[Sol Invictus]

I'm an American who has been in Ukraine for over a month now, in a southern city that (for now) shall remain unnamed. I swallowed the red pill a while back, and have worked hard to throw off the beta tendencies since. Coming to Ukraine has been a breath of fresh air compared to the US, although it's not without its problems.

Anyway, just saying hi for now. I've been lurking here for a few months, but kept forgetting to register during the registration window, until today. If anyone has any questions that I can answer, feel free to toss them out there. As I haven't been here all that long, I'm not sure how much I can answer, but I'll give it my best shot.

[The Fantasist]

Hi

Would you be interested in hearing a breakdown of costs in the city where you are and an honest total of what you are spending a month all in?

Cheers

[Sol Invictus]

Good question, Vorkuta.

It's a little difficult to put together an accurate picture of the monthly costs at the moment, as I've been here just less than a month and a half, and I had quite a few one-time expenses that occurred. I can give you somewhat of an idea, though.

Keep in mind, I'm not living in a large city. I'm about 2 hours or so away from Odessa, in a city of roughly 500,000 people. The city itself is poor, even for Ukrainian standards. I'm teaching English here, being paid around 50 gryvna (around $6) an hour. I'm renting a flat in the city center for about 2,000 grv. (close to $250), and utilities run around $50/mo. Most food here is pretty cheap. I've eaten out almost every day, and can get a good shaurma roll from a local shaurma chain for around 20 gryvna. Bottled water is cheap, unless you buy from a street vendor, but even then it's cheaper than what you'd pay in the US. Buying food from the supermarket without a strong grasp of Russian can be a chore, but you'll save a lot of money that way.

If anyone is planning on relocating here for an extended period of time, make sure you have at least $2,000 saved up, preferably more. That's enough money to last you for a while, although you don't want to live solely on savings. Most English teaching jobs pay peanuts here, so bear that in mind as well.

[Viata]

6 $ per hour must be very good salary in Ukraine. Can you live well in a small Ukrainian town without speaking any Russian at all?

[velvet]

I think your city is m......v.
What made you chose this place? How are girls there?
Have fun!

[Rom]

come on it was very easy, it is the only town with half a million people, near Odessa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykolaiv

I think you are the only foreigner living there. It must be a poosy paradise for you

[The Fantasist]

Are you teaching privately or at a school Sol? Also was your apartment fully furnished?

Cheers.

Edit: Final question ( sorry ) what is the predominant language in the city,Ukr or Rus?

[Rom]

based on the location on the city, probably the Russian Language is predominant:

http://www.kyivpost.com/media/images/201...94/big.jpg

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 07:45 AM)Viata Wrote:  

6 $ per hour must be very good salary in Ukraine. Can you live well in a small Ukrainian town without speaking any Russian at all?

For many of the locals, yes it is. Although when you're teaching English, keep in mind that you only get paid per hour that you're teaching, and most people will not teach more than 20 to 25 classes per week.

As far as not knowing any Russian at all, it's going to be quite a challenge. Even doing something as simple as getting a card for your phone or water from a street vendor is going to be a pain in the ass without at least a rudimentary knowledge of Russian. I know a little Russian, but still find it difficult to do many things that otherwise are taken for granted when you fluently speak and understand the local language.

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 09:20 AM)velvet Wrote:  

I think your city is m......v.
What made you chose this place? How are girls there?
Have fun!

Yeah, looks like I made it a little too obvious. No biggie.

This particular city was my choice as this is where the language school I was hired at is located. The girls are what I imagine are typical for Ukraine: well-dressed, hot, and very few speak English.

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 09:25 AM)Vorkuta Wrote:  

Are you teaching privately or at a school Sol? Also was your apartment fully furnished?

Cheers.

Edit: Final question ( sorry ) what is the predominant language in the city,Ukr or Rus?

Oops, almost forgot these. I'm teaching at a school, and my flat was fully furnished. The price is actually high for this city due to its location, although it is still an old Soviet-era flat. And yes, Russian is the predominant language. I have yet to encounter anyone here who primarily speaks Ukrainian.

[jimukr104]

Nikoliev is not such a great place. Summer ferry from Turkey and being to close to Odessa breeds very Odessan like chicks. They have an inferiority complex with Odessans. As everyone knows Odessans are the closest chicks to feminists in FSU. Alot of them commute to Odessa for higher paying jobs and business ventures. Too be honest you would have been better off teaching in Odessa where pay is much more and flat probably included although not in the center, but Odessan center is over rated anyway.Food and most prices will be the same. Sure parting is more in Odessa but its not like there can be much partying on NIKOLIEV.

