If you like it, why don't you move there?

[Shadow]

Hi all, the Shadows are still alive and well.

We have decided to move to Russia, and while I will be travel back and forth due to work, if anyone wants to get information about life and people we now
 cab provide honest and real opinions.

Note: no discussion on politics and war.  Simply not interested.

[krimster2]

looks Like Stalin's editing out people he doesn't like again....

I'm NOT INTERESTED in censorship, but ya don't stop doin THAT, cuz of my objection, now do ya?

all the animals are equal
some are just more equal

but the farm smells the same no matter who uses the outdoor litterbox

[ML]

Shadow, I had thought you were a very decent and logical guy.

Does Netherlands have any Russian criminals in prison to be exchanged ?

Oh yes I know . . . can't happen to you.

[Boethius]

I believe Shadow lives in Belgium.  That said, not certain why you'd move from a first world country to a third world country at war.

[krimster2]

who KNOWS what evil, lurks in the hearts of men?
only Shadow Knows

so ya movin to Russia soon
to become a Ukrainian war tycoon
well tovarisch, you danged tootin
ya gotta give half to Putin

and it ain't even tax deductible!!!!
it's not like there's a line 24, on yur Russian Federation tax form, "how much fer Pooty-Poot?"
there's no place on the tax form to even write it down

other than that, I like Russian tax forms, cuz they're short

i'm sure we'r gonna hear some weeping and gnashing of teeth, about the trials and tribulations about life in Western Europe
you don't like Belgium, try Luxembourg not freakin in the United Gulags of Russland

how'd ya come up with that idea, stroke, bad acid trip, or both at the same time?

but hey, it's 2024
so it's a recent stroke/acid trip, and THAT's ALL that's really important...
and not some ole starik iystoria stroke/acid trip from years ago

right?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has a whole chapter on Benalux residents fleeing to Russia
whatever you do, don't sign anything there

if ya get sent to ukraine, just surrender...and tell the Ukrainians yur the only survivor from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and they'll take ya straight to the Hague and ya can go home from there

if Trump wins, I'm askin fer Amnesty in Amsterdam....
otherwise christian nationalists are gonna accuse me of pet eatin libel and deport me

[ML]

Shadow's flag shown here is of the Netherlands.

Russia shot down Flight MH17 carrying 193 Dutch citizens (along with 105 others).

Seems Shadow doesn't mind at all going to live with such people who also kill Ukrainian children every day and celebrate it.

[olgac]

http://fb.watch/uLtztk5s3V/

This has english subtitles

[Shadow]

Strange thing is that  I did not meet a single Russian who needs to make suchhateful comments. That is why we moved.

[rwd123]

Shadow, ignore the naysayers. With different circumstances I'd be taking advantage of the simplified residency process for residents of "woke" countries.

Not sure if anyone has noticed but Europe is overrun by weaponized migration. Recently had dinner with a German who has wound up his business and quit the country. He's still trying to figure out where to live. He said the Africans aren't great but the Muslims are far worse. With the German economy heading down things will only get worse. Auslander raus!

I am curious where you're planning to settle. I was recently in Ryazan and was thinking a golden ring city might be a nice choice. Just returned to Siberia and it is looking great so far! Haven't had any issues being a foreigner and many people (strangers) have been extremely friendly.

[Trenchcoat]

I believe Shadow lives in Belgium.  That said, not certain why you'd move from a first world country to a third world country at war.

He's after gaining entry to Putler's inner circle to become one of his new Henchmen, after Putler goes he'll be running for President, all votes to the dog with glasses

Seriously though the man's a genius, after the war they'll be a new world order in both Russia & Ukraine. Most of the new Oligarchs will be foreigners, what's my betting that our Shadow is positioning himself in early to be one of them

It'll be foreigners that will have all the money in the new economically clapped out Russia & Ukraine after the war. Both Russia & Ukraine will see no other choice than accepting foreigners at the top or face economic destitution. Once again that old post Soviet term will return, 'hard currency' the UK Pound, US Dollar, and Euro will be king in those parts. Getting in now in either country means you are there and getting established before all the foreigners want in at the end of the war seeking opportunity. A risky move on Shadow's part to go in now before the war is over but one that could pay off handsomely. Same true for Ukraine, a bit risky to be there before the war is over and uncomfortable this winter with little electricity but a move that could pay off.

[Trenchcoat]

I am curious where you're planning to settle. I was recently in Ryazan and was thinking a golden ring city might be a nice choice. Just returned to Siberia and it is looking great so far! Haven't had any issues being a foreigner and many people (strangers) have been extremely friendly.

