Questions after reading website...

[seraphimangel]

Given what I've learned in my limited time using one agency.  Speaking to probably a dozen people and figuring out some things I've come up with some questions I'd like to ask you guys as experienced FSU people. 

Topic 1: Agencies

1) Are there any sites which lower the chances of people connected to them being scammers/fake?

2) Besides asking for money and trying to keep you dependent on sites, are there any other signs?

3) Are there certain cities which should be avoided as a whole?

Topic 2: Countries

1) Speaking of cities, would some countries be more likely to be better than others?  Considering I would need something technologically advanced enough to work from there for a short period of time?

2) Are there any countries in the FSU who would lend themselves more easily to American/Western Values?

Topic 3: Economy/Accomodations

1) Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired.  I am a salaried/bonus eligible employee at a large financial company. I get 3 weeks off a year but I can work from home as I usually see fit barring meetings with my clients.  Is this a huge problem? 

2) What does the real average Ukrainian household make per year?  I fail to understand the real household income of a person there?  Should I let the person I talk to know what I make? Is this culturally a faux pas? People here has asked me this on dates before...

3) If I planned to visit the Ukraine more than a handful of times, would it be in my interest to simply buy an apartment there or second home?


Topic:Traveling

1) What is the preferred method of flying (carrier) to the Ukraine? LOT?  Is it better to fly to Kiev or Odessa as a whole? Is there a decent business class carrier there?

2) Do we have preferred car service vendors which members have used before?

3) Are there preferred local onsite (local) agencies that people use or are preferred?

4) Do people ever travel in groups? Like maybe one of you guys and I could coordinate a trip to an area around the same time?

...

Just some ideas.  Thanks.

[I/O]

Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired. 

Don't swallow that for a minute, there is more BS floating around here (and other forums) about financial status than you'll find in a Texas auction yard. A lot more grandstanding than substance IMO and that is not untypical of the entire scene.

[possum]

I'll try to answer some of your questions.. I'm sure others will rip me a new a$$hole chime in when they wake up..

Agencies:

1) You should look into free dating sites like mamba.ru and many others where people sign up to date locally.. Very few, if any, scammers there, but the downside is most girls on them don't speak any English..

2) Long passionate emails in the beginning of correspondence..

3) Yoshkar-Ola

On the subject of countries/cities..

1) it depends on what you mean by 'technologically advanced'.. If you need a good Internet connection, your best bet is to target the capitals and large cities with populations of 400K+, but if you're looking for a state-of-the-art laboratory or research facility of some kind, go to the city with the biggest number of universities in the region..

2) Define 'Western values'..

Economy/Accomodations:

1) Three weeks vacation time could be a problem, considering that the Russian average is 6-8 weeks per year..

2) I have no idea what the average household income is in Ukraine.. For Russia it has to be around $1000-1200 a month for a family with two working parents.. That's national average, local figures may vary.. Asking about other people's income is considered rude in most situations.. Be very polite, tell them what you make first and you might get away with it..

3) Not unless you plan to sell it in a few years for a profit..

[Shadow]

Given what I've learned in my limited time using one agency.  Speaking to probably a dozen people and figuring out some things I've come up with some questions I'd like to ask you guys as experienced FSU people. 

Topic 1: Agencies

1) Are there any sites which lower the chances of people connected to them being scammers/fake?

2) Besides asking for money and trying to keep you dependent on sites, are there any other signs?

3) Are there certain cities which should be avoided as a whole?

1) Any site that asks a pay-by-letter or pay-by-communication fee has more interest in receiving the fees than in not receiving them. If you use dating sites, use those which are free or allow you a full comunication regardless of the number of members at a flat rate.

2) not giving out personal information, falling in love with you too soon.

3) Not because of scamming, but because of general criminality. Ask a Russian.

Topic 2: Countries

1) Speaking of cities, would some countries be more likely to be better than others?  Considering I would need something technologically advanced enough to work from there for a short period of time?

2) Are there any countries in the FSU who would lend themselves more easily to American/Western Values?

1) Major cities will have sufficient internet connections, Military laboratories will have very advanced facilities, howver you need some bottles of Vodka to gain access.

2) Hopefully not. Some try, mostly to find their traditions are better. 

