Income question

[RandomUser]

What income range are these girls looking for? Are they out for six figure guys or is a school teacher's salary going to satisfy them?

[BC]

Disposable.

[steviej]

Disposable.

Good one ! LOL   ... 

Seriously, I haven't experienced this issue with many RWs. But I have my impressions from my wife, her friends and female relatives in Russia, etc, starting from our courtship to today.

For the "good" Russian girls, they want a man, a "Real Man", that has a stable profession of some sort, financial security, owning his own home or townhome, and can support his wife and family. She DOES NOT want to marry into a situation where she "has" to work. She may want to work, but she does not want to leave her home, family, country to marry a man who's debts and financial limits mean she has to work. Her opinioin would be, he's not ready for an international marriage yet. There was a story here recently about a young girl from Siberia who married a man who then insisted she work because of his varioius debts, etc. Basically he could not afford to take care of her. She left him, and felt she was midled.

All that being said, that does not mean you have to be wealthy. But you have tot have enough to uphold your end as husband of the family. So, my questions to you would be:
- Do you own your own house, or are you a renter?
- Can you support your wife without requiring her to produce more income?
- Can you support two cars?
- Can you afford to have her travel back to Russia 1-2 times per year?
- If your wife had a baby, could you afford for her to stay home and be a mother if she so chose?

You do not have to be wealthy for the above. But, IMHO, it is not fair to court and marry a RW if you need her to produce another income to support yourselves, UNLESS that is ENTIRELY CLEAR from the early stages of the courtship that you would need her to work and contribute part of teh family income to be married. If you are straight with her, she may be fine with that, and you can find wonderful relations from that angle as well..

Good Luck!!

[ambach123]

Steve has given an excellent answer.

That is what most of RW are looking for.

However over 90% of women in USA in age group 25 - 35 work; mostly because they have  to, they have no choices because of financial realities.

It is my impression that this fact about USA is not lost on RW and is one of the reasons many prefer European men.

[2tallbill]

Steve has given an excellent answer.

That is what most of RW are looking for.

However over 90% of women in USA in age group 25 - 35 work; mostly because they have  to, they have no choices because of financial realities.

It is my impression that this fact about USA is not lost on RW and is one of the reasons many prefer European men.

I think it has more to do with geography. Europe is closer

[ConnerVT]

However over 90% of women in USA in age group 25 - 35 work; mostly because they have  to, they have no choices because of financial realities.

It is my impression that this fact about USA is not lost on RW and is one of the reasons many prefer European men.

Why?  Do 90% of women in Europe sit at home all day, because they don't need to work?   ???

[docetae]

What income range are these girls looking for? Are they out for six figure guys or is a school teacher's salary going to satisfy them?

a simple estimation method : the average cost of your quest per year will be the one you will have when you will be together.

I do 6 travels per year with around 3000$ of budget per travel. Extra budget needed will be in our case around 18000$...

Another good rule of the thumb is to ask yourself before you start to build an oversee relationship: Do I need to use credit card or can I finance everything on my cash flow ?
If the answer is no, it is better to look not too far from your home rather than in FSU...

[ambach123]

I believe, the need to have a second income in Europe is not as dire as it is in USA.

Most families in USA cannot survive without a second income. Some of our European friends here probably can give a better opinion on that.

[BC]

Why?  Do 90% of women in Europe sit at home all day, because they don't need to work?   ???

Maybe not 90% in this area, but a lot.. especially those with young kids in the household.

[Gator]

Some elaboration of Stevie's excellent post:

- Do you own your own house, or are you a renter?

RW will have trouble with a renter.  Some will have trouble understanding mortgages.   

- Can you support your wife without requiring her to produce more income?

Important because she may not be able to produce much income the first few years.
 
- Can you support two cars?

Some can not drive even after two years.

- Can you afford to have her travel back to Russia 1-2 times per year?

Once a year seems to satisfy most.

- If your wife had a baby, could you afford for her to stay home and be a mother if she so chose?

Very important.

Other quick points:

-  Most men are much older than their RW wives.  Because you love her, make sure you can arrange for her financial needs if something happens to you. 

-  RW, particularly those 33 or older, have experienced much economic turmoil.  Long term stability is very important to them.

