where are all the russians?

[amberdima 6]

where are all the russians, belarusians, ukrainians, etc....??? i'm engaged to a belarusian. before i met him, i noticed many eastern european immigrants in my area, as i am a teacher. i had many students from the ukraine, met guys at social events and the gym from this region, and even see them at my pool club. now, i can spot a russian from a mile away. today i substituted in a middle school and had 3 girls from ukraine, russia, and kazakstan (forgive my spelling, i don't feel like googling it). does anyone else see this kind of immigrant influx in their hometowns? have any recent immigrants found fellow russians, etc. where they live? just curious...

[Jasman0717 8]

They have all been approved

[MissStacey 1]

I'm not Russian but I could bring some vodka if it'll help.

[Brad and Vika 129]

where are all the russians, belarusians, ukrainians, etc....??? i'm engaged to a belarusian. before i met him, i noticed many eastern european immigrants in my area, as i am a teacher. i had many students from the ukraine, met guys at social events and the gym from this region, and even see them at my pool club. now, i can spot a russian from a mile away. today i substituted in a middle school and had 3 girls from ukraine, russia, and kazakstan (forgive my spelling, i don't feel like googling it). does anyone else see this kind of immigrant influx in their hometowns? have any recent immigrants found fellow russians, etc. where they live? just curious...

In my town there seems to be two groups of Russian speaking immigrant (and to broaden the picture, a large group of Bosnians). The "Russians" that arrived here on family or hardship immigrant visas before or soon after Soviet days escaping religiuos or other prejudices, and a much younger group who came to find their happiness and success- but had pretty stable lives back home. The two groups don't appear to mix very well, with the older crowd being pretty tight-knit, gossipy and controlling, and the younger being often driven by material wants - and not feeling particularly loyal to the "Russian community". I have friends in both groups, so I hear both sides of the story. The older Russians claim ALL Russian speaking immigrants as "one of us", and often believe the K visa immigrants in particular are either 1) fishing for a green card or, 2) very disloyal to their motherland - and not a "good boy or girl". The younger Russians try to avoid mixing excessively because of the gossip, and do tend to assimilate much faster. There are some Russians my age that have never really gone mainstream, and live their entire lives in the Russian community.

So to answer your question directly, yes. There are a fair number of Belarussian, Ukrainian, Russian, etc. people settling in my city. And yes, they do find each other. There is a Russian networking night somewhere in most cities with a decent sized Russian population, and here there is a Russian business night as well. You may want to protect your SO if you can from full exposure to that environment initially, as the older crowd can be somewhat demanding and honestly, a little predatory (men and women both). PM me if you want, and we can discuss further.

[slim 1,514]

I haven't seen a whole bunch of immigrants, but what I find ironic is my wife hangs out with more immigrants than Americans. I don't believe she actively searches them out but she definitely clings to the ones she can find.

[Brad and Vika 129]

I haven't seen a whole bunch of immigrants, but what I find ironic is my wife hangs out with more immigrants than Americans. I don't believe she actively searches them out but she definitely clings to the ones she can find.

I see that here sometimes too. Some immigrants really seek out people from home, and are just more comfortable with those friends. I hope Vika will assimilate into our culture, but it remains to be seen, as the Russian community here seems big enough to hide in if she wants.

[amberdima 6]

before my fiance and i were an official couple, he would tell me how all his friends sought out russians in the US because it was easier to talk to them; however, my SO preferred to find more american friends because he is intrigued by what is different, as am i. yet, i could see him wanting reminders of 'home' after he's here for awhile.

[Brad and Vika 129]

before my fiance and i were an official couple, he would tell me how all his friends sought out russians in the US because it was easier to talk to them; however, my SO preferred to find more american friends because he is intrigued by what is different, as am i. yet, i could see him wanting reminders of 'home' after he's here for awhile.

My suggestion is take him to a Russian store early on, so he knows there are places to find a "taste of home" when he needs it. The owners will be able to chat him up about life back home - so he can be the giver of information. Also, Eastern European restaurants can be helpful. The trouble is that sometimes these places bring on nostalgia as well. I think the conventional wisdom here calls for a trip back home of decent length when AOS is complete too. My SO has already mentioned it, and we talked about length, how long I will be there too, etc. We found that talking with people in the same situation is good too. No one understands the K visa process like some one who did it!

[NYGirl 0]

amberdima,

Which state are you from?

I am from NY and i have to say that probably 25% of NY is russians, and the rest is the other mixed culture.

NY has Russian neighborhoods and more than one in each city and county and region. Russian stores are on every block.

[1HappyGuy 45]

I think there is a natural tendency to gravitate to people that speak your language. My wife has made more new Russian speaking friends that English speaking ones. But, I will say this about all the Russian speaking people I have met in my area. They all speak English pretty well or are working on improving it. There is no attitude that America needs to provide them with Russian speaking access like so many Spanish speakers.

I found that a good deal of the Russian community didn't know each other but gradually it has expanded as this person meets that one, etc. Having similar language and experiences helps to build the friendships that you left behind in you home country.

By all means, take your significant other to a Russian store. We have to drive 1 1/2 hours to get to one, but it is so worth it. When my wife was here about a month, we found out where there was a grocery store. If you had seen the look of relief and happiness when my wife was greeted with "Zdrastvoote" (sorry about spelling) at a store, you would have known that the trip was worth it. I have to admit, I enjoy going too with so many interesting foods to buy and different tastes. It is very refreshing after a lifetime of American stores.

And finally, yes there are still a lot of Russian speaking people around. We are just getting on with our lives now. My wife now has her permanent green card (10 year) and her son should receive his in about two months. Then we will be leaving VJ for quite a while. But the journey has been interesting and fun. And, I'm still a Happy Guy.

[Svetlana 0]

Hi,

I am Russian, live in Santa Fe, NM USA

svetlana.berg@gmail.com

Svetlana

[GiGii 4]

There's a ton of Russians in my community... but most are the older ones that immigrated 10+ yrs ago. While they seem to know the American ropes, they still tend to do stuff the "old way". We have many eastern european stores, but little talk or mingling goes on. Usually when a Russian sees another Russian or any eastern folk, they look them up & down, and compare clothes, what's in the shopping basket, etc, to see if they are the same or "better" status. Its like a freaking model show just to go grocery shopping. Then the fiasco continues in the parking lot. All the S500s park upfront, and especially take 30 min to pack their groceries, to make sure everyone has seen that they have a Mercedes. Its total competition!

On the train to work, a few Russians too. All the ladies gossip, and when they hear me on the phone and speak a little Russian, all eyes turn like "SPY!"

I also noticed a difference between orthodox Russians, and Russian Jews. They dont like to mingle. The Russian Jews actually keep more with other Jews... its some superiority factor coming into play.

Talking with one lady near by, once she heard K1, she made google eyes and said "fraud visa?" I guess they are quite well known back home.

[Sinergy 3]

I'm not Russian but I could bring some vodka if it'll help.

im so hanging out with you more often

[Ban Hammer 12,867]

I'm not Russian but I could bring some vodka if it'll help.

im so hanging out with you more often

now you know why she's a good friend of mine

[amberdima 6]

I'm not Russian but I could bring some vodka if it'll help.

orange vodka and club)))