Topic 3: Economy/Accomodations

1) Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired.  I am a salaried/bonus eligible employee at a large financial company. I get 3 weeks off a year but I can work from home as I usually see fit barring meetings with my clients.  Is this a huge problem? 

2) What does the real average Ukrainian household make per year?  I fail to understand the real household income of a person there?  Should I let the person I talk to know what I make? Is this culturally a faux pas? People here has asked me this on dates before...

3) If I planned to visit the Ukraine more than a handful of times, would it be in my interest to simply buy an apartment there or second home?

1) If you have no problem fighting jetlag you could make it. Just remember that only a very few men were lucky making a single trip and gotten married without failure.
Usually you would need to build the relationship, which means to spend a lot of time communicating and face-to-face. Dating a guy once a year does not make a woman happy.

2) Household income differs greatly upon the area, job and position. Also the net income will be affected by if people own their apartment or rent it. If people own an apartment, usually that means without mortgage. The $600 monthly per working person is a good estimate.

3) Only if you plan to spend substantial time there, or have people who you can trust to take care of it. You might be shocked by the prices of apartments in larger cities.

Topic:Traveling

1) What is the preferred method of flying (carrier) to the Ukraine? LOT?  Is it better to fly to Kiev or Odessa as a whole? Is there a decent business class carrier there?

2) Do we have preferred car service vendors which members have used before?

3) Are there preferred local onsite (local) agencies that people use or are preferred?

4) Do people ever travel in groups? Like maybe one of you guys and I could coordinate a trip to an area around the same time?

...

Just some ideas.  Thanks.

1) Use a local airline, but do not expect business class. In fact be happy if they offer you a seat instead of standing place. :evil:

2) Check the shopping mall and reviews sections. Though I would not advise you to drive yourself as traffic is very different from what you are used to.

3) Check the reviews. There are a number of angencies and interpreters that offer good services. Remember everything comes at a price, but some people charge local and some people charge foreign prices.

4) It happens, sometimes people join up when in the area at the same time, and some agencies offer group tours, with or with pre-arragned meetings. However group tours have a low reputation both with many here and with women in the FSU.

[Gylden]

Seraphimangel,
Are you a care free, positive guy who is curious about FSU women, maybe even interested to get some experience?

If I read you correctly, it seems as though you already have contact with a girl, who you are attracted to. From the rest of what you have posted about yourself, I don't really see you as a desperate type or for that matter anyone who has a problem to get a date.

If you have some curiosity and financial resource, just take a vacation, hop on a plane, meet the girl you have been talking with and if it just doesn't click, have some fun, see around, meet some girls face to face for the first time instead of virtually. IMO and from my experience, it is absolutely no problem to meet people there, on the ground and IMO probably a better way.

Preparing for a trip, by hearing about others experiences is a great idea.

FWIW, about apartments there, I would wait to make any decisions until after you had been there a few times. Real estate is still on the way down there (at least in Ukraine) and the chances to really make any money there are slim for the near future IMO (3-5 years very doubtful)

FWIW, agencies, don't need em, just nonsense for the most, mostly for guys with some sort of complexes these days and a real money make for the owners. (I know there are plenty here who will say differently, but this is MO)

Business class flights, more nonsense.

Another option to consider, live and work somewhere in Europe and take excursions to the FSU from there. Oslo-Kiev, nonstop 30 bucks in the summer one way. Plenty ideas for someone with an imagination.

Well all for now.
 

[Faux Pas]

1) Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired.  I am a salaried/bonus eligible employee at a large financial company. I get 3 weeks off a year but I can work from home as I usually see fit barring meetings with my clients.  Is this a huge problem? 

3 weeks vacation time a year could easily allow you 3 trips of a week up to 2 weeks or more to the FSU with some strategic planning. Plan them around other paid holidays and weekends. If you have personal day, use 1 or 2 as well as a day or so of unpaid leave. Much of it depends on how liberal your company is with leave time but, it is very doable even with the strictest of policies. If you equate vacation time instead of available time off, it seems rather limited.

Most on this board are in the same boat as you. Very few have the time or resources to spend month(s) at a time in the FSU. A couple of posters may like to mention the fact that they can and power to them but, by in large, most can not. It is both financially draining and time consuming for most. For many with the basic required resources, it is doable for those with the commitment.



 

[Gylden]

Topic 2: Countries

1) Speaking of cities, would some countries be more likely to be better than others?  Considering I would need something technologically advanced enough to work from there for a short period of time?