-  Much depends upon the individual woman.  Some are frugal, others believe in conspicuous consumption.    Choose what you can afford.  Beware of the "10's," many have been spoiled by RM.

-  Be sure that you have at least $10k savings that you can devote to getting her here. 

-  My opinion, a man should be earning more than average family income.  RW are sinkholes for money, particularly for the first year.

[Maxx2]

If they are already here and divorced from their American husbands they make no bones about it and say they want a millionaire. I'm serious. These are just ordinary looking Russian woman and not particularly young either. I would rather not go into details on how I know this  


Maxx

[possum]

If they are already here and divorced from their American husbands they make no bones about it and say they want a millionaire. I'm serious. These are just ordinary looking Russian woman and not particularly young either. I would rather not go into details on how I know this 


Maxx

I've heard about that.. it really kinda speaks volumes for their reasons to marry an AM in the first place..

[BC]

I've heard about that.. it really kinda speaks volumes for their reasons to marry an AM in the first place..

There probably are quite a few that were disappointed after arrival.

Newton's law on RW:

For every action there is a chain reaction.

[possum]

There probably are quite a few that were disappointed after arrival.

Newton's law on RW:

For every action there is a chain reaction.

Well, if they hadn't expected much they wouldn't have been disappointed, would they?.

[msmoby_ru]

Why?  Do 90% of women in Europe sit at home all day, because they don't need to work?   ???

Quite right, Conner - right now in the UK - sadly - most women with kids, work to help pay the mortgage  which just went up 20-50% ( on a house that is falling in value) as the low rate mortgage deals are coming to and end..

Even if your new RW wanted to work - right now she won't find work... in three months the credit crunch has turned the UK economy around and pessism abounds ...

BTW Stevej your post was spot on ..

[apple47]

                   I agree with most of what has been said to this point. But,as to HAVING to be a home owner,I think this needn't be an absolute requirement.
                   I believe as a minimum you should have the funds available to buy a house after your lady arrives and let her know that you will buy your house together.So,if you are a renter now,I wouldn't rush out to buy a house,but,do have the funds.  If you are already a home owner ,don't sell it just to rent.
                  None of us has a crystal ball .Things can change.  I can only relate my own experience to explain why my opinion is such.
                
                  When I first met Rita,I owned a home with my ex. She bought me out.I used some of this money to eliminate debt and to finance my first trip to Kazakhstan and I held back enough to buy a house.  After things got to the point with Rita that I needed to consider housing ,we had some discussion about this.   She felt that the best would be to rent and then find "our" house together.    I felt that sending money done a rental "rat hole" wasn't the best place for the money.   After much discussion ,we decided that buying was the way to go.

                    So,July 2004,I bought a house.  Partly because of things I had read at other forums and partly because I was unemployed at the time,the house I bought needed a bit of work.   From the forums I figured this wasn't a bad thing as we would work together to make this place ours,and talking with Rita ,she was looking forward to having the opportunity to have freedom to do as she pleased with how "her" house would be finished. [ She is very handy and can now operate  the table saw,miter saw,sawzall,drills,sanders,chisels ,virtually anything and she enjoys it. ] I proceeded to rip out all the flooring,all the trim and had to replace the floor in the laundry room all the way to the joists.   I didn't actually move in til Oct 2004.   I went back to work in Sept,2004.  

                     Now working,I figured I would have the funds to begin some of the preliminary work on the house.  But,Rita wanted me to leave it all til she arrived.Since I was already working 60+ hours per week,leaving things as they were wasn't a problem for me.  Rita was supposed to arrive in April or March of 2005,but ,things happened and she and the girls arrived the first week of June 2005.

                       Almost from the day Rita arrived we worked on this house,I was working 60 hours or so a week at my job and Rita got a job within 3 months of arriving.  So,with working and other things taking up our time [ two daughters ],work on the house was a slow process.   And since we figured we would be in this house at least 4 years ,there was no big hurry to finish.  

                       For the Labor Day weekend of 2005 we all went to the eastern part of TN and the western part of NC.  I had told Rita that I would someday like to live in this area. After visiting this area she agreed and even began doing internet searches for property in these areas.  

