Back from Moscow - amazing trip

[CorporateRaider5]

Just got back from a 4 week stay in Moscow.  All I can say is wow, haven't been back to Russia in about 15 years, what an amazing place filled with sweet women.  Its such a change from the American dating scene.  Dated many, many women over the course of my stay, found the one I really like, a really gorgeous lady.  Going back to see her in February.  If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them, I seem to know Russian women pretty well as I went around all over the place and found out many interesting things from regular Russian people. 

[Lily]

I anticipate many questions to you..

Looking at your nickname, can I ask you what is your profession? What do you do for life?

[CorporateRaider5]

I own a business.  I also invest heavily in the stock market and FOREX.  These are my primary sources of income. 

[Bruce]

What was the average price you payed in dollars when you took the girls you dated out for dinner?

Which hotel did you stay at and how much did it run you a night?

Blonds, brunettes or red heads and what is your girlfriend?

Did you meet her family and friends?

Is she fluent in English or did you communicate with an interpreter?

What is her job?

Does she have children?

How much of an age difference do the two of you have?

Did you get her or any of the other girls presents and if so how much money did you spend on them?

Did you use an agency or find the girls in clubs, through the course of the day or what?

What percent move do you predict RSX will have over the comming year?

[CorporateRaider5]

1.  Its expensive to go out in Moscow, so I spent on average around $80 on a date.  It all depended on where we would go, if it was just for a cup of tea and a movie then it was like $30, but if we went out to a good restaurant for dinner the cost was as much as $150. Keep in mind that I had a personal driver that was paid for by my friend's company, so I was able to pick and drop girls off whenever I wanted; first time in my life that I had such a high class service  .  My college buddy works for a company that sends him all over the world and he was doing business in Russia for a month and brought me as a translator (I speak fluent Russian and Ukranian, I was born in Moscow and lived in Ukraine for most of my childhood life before my parents immigrated to the states).  The company paid for 60% of my airfare first class, 100% hotel costs and gave us a personal driver that we could use to almost go anywhere, anytime.

2.   Stayed at the corporate suite in Cortyard by Marriott right off Tverskaya, 5 minute walk from Red Square.  Its a brand new hotel that was just built about a year ago.  The service at the hotel was top noch and the staff is very courteous and professional, they all speak English.  The rate for our hotel per night averaged to $600, it varied night by night believe it or not, they calculate the rate based on the hotel occupancy that night.  We also ordered room service and a bunch of drinks at the bar charged to the company's account.  The bill at the end of the trip was pretty steep, I wouldn't want to be stuck paying that.

3.  Went out with blonds and brunettes, didn't go out with any redheads.  My gf is a gorgeous brunette.

4.  I spent a good deal of time at her apartment so I wouldn't be bothering my friend at the hotel too much, as he did not go out as much as me and was there primarily for work and needed to get a full nights sleep.  I met my gf around my second week in Moscow at a club.  We went out with a bunch of her friends, mostly girlfriends (she doesn't have too many guy friends) who are also amazing and beautiful.  Did not meet her family because all of them live near Siberia, city called Novosibirsk, a pretty long flight from Moscow, perhaps some other time.

5.  Did not need an interpreter as I am fluent in Russian, but she does speak pretty good English.

6.  She is an administrative assistant at an office for a large Russian printing company and she also works part time as a waitress.  She works a lot because Moscow is a very expensive city and she likes to be able to buy nice things and be able to take good care of herself.  That being said she isn't a gold digger looking for a man with a deep wallet, just someone who is stable and dependable.

7.  She doesn't have any children, which I think is a plus.

8.  Actually she is a year older than me.

9.  I did get her a few presents before leaving, I bought her a designer dress, leather gloves and nice shoes, everything came out to about $600.  Other girls I got small presents like perfume and other small items, nothing that cost over $100. 

10.  Before I went to Moscow I started communicating with girls through free internet service such as Holostyak.com and others.  I communicated with about 4 girls that I met in Moscow.  Also I asked a few girls at the hotel to go out on dates, the women working at that hotel are absolutely gorgeous.  I went out to clubs and bars and met many women there (be cautious cause there's a lot of wrong type of girls that hang out there, the ones that like to just party and bounce from man to man).  I met many women from just going around with my friends and translating for him, so pretty much everywhere I went I always met new women and when I was attracted to someone I would just ask for their number and later give them a call to go out for a drink.  Only had one women that canceled on me, in general they are very open about going out  and doing stuff.

