Everything You Must Know About Eastern European Women

There is only one reason to believe anything I say below regarding Eastern European women.

I am not a pickup artist, a dating guru, or the ultimate ladies’ man. I am not even a man. But as a girl born and raised in Eastern Europe, in beautiful Romania to be exact, who is currently dating a foreigner, I do have some authority on the subject.

So if you are reading this, it is because you’re interested in Eastern European women. A general point of advice – attracting any woman can be broken down into two very broad steps:

• Figure out what they value.
• Highlight those qualities in yourself.

So I am here to tell you what Eastern Europeans are like, what they love and what they look for. You just have to do you – but show the best parts of you.

Before we begin, one important thing.

Eastern Europe is not one country, and Eastern European women are not one giant hive mind. A Serbian girl, a Romanian girl, a Polish girl, and an Albanian girl can have very different views on dating, relationships, marriage, and family life.

Still, some cultural threads run through much of the region, and if you’ve spent enough time here, you’ll start noticing them, just like I did. You have the advantage of reading this, though – so you don’t have to figure them out by yourself.

How Eastern European Women Feel About Looks

I’m not trying to brag here, but an average girl in Eastern Europe is at least a 7. And when it comes to looks, one thing is usually valid throughout the region: high effort, high reward.

Although most of us are naturally good-looking, we learn from an early age that you have to go beyond what your genetics gave you.

Growing up in Romania, I was surrounded by women who took pride in their appearance. Looking good wasn’t seen as vanity in my country (and that goes for the entire region), but more of a self-respect thing.

A bare face is just seen as lazy and you will hardly ever see a girl running around in a messy bun and a hoodie. Ladies here usually go to great lengths to make sure that they improve their already great looks as much as possible.

The potential problem for you? You should do the same. After all, you can’t expect us to be all Barbied-up while you sit on the couch developing that beer belly that will break records and stinking like there’s something rotten under your armpits!

This of course has the flip side that we may come across as too high-maintenance. I will not lie to you, some girls really are. And if you’re a foreigner, especially one from a wealthier country, you will eventually encounter women who are interested in your passport, your salary, or both.

That said, one mistake many foreign men make is assuming every attractive Eastern European woman is after money.

Most are not.

In fact, many of us are tired of being judged through that stereotype. Because that’s not what I mean when I am talking about when I say that we take care of ourselves or even “Barbie up”. There is a difference between going all in on your looks to attract that rich foreigner and adding value through make-up and more.

For the most part though, Eastern European girls know not to cross the fine line between sultry and desperate.

You will be judged by how you look, plain and simple

Here’s a few practical tips:

You will probably notice that most Eastern European men are in good shape. My fellow Romanian men do get lots of points for staying in shape, for example – but that goes for most males in Eastern Europe.

But even those who are not, carry themselves with a lot of confidence, to the point of arrogance.

You do not need to be a steroid-pumped gym bro or the ‘I can defeat a bear with my bare hands if I wanted to’ type. In fact, that hyper-macho act usually makes us laugh. It is clearly done to impress other men, not the women.

What you need is quiet, solid confidence. If you do not believe in yourself, your fancy watch and your expensive shoes are just props.

As for style, think casual elegance. The worst mistake you can make is to over-dress, so only wear things you feel awesomely comfortable in.

At the same time, you will see locals sporting flashier outfits than what you might be used to. If you ask me, a lot of their choices are plain bad taste, but since they wear it in a bold and cool way, it ends up suiting them. It does not mean it will suit you, so once again, wear stuff that makes you feel great.

A nice blazer and well-fitting pants is an outfit that is hard to mess up. At clubs and at dates, go for a nice shirt (it is kind of the rule here to dress up when you go partying).

During the day or at more casual outings a slim-fit T-shirt, preferably solid-colored, does pretty well.

But do have in mind that some of the stereotypes about men in Eastern Europe are true and many of us ladies have at least accepted them (if not learned to love them).

I am talking here about going out wearing sports attire like a pair of Adidas sweatpants and a matching hoodie. Yes, if that suits you right, you can get away with wearing it at some dates. But please, don’t overdo it.