                          Since 2002 I've made a trip to NC each June for a motorcycle rally .  In June 2006 Rita joined me on the bike to NC.  She brought along some materials she printed about property to look at while there and also some to look at in AR and MO.   In Indy I somehow missed finding 74 east and was still on 65 south.  My intended route was 74 east to 75 west.  Along 65 south I found the Blue Grass Parkway,which took me east thru Lexington,Ky to 75 south.   Rita was very impressed with the miles of neatly manicure grounds of the many horse farms we passed.  She also saw a couple of fair sized industrial parks.  She really liked this area,so ,when we got back from our trip she began more property searches on the internet.

                        Labor day of 2006 we loaded up and spent the weekend in the Lexington,Ky area looking at property in parts of Fayette county and beyond.  After returning from this trip,Rita was back at the internet searches for property.  She checked out average incomes for these areas as well as population,demographics,schools ,jobs just about everything. From all this,she decided that she would like to be in the Georgetown,Ky area.   So,the first week of Jan 2007 Rita and I ,armed with a bunch of printed material from the web went to Georgetown,Ky to look at houses.         We saw many places,even checked out some new models.    That night at the motel we talked about it and decided it made more sense to build a new house.  So we went back to one of the new projects we liked and checked out some models and some empty lots and found a combination we liked.   The real estate market was already starting to effect new home sales so this builder was offering $10K off,so we signed up to have a new house built.   It was finished june of 2007,we closed in July and I moved the girls and Rita From WI to KY in August.

                 If I had rented ,I could have moved with my girls. Now I have a house in a crappy market that doesn't want to be sold.      As I said earlier,we can't guess the future.    We moved 2 years ahead of our time,the market sucks for selling a house. And with the recent changes for qualifying for a mortgage,the offers I have gotten have been beyond laughable.

                   So back to my original thought.   If you are a renter but are able to buy a house ,wait til she arrives and buy your house together.   If you already own a house ,keep and wait to see what developes once she has arrived.

                   Owning a house ,I don't believe is a necessity.  Renting would actually give you more freedom of choice after she has arrived and had time to find her feet.

                  Hopefully this post isn't as confusing as my last 2 posts seemed to be.



                                                              ...Larry
                      

                      

[topofthekey]

i dont own a home myself but i think i see where you guys are going with this thread. where i am a rw or ukrainian women, estonian woman, bulgarian women, etc could find a job if she spoke decent english but i doubt it would pay much- and she'd have to drive to get there.... so I get what everyone is saying.

surprisingly i thought ahead about this. most of the women i'm planning to me are

20-24 years of age
hopefully in college or graduating
have some level of english- even if just basic

i see it as a bonus that she would stay at home or only work part time- but point taken when it comes to income

i don't own.... but i can. and being a recent college grad i'm lucky i don't have any debt.... which really would kill plans to travel and meet women

[Ooooops]

I think that lots will depend on where you live - California and Iowa have pretty different coast of living...

[Fashionista]

What income range are these girls looking for?

I wasn't really looking for any particular income, nor did I look for someone living abroad.  I met my future husband through friends when he was on a trip to Russia and we hit it off.  I guess my case is not MOBish enough.  However, it's implied that if a person lives in a well-off country, educated and has a job, he's doing OK.  If he doesn't have a job, there is probably something seriously wrong with him.  I wouldn't marry me, for example, I am not a good marriage material by these standards.

To tell you the truth, we live together for many years now, i still don't know how much he's making 

[groovlstk]

Boy, I didn't know I'd broken so many rules  When my wife and I courted and married, I was renting a studio apt. about 20 ft. from the tracks of a 24/7 subway line. She was not looking for someone to support her financially or give her the option of staying at home all day long. (Although be forewarned that no matter what her intentions are in regards to working, you'll find yourself in this role for at least a year while waiting for AOS and getting her feet on the ground.)

I wasn't "looking" for a career woman but during my search I gravitated towards strong, independent women and frankly the women who professed a desire to spend all day making my home "cozy" didn't stimulate me.

There are no hard and fast rules on "what these girls are looking for," but if you seek a young professional with lots of earnings potential because it's necessary financially and not a personality preference, you'll very likely find yourself in trouble (search for user JamesTee as he came here looking to find a gorgeous woman half his age who also had strong career ambitions as his teacher's salary wasn't adequate).

 

[2tallbill]

I believe, the need to have a second income in Europe is not as dire as it is in USA.