Topic 3: Economy/Accomodations

1) Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired.  I am a salaried/bonus eligible employee at a large financial company. I get 3 weeks off a year but I can work from home as I usually see fit barring meetings with my clients.  Is this a huge problem? 



...

Just some ideas.  Thanks.

You seem to be one of guys with flexibility to work away from the office. As Faux Pas points out, this is beneficial to getting as much time with women in the FSU, it gives you an advantage over the normal Joe.

[Misha]

Below, my opinion. Worth what you pay for it. Others will certainly disagree with what I say.

Topic 1: Agencies

1) Are there any sites which lower the chances of people connected to them being scammers/fake?

I would stick to the free Russian dating sites such as the mamba network: http://www.mamba.ru. Sure, there will be some prostitutes advertising, some women looking for sponsors, but they are easy enough to identify. Most women won't be interested in a foreigner and it will require more time and effort on your part (i.e. you will have to send out large numbers of messages to get a decent reply). But, because there are so many women and so few foreigners, there are few scammers looking specifically to fleece foreigners.

2) Besides asking for money and trying to keep you dependent on sites, are there any other signs?

I never encountered a scammer using the mamba network, so I can't answer this.

3) Are there certain cities which should be avoided as a whole?

No, but it depends on your interests. I personally would find a city or cities that you would want to travel to as a tourist. Then, use mamba to find women to chat with from that city.

1) Speaking of cities, would some countries be more likely to be better than others?  Considering I would need something technologically advanced enough to work from there for a short period of time?

What do you mean by "work from there"? If you mean cities with the internet, then you can get decent internet connections now in most larger cities. High-speed internet connections are still a bit harder to come by in Russian villages, but the technology is spreading quickly. The point to consider: the cities with the best and faster interent connections, will also be the most expensive cities to live in as a foreigner.

2) Are there any countries in the FSU who would lend themselves more easily to American/Western Values?

The FSU is a pretty large territory. Sure, a woman from Tallinn would certainly have more in common with an American than a villager from Kyrgyzstan.

1) Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired.  I am a salaried/bonus eligible employee at a large financial company. I get 3 weeks off a year but I can work from home as I usually see fit barring meetings with my clients.  Is this a huge problem?

It depends on a lot of factors. If you were living in New York, for example, and had direct flights to Moscow, Kiev and a host of other cities in the FSU, then it would make things much easier. You could, take work with you and go spend 4 or 5 days if you could afford to do this. The thing is that the more time you have to meet women, the less likely you will rush into a decision and consequently the less likely that you will make a mistake IMHO. However, some have found ways around this and have minimized the risk in other ways through the use of the phone or skype. Each case is unique. 

2) What does the real average Ukrainian household make per year?  I fail to understand the real household income of a person there?  Should I let the person I talk to know what I make? Is this culturally a faux pas? People here has asked me this on dates before...

Who were you dating? Generally speaking, women on first dates in Russia were not asking me for my salary. However, it was assumed that if I were a foreigner and could afford to travel to Russia that I was not poor 

3) If I planned to visit the Ukraine more than a handful of times, would it be in my interest to simply buy an apartment there or second home?

I would say no. The time to make a profit by buying an apartment in the FSU has long passed and given the challenges you will face buying something not knowing the language, I would say that it is not worth it unless you are planning on moving there and living there for months on end for many, many years. Others may disagree.

Topic:Traveling

1) What is the preferred method of flying (carrier) to the Ukraine? LOT?  Is it better to fly to Kiev or Odessa as a whole? Is there a decent business class carrier there?

2) Do we have preferred car service vendors which members have used before?

Never flew to Ukraine, never rented a car.

3) Are there preferred local onsite (local) agencies that people use or are preferred?

Don't know either. When I was in a new city in Russia, I could use the mamba network and set up a date within a hour or less, often for the same day.

4) Do people ever travel in groups? Like maybe one of you guys and I could coordinate a trip to an area around the same time?

I never did, but some do. There are even a few trip report here where two or a few guys traveled together.

[GQBlues]

Seraphimangel-

Just use this site, Virtual Tourist as a good base for your travel needs. It is a travel site comprised of members from all over who freely share their traveling experiences and information. Consequently, you also get natives from your areas of interest who will be more than willing to help or network with you for your traveling needs from an insider's POV.