Sounds like you'll be living in Hicksville, Russiya, that or Siberia an ex-penal colony, far better choices at hand I would say

[krimster2]

"Strange thing is that  I did not meet a single Russian who needs to make suchhateful comments. That is why we moved."


boy, are you gonna be in for a big surprise one day!!!!
i'm guessin yur spouse was unhappy in Liege or wherever.....
and that's why yur movin

I see why ya don't wanna talk about the war or politics
cuz in the gulag yur movin to, just a couple of words on that subject would land ya in jail

in order to live there, you gotta be totally ok living without ANY freedom
and ya have to be totally ok with supporting a useless war that's killed and maimed a million slavs
I don't support EITHER of those things
but you do, cuz you have no choice

and just like the russians you met who concealed their hostility
you're concealing yurs as well

I lived in Russia 6 months before I got into my first fist fight with drunken Russian Gopnicks
that was pre-war

if you survive yur first fight (which is a part of every day living in Russia) post it here in your trip report

you don't REALLY know what it's like livin in Russia, until you've had your first boxing match with drunken gopnicks trying to impress their girlfriends

THAT was the part I REALLY LIKED THE MOST!!!!
it's like a randomized fight club that comes to you by just walkin down a street full of Russian alchoholikki on pay day
instead of you having to find and join "a club" for that kind of thing
I only did that one time in Berlin, what a RUSH, a Texas Jew Boy fighting a skin head in Berlin, at the Holocaust memorial, while my family was fast asleep in the Hotel on Kaiser Willhelm Strasser

I will give ya a survival tip...
the outcome of your inevidible gopnick encounter is determined by how prepared you are...

before ya go, buy tungsten rings on ebay, gold plated if ya can, you can get more than one on a finger
in Russia, this is jewelry, but actually it's better than brass knuckles
and you can break facial bones with it
and you ALWAYS got it

Russians have these HUGE Russian made padlocks
buy one of these, and a heavy chain
carry it in a bag, to secure your Bicyclette Rouge
totally legal to have
but with a few hours practice
it becomes a lethal weapon, I've dented Russian Army helmets with it, it would shatter a skull

but eventually, I moved up to flare pistols and then actual guns, which are easily obtainable in Russia

horrosho?

and your inevidble rendezvous with gopnicks is just one of an infinite array of problemya
for instance, when ya start gettin paranoid about your place getting broken into and robbed, despite the fact you have double steel doors and reinfoced EVERYTHING, bars on windows
and that sphicter tightening feeling whenever you leave home

welcome to Russki Mir!!!!

I give ya 6 months living there before you become the most cynical person you can be....

what you're doing is totally irrational
so you're trying to rationalize why you're doing it...
ultimately, it's probably because your wife made ya
and you one of them meek little Belgian fellas with a silly moustache

[Shadow]

I believe Shadow lives in Belgium.  That said, not certain why you'd move from a first world country to a third world country at war.

You have been away too long.

[civi68]

Good luck on your move. Hopefully, you won't encounter any problems with getting taken for political purposes. I was in Moscow three times and once Saint Petersburg. I met all kinds of people, most of whom considered Putin and the government corrupt and to avoid contact at all costs. I stayed once with Ray and Marina Anderson, whom some of you may remember on this group until Ray passed. It will be interesting to hear how Russians are dealing with life over there right now.

[Shadow]

Good luck on your move. Hopefully, you won't encounter any problems with getting taken for political purposes. I was in Moscow three times and once Saint Petersburg. I met all kinds of people, most of whom considered Putin and the government corrupt and to avoid contact at all costs. I stayed once with Ray and Marina Anderson, whom some of you may remember on this group until Ray passed. It will be interesting to hear how Russians are dealing with life over there right now.

Every day life is as normal as can be. No shortage of products, no shortage of civilian projects. Wages are not high, but cost of living is a lot lower. The winter month gas bill is what people in Europe pay in a day.
Before arriving at our current village we drove about 4000 miles through Russia. In most places the image is the sane. People are renovating their houses or building new ones. The Russian version of McD and KFC are full of people and selling good.The number of alcoholics on the street is minimal, no beggars. Everyone has a smartphone and pays by card.
Lots of new cars, the amount of Lexus SUV is staggering.
Also still a lot of roads to be renewed, and I have to get used to electric above ground. But nothing is perfect.

[Trenchcoat]

Shadow, when are you hoping to move to Russia?

[Shadow]

Shadow, when are you hoping to move to Russia?

As you may have seen, my family has already moved, I was a month in Russia, currently back in the Netherlands ans Germany for work. Mid October I hope to get a private visa for one year, and will continue to travel as long as needed for work and income.After that a residence permit should be possible.Of course the political situation can cause plans to change.
Children are in school, getting good results so far.