11. I do not invest much into ETFs, but over 2007 RSX moved about 21% and Russian economy increased about 6.5% due to Putin's new economic policies as well as large  Russian oil reserves.  I think Russia's economy in 2008 will increase more than in 2007 and RSX will have a chance to move higher than 30%, definitely nothing less than 25%.  If you want my completely observations on the stock market in general and specifically RSX then pm me. 

any more questions....       

[Gator]

You seem to have done well.  Speaking the language is a necessity to do it your way. 

I gather if you are fluent in Russian that you had spent much time there before this trip.

[timothe]

Yeah, I have one.  We had a recent discussion about Russian ETFs and/or individual Russian stocks.  What is your take on the Russian market for the average investor and why?

[Markus]

CR,

I've been to Moscow twice only for personal business for getting my lovely wife to America. It was good, but I tell people, don't look at what you see in Moscow as representative of the rest of Russia. I took a 27 hour trainride to Ekaterinburg and what tourists see in Moscow is definitely for only Moscow. I realize you stayed there for a while so I'm not referring to you as a tourist. People don't see the high rise buildings that are people's homes. The average person lives in a flat, unlike the homes that we live in. So, Moscow is deceiving.

By the way, the GBP/JPY is my favorite, but I do the other ones too.

Mark

[Serebro]

Yeah, I have one.  We had a recent discussion about Russian ETFs and/or individual Russian stocks.  What is your take on the Russian market for the average investor and why?

timothe, lol

Corporate Raider, may I know how old you are?!

[Lily]

She is an administrative assistant at an office for a large Russian printing company and she also works part time as a waitress.  She works a lot because Moscow is a very expensive city and she likes to be able to buy nice things and be able to take good care of herself.  That being said she isn't a gold digger looking for a man with a deep wallet, just someone who is stable and dependable.

 

CP, did you encounter any gold digger and or U.S. passport types, how do you recognize them?

Another question would be how do you know that this woman is really into you, not just being polite, hospitable, or needy trying to persuade herself that may be with the time she will be able to love you?

[Bruce]

Corporate Raider - great honest response.  You are able to move in circles most of us can not.  The key is your fluency in Russian.  Steep pockets are not a problem for most of us, especially in the short term. 

I do not believe most of what you did in Moscow echos your normal life here in the USA.  Take a step back and think about it.  You were on a working assignment.  You lived in a plush, fancy hotel (I know exactly where you were (great location) and I stayed in the Marriot just up the road on business two days way back when).

Guys into girls a year or two older them inevitably are very young themselves.  Therefore, I peg you at less than 35 and probably less than 30.  Guys who have been around the block tend to go for younger girls ie. 10 years younger plus (impossible to do if you are 25, but thats where the life experience comes in).

Most guys are not into red heads at all so I hear you.  As we all know it is the girl, not the hair color, though some of us tend to prefer blonds or brunettes etc. 

I sincerely urge you to fly to Novosibirsk.  Overnight on Aeroflot is a decent flight.  You leave about 10:15 Moscow time and arrive approximately 5 am Novosibirsk time.  Novosibirsk region is a special place.  You are just dating at this point.  If you become serious you must meet her family and friends.  You must explore her past and most importantly you must know her character.  Ok, you are into her physically.  She is a young hot girl many men would drool over.  So what and for how long?  Does she really share your likes and more importantly your dislikes?  Can you really get along with her socially in the USA?  **Do you both share long term goals for future family life (this is very complicated and needs thorough discussion and contemplation)?

Again, girl being a bit older than you is a huge red flag in my book for long term marriage success.  I assume you are a young highly successful professional.  What happens in 10, 15, 20 years when you are 45 - 50 able to attract any kind of girl ie. young, beautiful that you like and she is 46 or 51.  Think about it?  Now, there could be real love between the two of you that develops over time.  Her personality, character, ethics, goals and ability to reach you deep inside positively could make her THE ONE, but you have a long time to go and I again urge caution. 

She speaks some English which is a plus.  She does not have kids which is a plus if you both soon want to start a family of your own etc.   

Buying the presents for everybody and spending $600 was a huge mistake on your part.  Behavior like that keeps and attracts the wrong kind of women for you.  It is more than a small hole and more like a crater you are making for yourself.  ***Unless it is a game for you to get young impressionable women into bed giving gifts and especially lavish gifts is the wrong thing to do when you initially date, espeically in Russia.  ****Wake up and smell the coffee.  You may speak fluent Russian and are of Russian heritage, but you are making a huge mistake in my book here by acting like a desperate American man.  In Russia it really completely sincerely is a mans world.  Remember to always act like one.  Most important is if SHE IS REALLY INTO YOU! 