Most families in USA cannot survive without a second income. Some of our European friends here probably can give a better opinion on that.

I am more of the Doctor Laura school of thought. Most Americans don't need two jobs to support a family. They drive brand new cars, have expensive vacations, spend a ton on child care, they eat out too often, they buy expensive things that are not needed.

Most Americans could live on one salary. They simply choose to 
"keep up with the Jones's"

When both couples work they spend a lot of money on child care, they usually have two new cars, they let strangers raise their children, they are too tired to cook so they eat out or have take out food which is expensive. They have the cleaners iron their clothes, they spend all the extra money that they earn. They have decided to enter the rat race.

Life is not a race, why live like it is?

You can buy a reliable used car, you don't need to pay others to watch your kids, you can cook at home delicious and nutritious meals, you can wash and iron your own clothing. You can watch your children grow and teach them your values. You can go camping instead a trip to Hawaii or Aspen.

Americans choose to work two jobs, for the most part they do not need to do this.

Just my two kopecks,

Bill

[Gator]

It was too sweeping for me to write:

RW will have trouble with a renter.  Some will have trouble understanding mortgages.[/[/color]quote]

I am a geriatric warrior who for the most part dated older RW, and almost all of them had children, frequently adult children.  I forget about the situation with younger people. 

The young RW marrying a young AM should be acceptable of someone who is renting.  After all, they are so young that it seems their whole lives are in front of them.   They do not have children yet.  They are building a life from ground zero. 

The other income guidelines would seem to still apply, regardless of age.   

[Blues Fairy]

I'm not so young but I have no problem with renting whatsoever, because mobility has a value of its own.  I've been living in dorms, rented rooms and apartments since the age of 17.  We are currently renting and will be renting for a while, because it seems premature to start shopping for a house in the current market.  When we feel more established with our careers and climate preferences , we'll start looking for a permanent home. 

[viking]

Bill I really disagree with you on this one.

The people who work two jobs ( husband and wife) do so because they HAVE to. These are your typical average middle income families trying to make ends meet. They have two cars because each goes into a separate direction for work. And they are rarely expensive. Usually if the children are small there is some type of day care and most moms whould prefer not to do this and stay home, but the salary is more than the day care and at the end of the week it is a net gain to the family income. Eating out does not occur that often and again, not in expensive resturants. Think along the lines of a pizzeria or diner. And if they are too tired to cook some days, it is only because they need to keep up with a schedule to afford thier needs and hopefully some of their wants. And lets not even think about the cost of medical care for children. You have no idea.

People with really good incomes such as yourself ( you have spent quite a bit in the hunt, yes?) would not ask a wife to help out financially. No need to and most women I have met would rather stay home with the kids or do some type of volunteer work as time is avilable.

In the 50's and 60's, the husband went to work and the wife stayed home. Now try to put a kid through college, save for retirement, put gas in the car, pay a mortgage, etc...on a "decent" salary of say $60-70-80K. Not an easy task. And more so in areas like the east or west coast. Let me know when you are married, with kids, with a house, and we can speak about this again.

[steviej]

Bill I really disagree with you on this one.

The people who work two jobs ( husband and wife) do so because they HAVE to. These are your typical average middle income families trying to make ends meet. They have two cars because each goes into a separate direction for work. And they are rarely expensive. Usually if the children are small there is some type of day care and most moms whould prefer not to do this and stay home, but the salary is more than the day care and at the end of the week it is a net gain to the family income. Eating out does not occur that often and again, not in expensive resturants. Think along the lines of a pizzeria or diner. And if they are too tired to cook some days, it is only because they need to keep up with a schedule to afford thier needs and hopefully some of their wants. And lets not even think about the cost of medical care for children. You have no idea.

People with really good incomes such as yourself ( you have spent quite a bit in the hunt, yes?) would not ask a wife to help out financially. No need to and most women I have met would rather stay home with the kids or do some type of volunteer work as time is avilable.

In the 50's and 60's, the husband went to work and the wife stayed home. Now try to put a kid through college, save for retirement, put gas in the car, pay a mortgage, etc...on a "decent" salary of say $60-70-80K. Not an easy task. And more so in areas like the east or west coast. Let me know when you are married, with kids, with a house, and we can speak about this again.

   Free Trade + Globalization = No USA Middle Class