Hello all,

My name is Natalia. I am looking to meet some other Russian speaking people here or near Louisville, Kentucky. I would love to make some new friends, share a cup of tea and some traditional foods.

Please write if you would like to communicate.

Спасибо,
Наталья

Hello Natalia,
We do not live in Louisville, but in Jackson, Mississippi. I wish you luck. We are also looking for other Russians in our area. I know there must be some, but we cannot find them. We did meet one lady at the Orthodox Church, but that is all. I wish there was a website out there for this purpose. I wish you good luck. Have a great day.
John and Ludmila

Natalia, you are in luck. We are in Cincinnati and my wife would love to meet for tea and traditional food as well as getting some more info about your trip to the Dominican. Our message is waiting for you....




There is a website out there... there are more than a few!
Meetup.com, Yahoo personals, MySpace, etc., all allow you to "search" for certain keywords in their profiles. Check for "Russia" in the keyword sections (or use the country selector in combination with your zip code) to find out who's on in your local area. Another option is to Google "Russia" and your city. For us, Russia Cincinnati comes up with all kinds of stuff. Through those links we can find Russians in our area.

Please try to contact us again ... visajourney decided to delete your messages to me.

Hi

Don't live in Louisville any more, but I'm a U of L alumnus and I hope to get back up there soon to see old friends and visit the school. Spent seven years in Louisville before moving to FL. We do have US/Ukrainian friends just up the river in Madison IN. I'll check with them and see what they know about the Russian community in the area.

Please resend your messages to us ... we would love to drive up to Cinci to meet. Thanks for the web site tips!!

Thanks,
Dwayne and Natalia



That's great! Any info at all would be so apprecaited!

Dwayne and Natalia

Cool idea. Fortunately there is a very large number of Russians in Williamsburg. Odd, right? Sasha wouldnt need to look far for familiar faces.

For some reason Russian immigrant communities make me sad... There is something heart-breaking in the way Russian people try to preserve the peculiarities of their culture and blend in with the local one at the same time... The strange generation, making millions on broken English and not understanding their teenage kids on cell-phones...
Before being eaten alive here for it - it is a first-hand observation of mine of a particular community with a whole set of facts to back it up.

I think that is pretty normal for everyone from everywhere. Go to many places in the world and you will find ex-pat places for Americans who live there so we can do the same things.

I grew up in a very small town with a lot of imigrants from all over. In those days most spoke thier home language in thier houses. They had clubs for their own people. Sons of Italy for the Italians, Cro club for the Croations etc. People feel comfortable around thier own kind, they need a "fix" of talking thier own langugage. A part of our past always stays with us.

We live in a small group of townhouses downtown here (about 12 of them). Since we have moved here, 3 more Russian families have moved in. Half of our neighbors are now Russian. (Odessa, St Petersburg, and Moscow). They are all fairly young too - (well, no one is younger than us.)

I wish there were more russians around here, I would love it if my wife had more people to communicate with.

Strange thought, has anyone suggested like a VJ reunion. Pick a place and date and everyone do what they can to make it, everyone can meet in person these people who have helped and supported each other throughout this process. Might be interesting(more so than my high school reunion)....

Speaking from experience, and using other guys' experience on Russian Women forums, I hesitate to recommend that your fiancee or new wife seek out fellow Russians in this country, at least initially.

I personally found that detrimental to my former relationship. My ex-wife more easily believed the opinions about life here from fellow Russians, even when they told her totally incorrect things about life here, such as:
- how to cheat on driver's license exams (and various other regulations in this country that Russians try to get around, as that is often a normal way of life back home)
- numerous incorrect things about the immigration and citizenship processes
- everyday life issues (banking, employment, etc.)
- value of her Russian degree

Oddly enough, she would have been unlikely to associate with these kinds of people back in Russia.

If anything, meeting other STABLE Rus-Am couples who have been together for several years with children born here (or who came here very young) should not be an issue. However, meeting newlyweds (2 years or under) may be detrimental to your releationship.

I'm more a multicuralist than a Melting Pot believer, so I'm not recommending she abandon her origins. And certainly don't prevent your new spouse from meeting these people.

However, I recommend you get her into social circles where she can meet people that are NOT from her home country.

