- Jun 30, 2015
- 1,470
- 1,510
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Single
Looking for funny/tragic/whatever stories on online dating simply for the entertainment value and maybe some kernels of wisdom we can share with each other.
Soon after my ex-wife first voiced her desire to divorce, I went on an online dating site to see just how many single people there were my age (44yrs old then).
I think it was either Zoosk or Christian Mingle. I was living in AZ at the time. I entered my age range of 35 to 45, Christian, no kids or grown and out of the house, non-smoker, light drinker, fit, white/Hispanic and within 15 miles of my zip code.
I got well over 200 results.
It gave me solace that maybe I wasn't doomed to singleness for the rest of my life, after all...
After the divorce, I moved back up to Idaho to be close to family and friends and rebuild my life.
Despite advice against trying to date so soon after divorce, I signed up for Christian Mingle. I put in the same dating criteria as before. This time, instead of over 200 results, I got 6.
Yep, 6...
I went to other dating sites; Zoosk, Match.com, Plenty of Fish, Matchmaker.com, etc. The results were nearly the same; Maybe 10 or less within 15 miles. So, then I started expanding the search to include women with kids still at home, expanded the age range from 30 to 48, got rid of any body type criteria, added all races, increased distance to 50 miles, but had to be Christian.
My results increased to around a dismal 30 or 40, and of those, only a couple that I was attracted to.
I would send an email, or "wink", or whatever to the couple I did like and got nearly no responses. I ended up going on one date and we just didn't have any chemistry. We're still friends on Facebook, though.
I live 15 miles from two college towns. There are around 60k people within 25 miles of where I live, yet single Christian women over 30 are few and far between. I'm not sure if this is due to the more liberal female population, younger population, or if online dating still has a stigma attached around here.
Now, if I expand my search to 75 miles and it includes Spokane, WA and Coeur D Alene, ID, then I get back up to around 200 results (but with the expanded criteria. Sticking to original search is still only around 50).
So, I gave up on the online dating thing. Then, reached a point where I realized I needed time to myself and was no longer afraid of being alone.
Now, 2 years later, I bought a home, have a decent job, etc, but am still not sure if I'm ready to date. And even if I was, I don't think online dating would be very productive...
I don't want to date someone who lives over an hour away from me; I want someone I can call or text and see if they want to go for a sunset walk or bike ride, or can go to the gym with me, or simply rent a movie and hang out with them.
Another thing about online dating is that people can make themselves appear very attractive in their profile by using old photos, or deceptive photos.
My brother is divorced, 39 and a good looking and successful guy. He's gone out on 3 dates in the past 2 years with women he met through online sites. One woman was at least 70lbs heavier and 10 years older than her profile pictures. Another didn't even look like the same woman, and another was just plain crazy.
When I created my profile, I was honest. I said I was overweight but working out and losing weight. I said I drank socially and was a light smoker (I quit smoking over a year ago, but then started up again a month ago, booo...), When I said I enjoyed the outdoors and riding horses, shopping, working out, etc, I meant it.
I baffles me to hear of people who put things in their profiles that are completely untrue. Do they not think that someone who starts dating them is not going to find out that they smoke, have a drinking problem, hate camping, or don't like to travel?
I mean, come on... Geesh, starting a relationship based on dishonesty is obviously not going to end well.
Soon after my ex-wife first voiced her desire to divorce, I went on an online dating site to see just how many single people there were my age (44yrs old then).
I think it was either Zoosk or Christian Mingle. I was living in AZ at the time. I entered my age range of 35 to 45, Christian, no kids or grown and out of the house, non-smoker, light drinker, fit, white/Hispanic and within 15 miles of my zip code.
I got well over 200 results.
It gave me solace that maybe I wasn't doomed to singleness for the rest of my life, after all...
After the divorce, I moved back up to Idaho to be close to family and friends and rebuild my life.
Despite advice against trying to date so soon after divorce, I signed up for Christian Mingle. I put in the same dating criteria as before. This time, instead of over 200 results, I got 6.
Yep, 6...
I went to other dating sites; Zoosk, Match.com, Plenty of Fish, Matchmaker.com, etc. The results were nearly the same; Maybe 10 or less within 15 miles. So, then I started expanding the search to include women with kids still at home, expanded the age range from 30 to 48, got rid of any body type criteria, added all races, increased distance to 50 miles, but had to be Christian.
My results increased to around a dismal 30 or 40, and of those, only a couple that I was attracted to.
I would send an email, or "wink", or whatever to the couple I did like and got nearly no responses. I ended up going on one date and we just didn't have any chemistry. We're still friends on Facebook, though.
I live 15 miles from two college towns. There are around 60k people within 25 miles of where I live, yet single Christian women over 30 are few and far between. I'm not sure if this is due to the more liberal female population, younger population, or if online dating still has a stigma attached around here.
Now, if I expand my search to 75 miles and it includes Spokane, WA and Coeur D Alene, ID, then I get back up to around 200 results (but with the expanded criteria. Sticking to original search is still only around 50).
So, I gave up on the online dating thing. Then, reached a point where I realized I needed time to myself and was no longer afraid of being alone.
Now, 2 years later, I bought a home, have a decent job, etc, but am still not sure if I'm ready to date. And even if I was, I don't think online dating would be very productive...
I don't want to date someone who lives over an hour away from me; I want someone I can call or text and see if they want to go for a sunset walk or bike ride, or can go to the gym with me, or simply rent a movie and hang out with them.
Another thing about online dating is that people can make themselves appear very attractive in their profile by using old photos, or deceptive photos.
My brother is divorced, 39 and a good looking and successful guy. He's gone out on 3 dates in the past 2 years with women he met through online sites. One woman was at least 70lbs heavier and 10 years older than her profile pictures. Another didn't even look like the same woman, and another was just plain crazy.
When I created my profile, I was honest. I said I was overweight but working out and losing weight. I said I drank socially and was a light smoker (I quit smoking over a year ago, but then started up again a month ago, booo...), When I said I enjoyed the outdoors and riding horses, shopping, working out, etc, I meant it.
I baffles me to hear of people who put things in their profiles that are completely untrue. Do they not think that someone who starts dating them is not going to find out that they smoke, have a drinking problem, hate camping, or don't like to travel?
I mean, come on... Geesh, starting a relationship based on dishonesty is obviously not going to end well.