I laid out the Ukraine page for you as that seems to be your destination of interest. Sign up.

That's for the bulk of your query...

As for RWD, everyone else here is rich, mostly retirees who doesn't look their age/s - looks more like late 30s/early 40s, wise, handsome, etc...except me. So don't bother yourself with that. Just trust your instincts and you'll be fine.

[Gator]

Seraphimangel,

You ask amazingly intelligent questions - amazing in the fact that you just started this venture.  The information provided by the members more than suffices for now. 

You will do just fine.  The fact that you have only 3 weeks of vacation each year is your largest constraint, yet not impossible to overcome if you do plenty of pre-trip research and getting to know a lot about the woman (or women) you plan to meet. 

Again, your options are to:

1.  Travel independently on a VO plan (You will be at the mercy of your woman, and there is one horror story in the archives in which the RW locked the man in his apartment each night and then left him alone until the morning) (Also, although you like your woman from Nikolaev, I believe it is too early to say she is the one).

2.  Travel independently on a VM plan (if you have only 3 weeks of travel time, I think you should spend more time getting as close to a VO plan as possible).

3.  Travel in a group (not recommended except possibly for Jack's tour, and I have no experience at this).

4.  Travel independently but hiring a guide (one example is Stirlitz).

5.  Travel semi-independently but go to only one city, relying on an agency to arrange travel, apartment, transfers from airport, and multiple meetings with multiple women (a more sheltered option for a VM trip - many men have done this in the past, some never writing a single woman before arrival).

[JR]

Boy oh boy! There are going to be as many answers as there are responders and each will be as different as the person posting it.

Here are some of the realities:

The minimum amount of money one has to spend on this endeavor is ZERO.

The minimum amount of time and effort is next to zero.

The minimum number of times you will be scammed, stood up or stabbed in the back is zero.

Everything else is a matter of degrees and perspectives.

It is your journey, you will find your own way. Listen to everything. If it sounds over the top in either direction it probably is. Use what makes sense to you. Don't be paranoid. Do GO!!! Don't dawdle, be decisive.

I like Elena's Models and Lucky Lovers. I have used both and have more compliments than complaints.

Welcome Aboard!

[XMan]

My $.02, which is pretty much what it is worth. 

I wasted a lot of time with free sites, including mamba.  But everyone's personal experiences vary tremendously. 
Agencies can, and often are, money pits.  The question is not necessarily whether you spend money with an agency, but whether or not you get value from spending your money with an agency.  I think there are still a few good ones out there.  But even were I to name them, I can guarantee that different people had different experiences with them, so it is probably moot.  There are those who have been successful with Anastasia, for example, which is difficult for me to believe, but I am sure it is true. 

Multiple trips to Russia and Ukraine, I prefer the latter.  Why?  Personal experience.  I had far more difficulties in Russia, although I am glad I had the experience. 

After my first trip I booked my own apartment, hired my own interpreter, but still met some agency women.  Some agencies are fine with that, some are not.  If they are not, then look elsewhere.  I can see that alone as being one reason to consider a free site.  But as I said, my experience was not good.  After trying many approaches, I found a small agency I could trust, and I got the services that I paid for. 

My best experiences with international flights were on Delta/Northwest/KLM.  Aerosvit was passable, as was Aeroflot.  I did some research on LOT because I considered them.  Their safety record was not as good.  So I flew Delta/Northwest/KLM to Amsterdam and on to Kiev.  Amsterdam is an easy airport, although quite large, to get around in, and there are many English speakers.  A big plus, IMO.  Depending upon where you are located in the USA, I would recommend flying out of Minneapolis first.  They have Airbus flights from Minneapolis to Amsterdam.  I fly coach and there seems to be more legroom.  Handy on a long flight.  Also easy to get around that airport.  Second choice is Atlanta, although there have been some changes there and I'm not sure what flights are like now (or if they still exist).  JFK was a hassle for me.

I had no problems traveling on Aeroflot or Aerosvit internally in Russ and Ukraine respectively, other than some extremely long layovers. The Saab turboprop I flew on seemed safer than the TU 154.  At the moment I cannot remember the other plane I was on, another famous Soviet era plane of some sort. 