Masculine vs. Feminine Roles

This is where many foreign men get surprised. Despite all the changes happening across Eastern Europe, many women here still appreciate traditional masculine and feminine qualities and many of them still fully embrace their feminine nature.

Notice I said appreciate. Not demand, not require. Appreciate.

There is a difference.

Many Eastern European women take pride in things that would sound old-fashioned in some parts of the world. For example, we take pride in our cooking skills and cleaning superpowers. A messy woman is often seen as less of a woman (although this is not something we, young people, necessarily agree on, we were raised like that).

That doesn’t mean we want to spend our lives in a kitchen or inside cleaning the house so it’s always sharp and perfect for YOU. Far from it. But it’s just that we don’t want to do things (or especially NOT do things) just to prove how independent and strong we are.

So let me sound weird for a minute. There is something motherly in the way us Eastern European women, treat our men.

We love to show off this great recipe we just learned and we don’t mind ironing your shirt. At the same time, you are expected to help out as much as possible on your own good will.

She won’t tell you it bothers her if you don’t (after all, our mothers told us this is a women’s work), but it really, really does.

Just as she is feminine, aim to emphasize your masculinity. We love us a good knight in shining armor. Seize any opportunity to ‘save’ her. On a similar note, you should take the first step.

(Almost) no exceptions to that last rule.

An Eastern European lady wants you to be the active party in the dating game, to sweep her off her feet even. So do not be afraid to go up to that cutie.

Her initial lukewarm smile should not make you give up. There is a limit though and you never want to be eager to the point of creepy. A ‘no’ is a ‘no’ and there is nothing less attractive than a guy who seems too desperate.

A good way to strike the balance of interested and not too invested (so a possible rejection doesn’t hurt you) is to steer clear of complicated pick-up scenarios.

A simple ‘Hey, I really think you’re attractive and I’d love to get to know you. How would feel about a coffee date?’ is way better.

Also, ask for her Instagram (or even Facebook, if you think she still uses that – if she’s under 30, she most likely doesn’t!). But don’t ask for her number. It seems way more casual and we spend so much time on it that it’s just as reliable as the latter.

Relationships With Eastern European Women

You slept with her on a first date and still pursued her?! Ew, man, I would never want someone like that to be my girlfriend.

This is an actual quote from one of my male colleagues. Such double standards are still extremely prevalent in Eastern Europe.

We, as women, are taught that our beauty and youth are too valuable to be easily given away. For Western ladies (from Norwegian Women to Swedes and even Canadian girls if we cross over the pond), one-night stands, club quickies and drunken hookups with strangers are almost the norm.

Not very much so here.

And if a girl is suddenly very, very into that – once again, have in mind that she might be a gold digger red flag.

That doesn’t mean every woman is looking for a husband by next Tuesday. Things are changing in this regard here as well and over the years chances of scoring a genuine woman who has nothing against a very casual hook-up have increased – I have to admit that too.

So how do you get high-value Eastern European ladies? Ditch the tricks and aim for genuine connection.

Think about it this way:

You have a relationship with every single person you meet. It doesn’t have to last to be amazing. Why not get the most of your interaction? Take your time to get to know her and be honest about your intentions even if going intimate is the main one.

I’ve heard plenty of stories about women who ended up dating men who weren’t ideal long-term partners but were honest, fun, and upfront about what they wanted.

We are told that guys will try to trick us into getting in bed and we should preserve our modesty, so it’s refreshing when someone is upfront about their intentions towards us. It will get you further than you can imagine.

At the same time, our somewhat prudish upbringing does not make us the best partners for short-term relationships, so don’t be surprised if she gets too invested after the first few dates. We are not wired for long-term “situationships.” If she likes you, she is in.

And a word of warning on girls with serious boyfriends. They might allow you to get close to them and even flirt back. But you will rarely get anything more than friendly conversation with them. I call this ‘prudent cheating’.

She gets the thrill of a new guy, without actually endangering her stable relationship.

Conclusion?

Don’t expect much. Although to every rule there is an exception…

Rich or Successful?

You might think that a culture that is still so conservative, would not expect a woman to have much of a career. Well, think again. There are hardly any women in Eastern Europe that are just housewives.

We grew up seeing that both of our parents work full-time jobs and they expect us to do the same.