[Trenchcoat]

As you may have seen, my family has already moved, I was a month in Russia, currently back in the Netherlands and Germany for work. Mid October I hope to get a private visa for one year, and will continue to travel as long as needed for work and income.After that a residence permit should be possible.Of course the political situation can cause plans to change.
Children are in school, getting good results so far.

Are you all looking to getting citizenship down the way? How long before you can apply for that?

[Trenchcoat]

Hi all, the Shadows are still alive and well.

We have decided to move to Russia, and while I will be travel back and forth due to work, if anyone wants to get information about life and people we now
can provide honest and real opinions.

Note: no discussion on politics and war.  Simply not interested.

Well I hope you're not languishing in the gulag just yet Shadow.

On the topic at hand, 'If you like it, why don't you move there?' I would say that a part of me does feel like moving to Ukraine. Not quite at the moment due to the war but in a post war world if Ukraine survives then I could at least see myself buying a property there. Possibly in the heart of Kyiv or some other nice city.

Before the war I was considering getting a place in Odessa, so access to the beach, good in summer. That is still a possibility but if Crimea is liberated then I might possibly look there also. However Ukraine has had a very hot Summer just gone with temperature over 30 degrees on most days throughout Ukraine. I'm not sure if that is now set to be the pattern going forward but possibly it might be z but on the high side for me.

Probably I'll just get a places to live in Ukraine the part of the year where the weather is decent and be in the UK the rest of the year.

Will see how things go I guess.

Anyone else here consider a move in the near future or considering being in Ukraine or Russia post war?

[ML]

Anyone else here consider a move in the near future or considering being in Ukraine or Russia post war?

Every once in a while, I mention to wife about going to Ukraine to live.

She always reminds me how upset I get at the crappy level of retail service there, so I wouldn't last much more than a couple of months.

Getting good prescription drugs would be a serious problem also.

[krimster2]

it's naive to think you can make Russia/Ukraine yur primary or only residence, I wouldn't advise that
however, Ukraine, depending on the nature of the conclusion of the war, could be a nice place to have a secondary residence to live part time, like in the summer
Ukraine, especially western Ukraine, is a great gateway to Europe, to be used as a travel springboard and that's one of the things I used it for
the older you get, the more jetlag you get....
in Western Ukraine, ya don't even need to use air travel
a short train trip to poland, and ya get a faster train that'll quickly take ya anywhere in Europe
all very comfortable and none of the stress and fatigue and hassle of flyin

for the price of a luxury car, you can buy a nice cottage in Ukraine with about 20 soteks
or buy a condo on Arcadia in Odesa
you can easily arrange for a caretaker during yur absence
kinda the way I have Mexican landscapers here in Texas

Meest will solve yur large item shipping problem
and DHL yur small items
don't use "regular mail"
ship all yur own stuff from the USA, you don't wanna buy stuff in Ukraine
cuz Ukrainians can only afford the lowest quality, and that's pretty much all that's for sale there

I'd get a starlink terminal and you can watch whatever TV you watched in the USA
you'll want a car, which means ya need a garage, if yur doma ain't got one

you, can kick back
just like you did "all the stuff" in Arkansas
yur wife will do the same in Ukraine
you just along fer de ride
and ain't that the life ya want?

[olgac]

She always reminds me how upset I get at the crappy level of retail service there, so I wouldn't last much more than a couple of months.

My young friend who is 2.5 years in US from Belarus on the other hand often goes into tirade how service is bad here compare to Belarus or Estonia where she lived. I am really holding myself back from suggesting to her to
go back if she really hates it here so much Wehich she doesn't want to either (of course )

One time I couldn't resist myself and did suggest she goes back.This was when she got all worked up
after going to USPS office with an open box and expecting them to tape it/finish packing for her "like in all normal countries". And they wouldn't do it

[krimster2]

in Germany, you buy something, and then pay at the counter
the cashier lays down a plastic bag fer you to pack yurself...
customer service? Was ist los?
you get used to it
don't tell 'em yur jewish though

[olgac]

in Germany, you buy something, and then pay at the counter
the cashier lays down a plastic bag fer you to pack yurself...
customer service? Was ist los?
you get used to it
don't tell 'em yur jewish though

One time I went with my austrian friend to shop for furniture at a German-owned store.
The Austrian guy was haggling over the price a lot, so the store owner asked him
"Are You a Jew?" 

[ML]

One time I went with my austrian friend to shop for furniture at a German-owned store.
The Austrian guy was haggling over the price a lot, so the store owner asked him
"Are You a Jew?" 

I had a good friend who was Jewish.

Whenever I was thinking about a large purchase (car, etc.), he told me he would  go with me and 'Jew them down.'

Tragically he was killed 10+ years ago in a brutal slaying which has not yet been solved.

I suspect it was business related.