Best dating sites?

[blurty]

I have found myself single after 11 years, and im thinking of dabbling into the land of online dating sites – scary stuff! Any recommendations?

[janey]

Prepare to kiss a lot of frogs!

Tinder – easy, fun, don’t take it personally if you match and don’t get a message, or message and don’t get a reply. A lot of people treat it like a game. But it’s good fun, and I have had some good dates as a result.

Bumble – works like Tinder, but women have to make the first move. Theoretically it’s a more enlightened bunch on there. In practice it’s the same people you’ll see everywhere else and personally I don’t like having to make the first move EVERY time! There’s also a time limit for messaging or they disappear forever.

Plenty of Fish. Practically everyone is on POF, so even if you have to sift through a lot of dross (and you will) if you have patience you can find some cracking people on there. I have had my best results from POF.

Match – exactly the same bunch as you’ll find elsewhere, but you have to pay for it. Not worth it, IMO, despite their large marketing budget.

EHarmony – prides itself on getting large numbers of people hitched. Probably because the sign up process is so tortuous – and then you discover you have to pay before you can look at who’s on it locally – that only the truly committed / desperate get as far as actually joining the site. I haven’t bothered, but others I know have got married as a result, so …

There are millions of others. You’ll discover them in time, and discover the same nomadic bunch of people moving from one app to another like a vast migrating herd of wildebeest all desperately hoping that the new wonder app is the place they’ll find true love.

Don’t take anything personally, see the humour in everything, trust your instinct, and if it’s hard work – it’s not working!

Try speed dating. You’re unlikely to meet anyone, but it is BRILLIANT fun, and a super ego boost! I’ll come with you if you aren’t too far away!

Good luck!

FYI I have been single for four years and counting_

[el]

My advice? Don’t bother, stay single
I tried them after 20 years in 2 long term relationships, good grief it is a minefield – lots of men after only one thing, lots of men who are still single at my advanced age for a very good reason.

[el]

My advice?
Get a kitten.

[janey]

I work on the basis that if I’m still single through no fault of my own (and I’m reasonably sane, attractive and solvent) then statistically there must be men out there in the same boat. I have met three in four years – one didn’t find me attractive, one I didn’t find attractive, and with one the lack of attraction was mutual.

[bella]

I’ve used several dating sites in the past and would recommend just to go with the free ones… most people on paid sites can be found on the free ones too anyway. I am about 13 months into a relationship with someone I met on POF and am suspect he’s the love of my life.

Good luck and have fun!

[carly]

One that hasn’t been mentioned here is Muddy Matches… Free to sign up, or was a few years ago. Had been on several such sites over a period of time and let me say from a male perspective, some of the FEMALE members of some sites send some very very very odd messages indeed. Met someone very special to me through Muddy Matches two years ago now, we would never have crossed paths ordinarily due to being in different counties.

To the OP I would say try a few sites, have fun, be careful and see if you connect with anyone. Good luck!

[dawn]

My friend who had been married for a long time, then divorced and honestly is a real catch, has found it a bit of a minefield. The men are always looking for something better, often are in a relationship somewhere else and are not honest. One bloke was looking for a nurse, really! They would often spend a couple of weeks bombarding her with texts, but not actually want to meet. One chap turned up for coffee, without the money to buy coffee.
She has met some interesting people, been out but has learned to have to look at it as a pastime not a way to meet a partner.

My daughter is going out with someone she met on Tinder but met a few frogs, but she can give as much as gets.

[sammy]

My experience is that there’s an awful lot of dross to wade through with internet dating. Also it’s a haven for problem men, who can’t meet anyone in their home areas as nobody in RL would touch them with a barge pole!

But echo what others have said about the paid sites- don’t bother. They are all on POF anyway and it’s free.

[karen]

One that hasn’t been mentioned here is Muddy Matches… Free to sign up, or was a few years ago. Had been on several such sites over a period of time and let me say from a male perspective, some of the FEMALE members of some sites send some very very very odd messages indeed. Met someone very special to me through Muddy Matches two years ago now, we would never have crossed paths ordinarily due to being in different counties.

To the OP I would say try a few sites, have fun, be careful and see if you connect with anyone. Good luck!

That’s what my OH said (about the weird females frequenting the sites)!

We met through Match, on the very day that both of us had decided we had had enough of the nutters and went online to deactivate our accounts. He sent me a message (one last gasp) and we’ve been together three years now.

I certainly didn’t do online dating with the aim of meeting the future Mr right – I did it as a boredom buster for the long boring winter evenings. It was a bit of an eye opener really, there are a lot of players on there, but clearly some good ones too.

Honestly OP, it’s worth a go just for the fun of it, you never know what might happen. I’d not worry about those people who say they don’t advise it because they are happier single

[sarah]

My advice would be to just go on there and have a laugh! I had one really great relationship with someone I met on POF and we are still friends now. I wouldn’t treat it like somewhere you are going to meet your life long partner, but you never know; I think it opens up some doors that wouldn’t have been otherwise.

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