[Deepdiver]

Outside of teaching English have you tried any "game" techniques and what are you finding works if any one technique better than another - of course as banging your students would come under violation of the time honored workplace "rules" "Don't dip your pen in company ink" and "Don't shit where you eat" curious what you have been doing to game and socialize in your off hours as it seems that 20 to 25 classes at 1 hour per class leaves plenty of extra time.

Of course turning a friendly student wishing for some free native English speaker practice time into a wing women free interpreter city guide maid cook social catalyst does not violate the dipping pen rule. Is that an option?

What are the main motivators for your students to pay to learn English, travel, career, potential marriage to a EU/UK/Angloshere spouse?

What have you been doing to connect with the local female talent, days, nights, shops, kiosks, pubs, bars, clubs, social media, FB, VK, Mamba.ru etc etc? What age brackets are you mostly attracted to?

Also are you seeing any possible local biz opps to augment the $6 an hour?

[Sol Invictus]

It's not all that bad here. The girls here probably are a bit "spoiled" in comparison to the rest of Ukraine, but it's still a night and day difference between here and the US. Although I've encountered some snobs here, most of the women are much more friendly and approachable that what I'm used to.

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 12:51 PM)Deepdiver Wrote:  

Outside of teaching English have you tried any "game" techniques and what are you finding works if any one technique better than another - of course as banging your students would come under violation of the time honored workplace "rules" "Don't dip your pen in company ink" and "Don't shit where you eat" curious what you have been doing to game and socialize in your off hours as it seems that 20 to 25 classes at 1 hour per class leaves plenty of extra time.

To be honest, up until recently I haven't had a lot of free time, so I haven't been able to run much game. I've always been more more of an online gamer, anyway, and still have trouble with doing cold approaches. But being here, it's a little easier since I have to cold approach people all day long asking if they speak English. Once I've spent more time in a general social setting, I should have more to report on that. Also, yes, my boss is VERY strict about no gaming at the workplace, so my students have been off-limits.

Quote:

Of course turning a friendly student wishing for some free native English speaker practice time into a wing women free interpreter city guide maid cook social catalyst does not violate the dipping pen rule. Is that an option?

Actually, it is, as one of the students recently volunteered herself for several of those things. She's a little young for my tastes, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have a wing woman who speaks English and can show me around. I actually have a few other friends like that, that I met outside of the school.

Quote:

What are the main motivators for your students to pay to learn English, travel, career, potential marriage to a EU/UK/Angloshere spouse?

Career and travel are the overwhelming favorites. There's only one student that I know of at my school right now who is learning it specifically for finding a spouse.

Quote:

What have you been doing to connect with the local female talent, days, nights, shops, kiosks, pubs, bars, clubs, social media, FB, VK, Mamba.ru etc etc? What age brackets are you mostly attracted to?

Like I said before, I haven't had much opportunity yet to run any kind of game outside of online game, which has primarily been on mamba.ru. That place is kinda tough, as there are more girls looking for sponsors than for anything meaningful, and I have a hard time flashing the green just to get laid. I could've stayed in the US for that.

But as far as the online game goes, it's really been a numbers game, and I haven't had a shortage of women to talk to. I've met up with over half a dozen girls now, and even have a regular FB now with another possibility in the waiting. Since it's finally warming up here, and I've got a little more free time now, I should be able to try some day/night game and see how that turns out.

Quote:

Also are you seeing any possible local biz opps to augment the $6 an hour?

Actually, outside of teaching English, I'm also working on some other online projects for my boss, so I've got plenty of avenues for supplementing my income now.

[thegmanifesto]

(04-01-2013 12:54 PM)Sol Invictus Wrote:  

It's not all that bad here. The girls here probably are a bit "spoiled" in comparison to the rest of Ukraine, but it's still a night and day difference between here and the US. Although I've encountered some snobs here, most of the women are much more friendly and approachable that what I'm used to.

Where were you based that you are comparing it to in the US?

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 01:09 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Where were you based that you are comparing it to in the US?

I lived all over the US, including Boston, Austin, SoCal, Las Vegas, and several cities in AZ. LV was by far the easiest place that I had been to in the US, but was still no match for here.

[thegmanifesto]

(04-01-2013 01:15 PM)Sol Invictus Wrote:  

(04-01-2013 01:09 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Where were you based that you are comparing it to in the US?

