Anna & Marina from Anastasia

[Faux Pas]

You are suggesting that these girls would't have any second thoughts about scamming any of the local guys for $300..? Let me remind you that is the equivalent of approx. $4,000 in the west....

Distributing among the poor? Well, the usual scenario in most of the stories I have read in different forums so far, involve the interpreter, a cab driver, a boyfriend (or family members) and in some cases, staff at certain restaurants.....and not to mention those cases were the agency is also in on it...

falcon you seem to be buying into the agency hype pretty good. Have you ever been anywhere in the FSU? Yes many salaries are low but not near as low as you are projecting. There are also many salaries that are quite high. Some grotesquely high and then there are others that are on Western scales. People in the FSU do what it takes to get by just like everyone in other industrialized countries. I don't know anyone that makes only $150 a month. My wife use to make what equates to about $300 a month. My point here is: don't look down your nose at an FSU salary and attempt to rationalize your own self worth. Women making those small salaries (in most cases) are not desperate enough to marry a man 20 years older and garnering a 30-40K a year salary.

If you spend $2-300 on a date at home, don't hesitate to do it there. If you spend $50 on a date at home, doing it there is a good idea. Don't try to fool anyone especially a prospective wife. Stay within your means. Most women and people in the FSU have eaten expensive meals perhaps just not as frequent as it is possible in the west. Don't delude yourself into thinking you are somehow "better" or smarter or more privileged because of the circumstances, you're not.

I also think that it's pretty obvious that the average type of guy who ends up looking for a potential bride in the FSU, isn't exactly the cream of the crop of guys. Attractive guys will obviously have better chances with the gals in their own neck of the woods, and see no reason to venture overseas. I think that it is too tempting for many of the FSU girls to milk a few bucks out of Mr. gullible-goofy-looking-middle-aged-over-weight who comes along, instead of wanting to commit themselves to the guy...

So where exactly do you fit in?

[Misha]

The purchasing power is obviously a far cry from the west then, right? That's exactly my point...

As Jooky noted, it will usually buy you a lot less.

Anyway, any guy who has had a relationship with a western gal knows very well how costly it is to keep them happy. As soon as they are getting sick and tired of your a$$ and wants out, it all of a sudden start to cost you even more money...and no more bang for the buck. A single date with a western girl, may set you back a couple of grand, and there is no guarantee that you will get any bang for the buck either. This analogy should apply to the FSU as well..

What kind of women were you dating?

I think that it is too tempting for many of the FSU girls to milk a few bucks out of Mr. gullible-goofy-looking-middle-aged-over-weight who comes along, instead of wanting to commit themselves to the guy...

Some of these men may have charm and personality  :evil:

[OlgaH]

Who makes $150  per month?

I/O for example a nanny's net effective income (after the tax deduction) at the Municipal Specialized Baby Orphanage in Siberia is just 4500 rub ($148,95) a storekeeper's income is about 7000 rub ($231,70) 

[SFandEE]

Yes, the lady can play the same game -

a) some men might be marriage prospects to her
b) some men might be short-term or part-time-lover prospects to her
c) some men might be travel partner prospects to her
d) some men might be chat prospects to her
e) some men might be scam prospects to her

To say the lady is a scammer is incorrect.
She is a scammer to certain men at certain times.
The question he should consider is why he got to the bottom rung on her ladder (e)
instead of climbing to the top (a).

This is well said.  What is the rule--if you don't want to get scammed don't send money.  As far as investing time in a relationship, this does a good job--perhaps the WM had a remote shot and didn't make it happen.

I hope you will also agree that if a woman is misrepresenting her intentions or there is no sincere interest, but purposeful misrepresentation of her intentions or emotions this is a problem.  Part of the messy world of dating.  Hopefully men who feel scammed don't feel that they are entitled to a woman's heart for showing up and buying her dinner.

[I/O]

I/O for example a nanny's net effective income (after the tax deduction) at the Municipal Specialized Baby Orphanage in Siberia is just 4500 rub ($148,95) a storekeeper's income is about 7000 rub ($231,70) 

Olga, sure, I am aware of the "salary" levels but it's a fraction of the story. Hence my question "who makes"...............

[OlgaH]

I/O I did not read the whole story I just saw your question. When there are not so many choices especially in small provincial towns people are forced even work for such "salaries".

[falcon]

Way to much hairsplitting by some in here...

Two of the girls I have been chatting with claim to make approx. 150 bucks a month (which is goes hand in hand with Olga's statement). If it so that certain items (in certain bigger cities) are as expensive as those in the west, then the purchasing power in the FSU is way below that of the west...

$300 is obviously a big deal to any of those girls....(and NO, they have not asked me for any "donations" yet)

[OlgaH]

I did not stay in education system because of "funny money". Today a teacher's salary without experience less than 6000 rub (salary vary from region to region in some regions even less). I just read on one teacher forum that in Krasnodar a school teacher with 18 years of experience makes 10 600 rub ($350,86) per month and under circumstances that her class will be full - 30 students. 30 students in classroom is a nightmare. Number of students also has an influence on teachers salaries. When my mother was a school head they even kept total idiots in the school and gave them an underserved marks just not to lose in salary.

If you look through http://www.superjob.ru/rabota/235/uchitel/?from=100 the teachers salaries in public school in Saint Petersburg and Moscow are also not sugar in comparison with cost of living and if you don't have your own apartment.