I would not recommend driving in Ukraine.  Hire a driver / taxi.  I think there are 15 miles of decent road in Kiev, other than that my experience was moon crater roads between Kiev and Kharkov and worse between Kiev and Chernovtsy.  The most insane taxi drivers I have ever seen were in Sochi.  I have never witnessed anything like it.  In other locations it seemed relatively normal. 

Again, personal opinion here, but I think one is better off in a smaller city (not necessarily a village).  Kiev largely is a waste of time unless what you are after is hooking up.  But again, I am sure there are those who have been successful, so it is just personal experience.

I strongly recommend learning some basic Russian phrases, numbers, and the Cyrillic alphabet.  I found my electronic translator, which is ancient now, to be quite handy in some difficult situations, as long as you keep the sentences simple.  The translation can be laughably bad in some cases, or even offensive, but I really found it overall to be valuable. 

Good luck.

[seraphimangel]

I'm taking this all in but one question I must have worded wrong is "car service"... I didn't mean rental, I meant a good service that picks you up, drives you around and isn't a taxi.  For example, I never park at LAX, I have a car service pick me up at home, and when I get back from flights, they stand in the baggage area with my name on a card and drive me home. 

I was wondering if you guys had something like that in the Ukraine.

[Turboguy]

Yes, there are a lot of them and I would recommend it as a great way to go.  Sometimes however your guide or interpreter can arrange a car and some apartment services do the same.  One way or the other it is alway nice not to have to deal with the mob of cab drivers that will attack you when you leave customs.

[JR]

If you're like me and flying out of LAX then I'd suggest Aeroflot. Non stop to Moscow over the pole and transfer to anywhere in the world from there. If you fly a US carrier you'll end up going the long way around via Chicago, NY or Atlanta and maybe another stop somewhere in Eurpoe. If you stay on Aeroflot you are less likely to miss connections. Additionally if you book in advance through a travel agency such as Brand New Travel you'll probably save some money. On the trips I've flown on them recently I have had no complaints on service.

[seraphimangel]

Hey Jolly,  

Thanks!!! I was looking at their flights and they have a VERY reasonably priced business class too.  I'm just thinking if I'm gonna fly around the world, I want to do it from my back and not upright all the time.

Another note on Aeroflot, I noticed they don't fly to Odessa.  They fly to Kiev.  What's the best way to Odessa/Nikolaev from Kiev? Another flight or do I have to car service it? Seems a long distance.

Also, I guess what I'm asking specifically is not to look through all the reviews but look into something which has been used by one of you guys.  I've read some and some event have thumbs up, but usually from members I don't see here.  

[Turboguy]

I have done Odessa/Nikolaev by car and it seems to me that it was about 5 hours.  There are planes.  I believe there are some flights to Odessa from Europe but I have not done that to know for sure.  I sorta think there is an Austrian Air flight through Vienna.  As far as business class I have no experiece to know if that is available.  I usually try to fly as checked baggage to save money but now they are almost charging as much for checked baggage as for the passanger so I may start upgrading to coach. 

[I/O]

Another note on Aeroflot, I noticed they don't fly to Odessa.  They fly to Kiev.  What's the best way to Odessa/Nikolaev from Kiev? Another flight or do I have to car service it?

Plenty of flights or train or bus.

Alternatively, it's easy enough to fly into Odessa. One (Of many) variant below.

[kievstar]

I would ask yourself are you good at talking on the phone and writing letters with someone you have never met and may know little English? If yes, than free personals may work for you.  If no, never write and visit first. 

Based on your 3 weeks off and ability to work remotely you could easily take 6 trips a year to Ukraine.  Not all trips have to be 7 days.  Every 2 months you could be going.  Thanksgiving and Christmas really help on not using much vacation.  Add in Labor day, July 4th, and Memorial day.  Plus after you find the one (after face to face) you can fly them to Caribbean a couple of times and do 4 day vacations.

I would say you have advantage with ability to fly often to Ukraine over majority of men. 

If you use paid agencies just visit in person and never write.  Your writing the office workers.

You have a lot of options you can use.  Seems you have money and time. 

Next thing you need to do is figure out the league of woman your in.  This is not just age and looks.  But add children, interests, etc. You should figure out right now if you want to make more children in the future or not.  also, if you would adopt children.  Children is a huge killer in most AM / RW I have met recently in the USA.  Seems people really never discuss this prior to marriage. 