Education and career are very much valued here. Traditional jobs such as a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, a policeman are seen as prestigious and are what would impress us.

However, money still does matter to us and that is exactly the reason you might attract some gold-diggers.

A Belgian friend of mine recently told me the sad story of her acquaintance who married a Bulgarian woman, only to discover that she expected him to be the main provider in the family as he was Belgian and hence, rich.

I can’t imagine how blind that guy has been to marry her, but do expect your Eastern European girl to have similar views on foreign men.

So the solution for you?

Aim to highlight your success, not your financial status. It’s bad manners to boast about money anyways. Eastern European women love good intelligent conversations and most are probably tired of dull rich boys trying to get with her.

Regardless, know that you are expected to pay for the first few dates. After that you would usually end up taking turns on whose treat it is, but still, try to be the one who’s more generous; i.e. the one who ends up paying slightly more.

Common Myths and Stereotypes About Eastern European Women

I am shocked by the amount of truly bizarre ideas some people have about us women from Eastern Europe. Sure, some are harmless, but some are laughably wrong, too.

If you’ve spent any time online reading about Eastern European women, you’ve probably encountered some truly bizarre ideas. Let’s clear up a few of them.

“They all want a foreign husband”

Absolutely not. Some women prefer local men, some prefer foreigners, most don’t really care either way and for most of us, the person is more important than the passport.

What does happen is that foreigners sometimes stand out because they bring something different to the table. Different experiences, different stories, different perspectives, but being foreign is not a personality trait. The men who succeed here are usually the ones who understand that.

“They are submissive”

This one always makes me laugh, but I understand why it’s such a common stereotype. As I said, many Eastern European women appreciate traditional gender roles to some extent.

But this does not mean that we are submissive. Try telling a Bulgarian, Romanian, Polish, Serbian, or Ukrainian woman what to do and see how that works out for you.

You’ll discover very quickly that those are two completely different things and they can coexist nicely: a woman can appreciate a masculine man while still having a strong personality of her own. Most of us do.

“They only care about money”

Money matters everywhere, but there is a huge difference between wanting a financially responsible partner and chasing somebody’s bank account.

Most women want stability, just as most men want it too. This is not gold-digging, and it surely doesn’t mean that we only care about money.

It is true that this is a lingering stereotype because a small number of Eastern European women behave exactly like this, but understand that it’s a minority and not how things are, in general. But, as it usually happens, it’s the loud minority that gets the most attention and is most talked about.

“They all want marriage immediately”

Some do. Some don’t.

Age, personality, country, religion, career goals, and family background all play a role, as well as the origin of the woman (small rural village or a large city).

Eastern Europe is not one culture, and even in each country in Eastern Europe you can’t truly generalize everything. All women are different and, even though marriage is still common here – and even a goal for many – it doesn’t mean that they will want to marry you as soon as they meet you.

How Dating Has Changed in Eastern Europe

One big mistake men make when thinking about Eastern European women is acting as if nothing has changed since the 1990s.

A lot has changed and the women here are more “Western” than they were even one or two decades ago. After all, we have now instant access to the same social media, dating apps, news, trends, the internet in general and even international travel. If things were different for people born in the early 90s (or before that), they have changed since.

Women today have more opportunities, more career options, and far more exposure to different cultures and ideas than previous generations did, and you should expect to find a very varied bunch here, with younger generations especially tending to be more flexible in their views than their parents or grandparents.

At the same time, some values have remained surprisingly resilient. Family and loyalty are still very important in Eastern Europe, reliability is too. Many women still want a relationship where both partners actively invest in each other, and that makes complete sense to me (let me know if you disagree!)

That combination of modern outlook and traditional values is one reason so many foreign men find dating in Eastern Europe still interesting, different, and even refreshing.

Wrapping up

In conclusion, we Eastern European women are pretty dang awesome.

We work hard to look, earn and live well. For us the guy should be the king to his beautiful queen. It is not that we cannot live without men, it is that we know that a great relationship makes life richer and we know how to value that.

For a girl in Eastern Europe building a lasting partnership is a priority, so you are going to be a priority. Make her feel as important as you are to her.

Have fun and don’t forget to spend some time exploring our countries, as you enjoy the beauty of our women.