She (or he) needs to use you as their best trusted resource (and you need to be there for them). If you're forever trying to recover from disinformation disseminated by the Russian community here, you're going to forever be at odds with them, and eventually, maybe her.

By the way, Louisville is a very liveable town, as I've lived there twice. However, it is very insular in some regards (including religion), and there is not much of an immigrant community. Take it slow (baby steps, is what I always said to my then-wife). Get out into the community. People there (and anywhere in the south, where Louisville begins) may be a little distant to someone with an accent (even a Canadian one like mine), even though they may have a smile on their fact. But, get involved with society, and they'll come around sooner or later.

I'd love to find some russian friends in my area and through the country also:)We are living in PA,Milford area,in community but planning to move to North Carolina next year to Raleigh area
So will be very glad to find some friends,meet them and talk on the phone

Thanks for the input Firehawk ...

Although I understand you, I disagree with you. I have been here for more than two years, I have a beautiful daughter, wonderful husband, several American friends that love me for who I am, and even a few other Russian speaking friends. I have met some other Russians that have been full of venom and were outright criminals ... sure ... but naive I am not. I have no problem telling someone I disagree, I always double-check my resoures (my husband taught me that) and I believe the Russian soul is a good one. Our culture is unique in all the world, our tongue is unique, our ability to recognize a con ... like no other. Remember, Russia is run in many arenas by the mafia ...

... so ... I am seeking Russian speaking friends, in the true meaning of the word. I WILL NOT take advice that jeapardizes my own integrity, I will not cheat in any regard. I establish opinions based on my own experience and to tell you the truth, most Russians do that as well. There are those who have been jaded, life has treated them poorly ... sure ... I know those people too, but I really want someone that can speak my language, share experiences, good or bad, and appreciates our traditions and wants to keep them fondly close to our hearts. The others can go chew ice.

Louisville is a wonderful little city. I moved here after living in Denver for a year and Louisville is much more friendly than Denver was ... people are more sincere with me here ... and are not afraid to say, "I don't understand your accent" ... which is nice, because I can say the same thing to them The midwest with southern charm as my husband calls, it is this area. I have found an Orthodox church, a great little Russian market and a lot of people who do not follow the right-wing trends as in other southern cities. My religion is my own ... if others do not understand it, they can educate themselves. Until they give my beliefs a good look, they aren't worth my time to let them discuss their beliefs with me. Simple rule I have. If you want to talk about your religion and tell me yours is better, first learn mine, so you know where I'm starting from.

All that put aside ... do you know any Russian speaking people in Louisville?

Don't get me wrong ... I do appreciate your post ... I'm just not a little girl that has no opinions of my own. So I will be on my guard and continue to search for new friends ... even if they aren't in Louisville. I have a phone, it works, so that's ok too.

Natalia

I have been lied about it by my own very American hubster! But you are right, misinformation is often one of the signs of such communities, not only Russian but any immigration groups. It is sad, actually, when people don't know their rights as little of those rights as they have.

Before my wife's arrival, the only Russians I had ever ran into in Cincinnati were some girls at the club. (Who were very impressed by my intros in PYCCKNN... the guys they were with... not so much.)

I told my wife there weren't many Russians here, and when I moved to our new apartment about two weeks before her arrival, my neighbor greeted me with a European accent and after talking for a while revealed he was Lithuanian and had served in the Red Army so he spoke fluent Russian. Now, we go to the mall, and girls will come up to her and say "Excuse me, are you Russian?" and start speaking to her in the native tongue. There's a Russian market here and a few places to eat that are ran by Russian speakers, so here I was thinking there weren't that many Russians around when in actuality, there are several. They're lying below the surface.... just have to find them.

As for the lying, cheating, stealing part of it all.... it's there too, but for the most part, most Russians are too busy trying to live the American Dream to get caught up in the corruption they're famous for back home. My wife also will sometimes take the information from other Russians before she listens to me, but over time, she's seen the women who've been here for a long time are saying the same things I am. Hard work, saving money, boring life for a while.... then the payoff later. Play by the rules, make the applications, file for the permits, take the examinations, live by the law.... so you can be free to do whatever you want. It's a little bit different system, but it all leads to the same place.

My wife and I were talking today...

Someone on the radio says that in order to be wealthy
you first must live like noone else(real skinny, save money, get rid of debt that sort of thing)
so you can live like noone else.