My best advice.  Take your time.  Its not a race.

[SomeGuy]

You've been given lots of good advice already.  I suspect mine will only mirror much of what's already been mentioned.  I particularly liked Kiev's responses, but all of it well worth thinking about.

1) Are there any sites which lower the chances of people connected to them being scammers/fake?

Avoid pay per letter sites; there's simply no reason for them today in the majority of cases.  Look for a site that allows direct communication, and preferably a search of the name and the word "scam" doesn't have hundreds of hits.  There aren't many shortcuts here to some homework.  freepersonals, mamba, Elenas, and others all have their plusses and minuses, but some others, usually pay per letter, really leave you wondering if you're ever talking or emailing with a real (interested) woman or not.

2) Besides asking for money and trying to keep you dependent on sites, are there any other signs?

Pay attention to what she is writing.  Is she answering your questions, or could the same letter be sent to anyone with a name change?  If she's in love in a short time, highly unlikely.  If you have been emailing and on webcam for a while (not on an agency site, I hope!) and won't give her address and mobile number, it would raise some red flags.  If she starts mentioning poverty and misery in every other email, you're probably on your way to being set up.  Put her words, emails, all in context of if you were dating someone locally.  If it seems entirely unlikely here, it is there as well, in the majority of cases.

3) Are there certain cities which should be avoided as a whole?

This question will probably open a can of worms.  
There are decent people everywhere, as well as not so decent.
Worry first about the contact method and finding the right one, while using some common sense.  
You may want to think about where you live - I found what defines a 'city' can differ, and may impact who may find your own locale more or less suitable, not in 'wooing' her, but in the real world in the event that you later marry and she were to move to you.

1) Speaking of cities, would some countries be more likely to be better than others?  Considering I would need something technologically advanced enough to work from there for a short period of time?

Define 'technologically advanced'?  
If you mean Internet access, yes, it's not a new invention or 'magic voodoo' there, either.  
Expect all cities to have access, and many villages or small towns, with varying amounts of bandwidth.  Not every rental apartment will have Internet access, though.

2) Are there any countries in the FSU who would lend themselves more easily to American/Western Values?

This seems a somewhat bizarre question.  Flying to New York or LA might be easier?
If you live in a (larger) city, you might look in larger cities there.  Kiev, Moscow and others are no strangers to Westerners, but that may or may not be a good thing, depending on your perspective and whom you ask.

1) Everyone on this system seems to be a business person who is either able to take massive amounts of time off for these trips, is independently wealthy enough live there without loss or retired.  I am a salaried/bonus eligible employee at a large financial company. I get 3 weeks off a year but I can work from home as I usually see fit barring meetings with my clients.  Is this a huge problem?  

As others have said, use your vacation time in conjunction with company holidays, and try to do some working trips, combined with some unpaid time off if need be.  In an ideal world, you will find your match on the first trip, but the real world usually doesn't work like that, so do the best you can with what you have.

2) What does the real average Ukrainian household make per year?  I fail to understand the real household income of a person there?  Should I let the person I talk to know what I make? Is this culturally a faux pas? People here has asked me this on dates before...

I can't speak for Ukraine, but would wager for most, it's somewhere between $250 on the low side, and $750 doing reasonably well.  The numbers don't say much if you are trying to make a direct comparison, though.  Owning an apartment outright cuts the cost of living, for example.  I wouldn't recommend 'baiting' people with discussion of your salary, unless you wish to attract someone attracted to your money?  If someone asks you on a first date in the FSU, I personally would very likely be running in the other direction.

2) Do we have preferred car service vendors which members have used before?

Don't drive yourself.  If you are renting an apartment or hotel room (note the order?), some of them provide shuttle service.  Compare them to a google search or other numbers found, but they are likely better than a random taxi at the airport, and assuming you are visiting one woman, may be able to also bring her to meet you at the airport, if you desire.

4) Do people ever travel in groups? Like maybe one of you guys and I could coordinate a trip to an area around the same time?

Most people have a less than good opinion on "tours."  Maybe you'll find someone going at the same time you are, maybe not.  You might want to define your travel plans a little more, such as visiting many, visiting one, writing beforehand or not, etc.  

Oh - you may want to confirm if you will need a transit visa or not in flying through Moscow, I'm unsure myself.