Sure women will date easily.  Why shouldn't they if they are young and single?   Think a little highly about yourself.  Russia is not a pussywhipped society.

Appreciate the information about RSX.  I like ETF's for Russia because I still look at the country and market as too unstable. I also am way better at doing my profession than really watching one stock.  For me it is easier to just play the market, that way if the bad news comes and the one stock starts dropping quickly like a knife I am protected by the overall market. 

I do not mean to be harsh on you - I just ask you to really think wisely.  International relationships are really hard.  I may not speak Russian fluently but I have been to Russia on 19 separate trips and Ukraine on two separate trips now.  I dated many women before I met the right one for me.  I have been married to a Russian woman who is 19 years younger than me for more than three years now.   We have a two year old daughter together etc.......

[CorporateRaider5]

Been busy for a few days so here are replies to all the questions and comments...

Gator:

I haven't been on many trips to Russia or Ukraine. I left former Soviet Union with my parents when I was just 10 years old (I did go to school in Russia and Ukraine for 10 years of my life), and only went back once to see my relatives when I was about 15.  I've been meaning to go back but had too much stuff going on, setting up a comfortable lifestyle for myself.  This trip that just came up out of nowhere and I took advantage of it cause the cost was so low.   

timothe

Russia is like a wild west of capitalism, the market is still somewhat unstable and you never know what to expect, but then you always have to keep in mind that the greater the risk the greater the reward...


TheOneWeekWo

You are absolutely right Moscow is a country within a country filled with rich people who have unlimited capital (at least that's what it looks like).  In my stay I have traveled to other smaller cities and provinces and been around regular folks, so I'm well aware of things, plus I have relatives that live in Moscow and can provide me with plenty of honest information. 

I trade GBP/JPY once in a while, but I make most of my money on USD/JPY.  I do EUR/USD often but my positions seem to move against me quiet often 


Serebro

Yes, not old at all just turned 30 actually. 

Lily

Yes, I've encountered plenty of gold diggers, but not so many U.S. passport types, most of them prefer to stay in Russia as everything has changed and you can have a comfortable lifestyle there if you have enough money.  Fortunately with the advice of a few friends and good amount of knowledge of Russian people and their mentality I can spot them fairly easy. 

Bruce

You have some valid points.
The only reason I bought her presents is because I really like her and not because I want to show off, I actually had $600 left over in my budget and I decided to spend it on her.  At no time I acted like a desperate American man, most people in Russia can't even tell that I am American (same in the states, Americans can't really tell that I'm Russian, I don't have any accent in English or Russian or Ukrainian), unless I tell them that I live in the states.

Financial markets are not an easy thing to keep track of.  I try to be diversified and invest more in some stocks as well as commodities as others, depending on the market and economic conditions of the particular country.

You may have been to Russia and Ukraine 19 times (not trying to sound cocky here), but I lived there for 10 and 1/2 years (both Russia and Ukraine), my parents are Russian (my mom is a Russian women so I tend to understand how they feel and behave more than others), I know the culture like the back of my hand and to this day I saved my Russian mentality (on the other hand when I'm around Americans I switch my mentality to be an American, the two mentalities are in a perfect balance  ).  ]
My gf is not that much older than me, she's 31 which is really good I think.

Hope this clears up some questions.

[Bruce]

By the way, welcome to the board.  Best of luck with your new girl.  You have a good head on your shoulders and I believe will develop your relationship properly.

This board will help you most when and if you decide you want to bring a girl from Russia back to the USA so I sincerely hope you stay around to add your insights to threads on occassion and gain the collective wisdom of men in the same boat you are and one day will be.

By the way, what State do you live in?

Best of luck.

[2tallbill]

Just got back from a 4 week stay in Moscow.  All I can say is wow, haven't been back to Russia in about 15 years, what an amazing place filled with sweet women.  Its such a change from the American dating scene.  Dated many, many women over the course of my stay, found the one I really like, a really gorgeous lady.  Going back to see her in February.  If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them, I seem to know Russian women pretty well as I went around all over the place and found out many interesting things from regular Russian people. 

CR, I want to invite you to do trip report (there is a section for it here) and you can tell about your experiences, trials, tribulations, things you saw,
museums, cultural places etc. New people join here every day and would like to hear about your trip.

Merry Christmas

Take care,

Bill