are moot.

For me that answerer is very simple the risk of not finding what I wanted in the USA is drastically higher in the USA than in the FSU.  That risk assessment is very different depending on each persons goals.

[KenC]

I believe there are multiple issues hidden in the word risk.

If the word risk is used as a catch all then people can just pick and choose what they want to use to satisfy there point. How both sides of one choice can be a risk. The risk of not being a rich is much higher if you work for some one else. The risk of loosing all your money is higher if you work for yourself. Both sides have the term risk, so to try have a generic discussion of "Is searching in the FSU a risky business" is a completely nonsensical argument because WHAT is being risked is not defined.


I think the true question of risk should just be risk of achieving your goal vs risk of failing  as compared to the same risk in your country of residence.

I.E. will you have a better chance in the FSU than at home. This is the real risk, all other are moot.

For me that answerer is very simple the risk of not finding what I wanted in the USA is drastically higher in the USA than in the FSU.  That risk assessment is very different depending on each persons goals.

The "risks" are pretty well defined within the list itself.  Those that are not defined specifically are rather obvious.  If you are still having difficulty, just ask and I am sure someone can help you figure it out.  My intention here was to list as many risks as possible for guys to consider.  Some are slight and others are more serious.  I would rather try in be all inclusive than not.

Instead of criticizing everything I write, maybe you should try to be more constructive in trying to guide others.  If you do not like my list, please share your's with us.
KenC

[HiTech]

Nice personal attack ken. How about you debate the topic rather than attacking me. Because I do not believe I even mention or discussed your post in mine.

[KenC]

Nice personal attack ken. How about you debate the topic rather than attacking me. Because I do not believe I even mention or discussed your post in mine.

Get over yourself, there is no personal attack.  Quit looking for trouble.
KenC

[HiTech]

Ahh I see you still like to discuses people rather than the topic at hand? Or do you believe telling me what to do is considered sociably acceptable? Or is it that telling me I am full of myself not an attack in your mind?

Ken reread my post, no where did I reference anything about you, All I did was simply discuss and debate the topic at hand. In your response to me you did not discuss the issue at all, you did not attempt to expound on anything , all I can see you do, is saying Hittech, you do not get it. And attack me, and say nothing about my argument.

If you did state or debate anything about my argument please show me where, because all I can see you say is HiTech you do not believe me therefore you must need help understanding.

[Jet]

Both sides have the term risk, so to try have a generic discussion of "Is searching in the FSU a risky business" is a completely nonsensical argument because WHAT is being risked is not defined.

HiTech, with all due respect, it seems you totally missed the point. This thread was born out of another where someone tried to defend the idea that there is absolutely no additional risk at all in searching abroad, vs searching in one's home country. It would seem that you go on to agree with KenC further along in your post when you state:

I think the true question of risk should just be risk of achieving your goal vs risk of failing  as compared to the same risk in your country of residence.

I.E. will you have a better chance in the FSU than at home. This is the real risk, all other are moot.

For me that answer is very simple the risk of not finding what I wanted in the USA is drastically higher in the USA than in the FSU.  That risk assessment is very different depending on each persons goals.