I lived all over the US, including Boston, Austin, SoCal, Las Vegas, and several cities in AZ. LV was by far the easiest place that I had been to in the US, but was still no match for here.

Girls are easier in Ukraine than Las Vegas?

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 01:20 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Girls are easier in Ukraine than Las Vegas?

In my limited experience so far, yes. Although probably a better way to say it, is that I'm getting better quality here than I did in Las Vegas.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Awesome stuff Sol Invictus! I'll be following your thread very careful as Ukraine is high on my radar. Tell us more on how you got the job teaching English there. Did you apply from the US? Or once in the Ukraine? Last but not least, how is safety there? Specially when talking to a local girl during the day or at night in venues such as clubs, bars and you talk to a girl or dance with her, do you get any bad or aggressive vibe from the local guys?

Cheers!

(04-01-2013 01:32 PM)Sol Invictus Wrote:  

(04-01-2013 01:20 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Girls are easier in Ukraine than Las Vegas?

In my limited experience so far, yes. Although probably a better way to say it, is that I'm getting better quality here than I did in Las Vegas.

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 01:47 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

Awesome stuff Sol Invictus! I'll be following your thread very careful as Ukraine is high on my radar. Tell us more on how you got the job teaching English there. Did you apply from the US? Or once in the Ukraine? Last but not least, how is safety there? Specially when talking to a local girl during the day or at night in venues such as clubs, bars and you talk to a girl or dance with her, do you get any bad or aggressive vibe from the local guys?

Cheers!

I had been talking to the owner of the school for a long time before coming here, as I had emailed him to ask about what he would recommend for preparing to teach English when I first thought of doing so. Unfortunately, he's not currently hiring right now, so I was lucky to come when I did.

As far as safety goes, I haven't run into any issues so far, but I still haven't been around town all that much, either. I've gotten a few sneers from the local guys when they see me walking with a girl, but outside of that I really haven't encountered any aggressive behavior yet. I think common sense will keep most people safe, although in a place like this, it's always best to be aware of your surroundings at all times.

[thegmanifesto]

(04-01-2013 01:32 PM)Sol Invictus Wrote:  

(04-01-2013 01:20 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Girls are easier in Ukraine than Las Vegas?

In my limited experience so far, yes. Although probably a better way to say it, is that I'm getting better quality here than I did in Las Vegas.

What is the number comparison?

Example: 5 girls in Ukraine that were higher quality than 7 girls in Las Vegas in one month etc

[presidentcarter]

I think it's somewhat useless to compare numbers and at-bats here with Ukraine vs LV or whatever. Ukraine will have exotic factor and uniqueness far beyond even a Ukrainian-American hanging out at the Marquee Dayclub Pool could offer. 1) you are IN Ukraine 2) she's possibly never LEFT Ukraine.

[thegmanifesto]

(04-01-2013 02:13 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  

I think it's somewhat useless to compare numbers and at-bats here with Ukraine vs LV or whatever. Ukraine will have exotic factor and uniqueness far beyond even a Ukrainian-American hanging out at the Marquee Dayclub Pool could offer. 1) you are IN Ukraine 2) she's possibly never LEFT Ukraine.

I mean, why compare anything then?

Quote:

Ukraine will have exotic factor and uniqueness far beyond even a Ukrainian-American hanging out at the Marquee Dayclub Pool could offer

That is exactly why it is a valuable comparison.

[Sol Invictus]

(04-01-2013 02:04 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

What is the number comparison?

Example: 5 girls in Ukraine that were higher quality than 7 girls in Las Vegas in one month etc

Again, too soon to give you any hard data. I spent most of my time in Vegas in a long-term committed relationship, but still got around a bit. So far, I get more interest from higher quality girls here. I was scoring 5's quite often in Vegas, although here I've yet to meet up with anyone that low. My current girl is at least a 6 or 7, depending on your judging criteria.

Honestly, if you're really interested in Vegas, the key to gaming there is to key in on either tourists or foreign women living there, as there are large numbers of both. There are tons of Filipinas there, and obviously a much more diverse population of women than you'll find anywhere in Eastern Europe. On the flip side, Americanization still settles in on them pretty quickly. Having said that, I did hook up with a Russian chick in Vegas, as well as a few natives. Vegas isn't a bad place to be, just as long as you have a decent job there. I wouldn't mind moving back at some point, but I'm having a blast here in Ukraine right now.