Marriage Agency Scams
is personally recommended by Jim


Price Standards
(As of Dec, 2006)

Here are the costs of services provided by legitimate agencies. This won't guarantee you not to be scammed by a scam agency, but if an agency has charges ridiculously higher, you should avoid them. Living costs are below.

Addresses

$8 or $10 each (groups for about 25% discount)

Translating & Email Forwarding

$3 - $5 per page

Interpreting

$5-$10 per hour
(Or you could agree on a daily/weekly rate beforehand based on this figure.)

Calling

$2 per minute

Internet Fees

I pay $2 per hour ($1 on weekends) at my internet cafe.

English Lessons

$15 per hour with a foreign teacher (private)
$5 per hour with a Russian teacher (private)
$2 per hour in group lessons

Meeting

Anywhere from $25 to $40. I would not pay more.
A very few agencies have a system where everything is free, and if you actually marry a girl from FSU, you pay the agency around $300-$500. I think this is a great system.

Apartment Rentals

NO more than $100 per day (Should be $50)

Gifts

Roses (11) - $70
Bouquet of Flowers - $50
Fruit - $30 - $40
Chocolate - $10 - $30
Large toy - $30 - $50
Russian Champagne - $15
Perfume - $75
Bus pass - $12



Cost of Living in Russia

Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi are those few special places where everything is crazy expensive and these prices really don't apply. The following prices are basically what you will see in ANY other city in Russia. (I am sure that some guy sitting at home in Texas with his Russian wife will argue with this because he has traveled here a few times, whereas I have only lived here for 7 years. But I think I might know what I am talking about.
(I give the prices in roubles to avoid confusion. YOU can calculate it.)

US$1 = 28 roubles
CAN$1 = 24 roubles
Euro$1 = 34 roubles
AUS$1 = 21 roubles

Litre of gasoline (1/4 gallon) – 15 roubles

Litre of milk (pint) – 20 roubles

Litre of juice – 40 roubles

1 dozen eggs – 25 roubles

1 kilogram of apples - 35 roubles

a loaf of bread - 10 roubles

1 rose – 80 roubles

500 grams high grade ground beef – 70 roubles

1 bottle (large – 400 ml) Russian beer –

1 bottle (large – 400 ml) foreign beer –

1 litre good vodka – 120 roubles

1 pack of Marlboro’s – 26 roubles
(most other brands are cheaper)

toothpaste (Russian) – 20 roubles

dinner for 2 at a middle class Russian restaurant – 500 roubles

dinner for 2 at a high class restaurant – 2000 roubles

taxi ride – 70-150 roubles for most city points.

1 room flat per month – 6000-10,000 roubles

1 room flat to buy – about US$35,000

 

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