It started about 3 years ago when I.began researching the idea of living and traveling full time in an RV. A few Google searches turned up the online journals of people of all areas and walks of life doing just that. As I followed their journeys and exchanged messages, friendships were formed with some. Some of us have managed to meet in person over time as we end up in the same general area for a bit of time. Other meetings are yet to come.
We stay in touch with each other through blogs, facebook, emails, messages, chatrooms and phone calls. We started as friends because of a shared interest in the RV lifestyle. Over time that focus has changed for some of us, but the friendship remains.
So I have some experience with connecting with really great people online -- you know who you are! lol
As I said, I landed in Mission, Texas for a great job in January of this year. And while I'm happy with my life and okay by myself I would love to find someone to share the rest of my life with. The problem is that I did not know a soul here other than the folks I work with and the residents of the community that I sell homes in. As great as the folks are that I work with, none of them are single. And even if htey were, I wouldn't be comfortable dating someone that I work with.
And most of the folks who live in Retama Village are firmly part of a couple. Even if they weren't I wouldn't feel very comfortable dating someone there. It's a very small community and I'm sort of in the public eye there. lol
So after talking to some other friends about the pros and cons of online dating, I decided to give it a shot. The first site I tried was Zoosk.com. It wsa free and I know someone a bit older than me who met someone very nice there. I filled out the info, said I was interested in someone 45-55 years old within 50 miles. Within in moments I was getting lots of chat requests and messages. Sounds great huh? WRONG! Most were from 19 year olds... So my Zoosk adventure lasted about 1 hour and I deleted my profile...
Not to be deterred, I saw the commercial on TV for OurTime.com. Hmmm... Maybe this will is the one. No 19 year olds on a site designed for "mature adults" to meet. And on the commercial the folks all seem fun, vibrant and active. Granted I didn't give it much of a chance (I was there a couple of hours), but the folks I found there were quite a bit older than me both chronologically and lifestyle wise. Another one deleted.
I know a few friends who speak highly of eHarmony. I also know from expereience helping a friend create their profile, it can take hours to get set up on that site. The premise is to do a very thurough online tinterview so they have a better idea of what you are looking for and can send matches that are more likely to have things in common and be looking for the same things. A good idea I admit, but I just wasn't up for spending a couple hours answering personal questions.
So I decided to try the giant in the online dating world -- Match.com. I know people who have met there and it was relatively straightforward getting started. I spent about 10 minutes writing a "stream of consciousness" profile, paid my money and waited to see what happened.
More in the next post on what's happened with that...
Have a great day everyone!
Can't wait to hear more. We know a couple that met on the Our Time site, but they are a bit older than you, closer to our age.
ReplyDeleteWaiting to hear your results! We've met several people who have met online. Good luck with your attempts.
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