[AngFL]

I would like to find out more information about this region. We may be switched to this region (from Moscow City) depending on how quickly some families ahead of us are matched and if the 2 families that are waiting for referrals in this region have a smooth process in Primorskiy.

Any advice or a place to go to find out more???
Thanks!
Angie in FL

[MissDaisyofTexas]

Hi! Yes, we adopted our 3-year-old son from that region last summer (came home Aug 2007). There is a yahoo group for the region, which is a great place to get more info.

We had 9 weeks in between trips, and our 2nd trip was almost 4 weeks long (they don't waive the 10 days after court).

Find out if your agency offers the "courier" option, so that you don't have to stop back through Moscow on your way home. We flew from DFW to Seoul to Vladivostok and back, skipping the 9 hour flight to Moscow from Vlad.

I think the region is "adoption-friendly"...a few nice hotels to stay in, baby homes seemed friendly to adoptive parents.

Good luck!

[GCS]

We adopted 2 children in 2004 from this region. Its a beautiful place and the baby home we adopted from seemed to be well run. We never went to Moscow. We flew from Chicago to Japan to Korea to Vlad.

They rarely waive the 10 days (although not many regions waive this nowdays), time between trips is generally short unless there is a holiday.

Good luck!
Christina

[cathvash]

Hi AngFL,

I have adopted twice from this region, most recently in 2007. I love the region for its beauty, rich history, and it's people! Pros: Region is "independent minded"…slow to implement some of the tough requirements from Moscow. Reasonable paperwork and timeframes. The 8 doctor medical can be completed by your family doctor. Most agencies (but not all) allow a "courier option" for Trip 2, so you don't have to go to Moscow - just wait it out in region. This gives you the option to travel west instead of having to go via Europe. For someone in Florida, this is almost exactly around the back side of the world from you, so you have the choice to travel either way. I have traveled both east and west from Texas. Going east was cheaper and a couple of days shorter on Trip 2 (and I wanted to see Moscow). Going west was much less stressful, had nicer airplanes and routing, and the time switches were less extreme. Around half of couples were given custody during the 10-day wait while I was there last year. Nice hotels and restaurants are plentiful and the region is very modern with generally good roads and a new air terminal. Any needed supplies are readily available, and you will feel safe. I thought the baby homes were pretty nice overall, albeit old. The caregivers were all very concerned about the children's welfare.

Cons: From your location, travel to this distant region would be your biggest "con". The 10 days post court are almost never waived. Travel to/from is long and expensive. This is totally subjective and may not be true: Some have said they were originally matched with children who were sicker, they declined, and subsequent referrals were healthier (almost like they are giving you a try to see if you would be willing to help a child with more needs). This is an adoption friendly region with wonderful people, so it's possible referrals could take longer because of increased popularity…There is significant air pollution, which spoils the natural beauty somewhat.

I would definitely recommend this region if you can stomach the long flights!

[AngFL]

Thank you all so much for your responses!

Cathvash, we traveled from FL to Australia in 2005 with a just turned 4 yr. old and a 16 month old (who was not walking yet). So we know what "long travel" is like. And I wasn't fond of it, but would do it 3 times in a heartbeat for the child that is meant to be in our family!

When we chose Russia, we were thinking of doing 3 trips, but if this is our region, we may end up doing 2 trips. Not sure, this would take some serious planning and logistics for the care of our 2 boys.