New here, taking a trip in August, kind of scared tbh

[Big_uzi]

Hi guys,

I have been lurking for a while and things are moving quick in this international dating world for me so here goes.

This winter I signed up for the happierabroad.com dating site and have been quite pleased with the results. I have been liked on there maybe 120 times? I have reached out to maybe half of those girls. I don't even bother searching for women on there lol. So different then when I am on match.com and it's a f***ing ghost town for me. I had a long stint with one girl on there skyped and all that but it didn't work out. Currently I am really only talking regularly to 2 girls, and one in particular is the goto. I have moved the conversation with her over to facebook and we message pretty much daily. In the beginning of moving over, I talked to her once on there, then i mentioned something relating to her being here in the US in passing. She said, " well i won't be there anytime soon." i took that as being cold so I said "right." I didn't message for a week after that. Then we started talking again and she said oh I thought maybe you lost interest. So I thought, ok we are back to normal. Everything was going really good in chatting, to the point where we just have fun crazy conversation. She mentioned she wanted to take a trip, maybe Isreal. I then told her I was thinking about taking a trip to Ukraine this summer probably August. Here's where things get interesting. She was like, oh I will cancel my trip and I can show you around when you get here. Then we started talking about dates and when I was coming. I then bought airline tickets to Kiev for a week. Now we have been planning a trip together to go to Kiev and Odessa. All is going great in the chat. Now, I'm starting to get paranoid by a joke she has made twice. She said in passing as a joke "i am Ukrainian mafia" then wrote the "laughing/crying" emoji after. I keep thinking about it and now I am just getting paranoid she really is mafia and will have a gang of thugs ready to rob me somewhere. What are your guys thoughts on this and does this girl seem legit too you? She has about 150 some friends on there and has been a member on fb since at least 2014 as I saw posts from the "fb memories". If you want to look her up on there message me. What do you guys think? Does the Ukraine mob have women running crazy elaborate scams baiting idiots like me out there? I am also wondering how she could really be this trusting of me and not fi d it weird to want to hang with me for a week. Seems odd, but maybe she thinks I some kind of catch? Lol

[snede]

Sounds like you've got a significant case of "oneitis". Being so fixated on a girl you haven't even met in person is most likely going to end tragically. Try to back off on your emotional investment in this young lady so you won't be completely blind to any red flags.

Mind you, I think a trip to Kiev sounds great, you just need to come up with a lot more to do while you are there.

[Zambales]

Where online dating overseas is concerned, there are scammers in abundance and that includes The Ukraine.

It's best to speak with a girl for several months making sure that you either talk via webcam or see a good number of her pictures, before even considering meeting her.

This does sound dodgy although I would lean towards someone playing a cruel joke rather than it being an actual scammer or a member of the Ukrainian mafia. If you do go, my guess is they'll be nobody there to meet.

[Big_uzi]

Ok, i do have a bit of oneitis with this one. It is true. I am talking to another girl as well in Russia and have actually skyped video with her so at least I have a backup plan. She does not speak good english though whereas the Ukrainian girl is next to perfect english. If this Ukrainian doesn't in fact show up it would be dum for her because she has sent me confirmation emails to hotels she has booked in Kiev for us.I did not purchase the rooms. I would say I have a pretty good chance she is in fact going to meet me. But I am taking precautions with my money before I leave and will be watching my back for thugs! At least for those first nights. I wanted to meet more women but she basically forced the vacation to be strictly about her when she said i'll take the week off!

[Big_uzi]

Ok, i do have a bit of oneitis with this one. It is true. I am talking to another girl as well in Russia and have actually skyped video with her so at least I have a backup plan. She does not speak good english though whereas the Ukrainian girl is next to perfect english. If this Ukrainian doesn't in fact show up it would be dum for her because she has sent me confirmation emails to hotels she has booked in Kiev for us.I did not purchase the rooms. I would say I have a pretty good chance she is in fact going to meet me. But I am taking precautions with my money before I leave and will be watching my back for thugs! At least for those first nights. I wanted to meet more women but she basically forced the vacation to be strictly about her when she said i'll take the week off!

[Zambales]

Those confirmation emails could be made up or tampered with. Anyway, Ukrainian women usually don't have much money so why is she paying for hotels?????
She sounds overly keen too and the mafia remark was just weird. Something's definitely not right.

[Voyager1]

I would not let her "book" anything for you. Don't even have her meet you at the airport when you come. This "mafia" could take you somewhere and rob you or ATM you.

What you do is you book yourself into a good 4-5* hotel in Kiev (use Booking.com) and a lot of times these hotels will have airport pickup service. They will be holding your name on a sign when you arrive. 4-5* hotels usually have good security. Do not book an apartment initially.

Then when you meet her, meet her in a public place preferably near your hotel or better in the café of your hotel. If she kicks at any of this then she may have ulterior motives. Take your time and use caution.

[gsjackson]

And if you want to take the budget route, go to Booking.com and get a room in the Villa Grand in Borispol, about 3-4 miles from the airport. $27 a night, and it's a pretty nice place. They will pick you up at the airport for around $4-5. You can get into Kiev for under a dollar by taking the bus right across the street from the hotel, and then the subway at the end of the bus line.

[Voyager1]

Yeah but who wants to do that with luggage? You can get an Uber from the airport to Kyiv centre for 270uah (~$10)

[gsjackson]

Yeah but who wants to do that with luggage? You can get an Uber from the airport to Kyiv centre for 270uah (~$10)

The scenario I envisioned is what I did -- stay in Borispol and take public transportation into Kiev each day. Granted, if something actually takes off with this woman, it would probably be better to be in downtown Kiev for logistics purposes. I'm just saying that if money is a crucial consideration, it is possible to be transported safely from the airport to a decent hotel for cheap, and go into Kiev for next to nothing.

Borispol, by the way, though architecturally dreary, is a neat little city. There is a park area across the street from the hotel (along with a grocery store and McDonalds) that is swarming with people all hours of the day and night. The kind of public venue you can't find in the US any more.

[Voyager1]

BTW that bus goes right from the airport terminal so no need to book some airport hotel just to get the bus.

Also there are plenty of centre Kyiv budget hotels in the price range you mentioned.

Take transportation from Borispol to Kyiv each day? Why do that when you can live right in Kyiv? That bus sometimes waits up to an hour to fill up before it goes. Then a 30-60 minute ride depending on traffic. Then get into the metro? Afraid you are behind the times buddy. Taxis are very cheap now.

[Voyager1]

gs - you're the guy who spent more than $300+ on PPL on a fake profile. Now you are trying save by taking a bus? You are being penny wise but pound foolish.

It's like Mark Davis who charges $4,950 for his 'tour' but then teaches his guys how to save on airfares.

[gsjackson]

gs - you're the guy who spent more than $300+ on PPL on a fake profile. Now you are trying save by taking a bus? You are being penny wise but pound foolish.

It's like Mark Davis who charges $4,950 for his 'tour' but then teaches his guys how to save on airfares.

A little under $200, about $50 of that at PPL (assuming PPL is the John Adams site). My advice on Ukraine is to get out of there with as many pennies left as possible. It's a failed state, and the people are hustling to survive -- scamming western men being one of the hustles.

And as I've mentioned before about Ukraine, I found it almost impossible to get by in English there.

[Voyager1]

PPL = Pay Per Letter. I think you got hustled on another site besides John Adams.

[Voyager1]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSmrEm6yQbI[/youtube]

This video is hilarious. The guy thinks he's engaged and he's asked, "Did you get her email address?" Then he answered "No I still gotta go through the service." Classic PPL SCAM!