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Part II: Review of 6 intriguing targeted dating sites
To help you get your feet wet, I tried out six of the most interesting targeted dating sites connecting people who share passions ranging from veggies, workouts or mantras to farming or Trekkie trivia (yes, really). Here's what to expect. Happy dating!
VeggieConnections.com
Tagline: The site where vegetarians connect
Audience: Vegetarians, vegans, raw-foodists, and macrobiotics for dating, friendships, and penpals
Profile tidbits: Overall a pretty basic profile that allows you to post relevant information about you and what you’re looking for. Unique to this site, aside from the dietary questions, is the extensive choice of religions to choose from, which include Confucian and Sikh (you don’t see that on Match.com.) Also, you have the option of having your specific age listed, or just 20+, 30+, etc. (although I didn’t see a “39 again” option).
Heads up: Wasn’t clear which parts of the profile were optional. For example, through trial and error, I discovered that I didn’t have to enter my income level or weight, but I did have to select an ethnicity and hair color.
Signup fee: Free to search and respond (mostly). Annual memberships range from $36 to $49 per year.
FitnessSingles.com
Tagline: None
Audience: Sports and fitness enthusiasts
Profile tidbits: A quick questionnaire; mostly multiple choice answers with a focus on appearance, diet and fitness activities. This one too asks you to describe your looks, as well as pick your best feature. I liked their Top 25 Viewed Male and Female Profiles feature.
Heads up: Competition is fierce! Most profiles I viewed were of good-looking, very fit candidates. Made me want to do a sit-up.
Signup fee: Free to sign up, search, and respond to IMs. $29.95 per month or $14.95 per month for six months for the ability to send, receive and respond to emails, send private photos and send IMs.
Gaia Soulmates
Tagline: Find your kindred spirit
Audience: For people who love meditation, mantras, peace, learning, travel, yoga, nature, laughing, growing, spirituality, community
Profile tidbits: A very provocative survey (if a tad long) that really showcases your creative and spiritual side. And even though I’m not a fan of essay questions, these were not the same-old same-old — they were fun to think about, and I'd really look forward to reading the answers from potential mates. Examples include: What are your greatest life passions? Who would you say have been the most influential and inspiring teachers in your life? What are the most important lessons you’ve learned from past relationships?
Heads up: At first I didn't see a place to write about what I was looking for in a partner, other than one essay question. I later discovered that the “Intention Page” was for this purpose. Also: Be prepared to sort through a lot of options regarding who can see your profile when.
Signup fee: Basic membership is free. Premium membership, which allows you to initiate contact with another member, among other things, ranges from $19.95 for a single month to $6.60 a month for a pre-paid, year-long subscription.
SingleParentsMeet.com
Tagline: The Single Parent Network
Audience: Single moms and dads, and their admirers
Profile tidbits: No real creative questions or options to show your personality other than the three open-ended questions that ask you to describe yourself, what you’re looking for, and anything else you’d like to add. The question I did find interesting asks you to describe your looks; choices range from Average Looking to Stunning. Uh, isn’t that what the photo is for? It’s more like a question to reveal the extent of your vanity.
Heads up: A bit confusing to get signed on and going.
Signup fee: Free to sign up and search. $9.95 a month for six months; $119.95 for year, gets you unlimited ability to send/receive messages and top listing in search results.
Farmersonly.com
Tagline: City folks just don’t get it!
Audience: Farmers, ranchers, ag students, all livestock owners, animal lovers, cowboys, cowgirls, rodeo fans and country wannabes
Profile tidbits: Nice thing about this profile is that the numerous questions with pull-down menu answers and the few open-ended questions made the experience of filling it out quick and less stressful. Interesting (to me, at least) was that two of the answer options for “What kind of relationship are you looking for?” were “Intimate” and “Casual encounters.” Those naughty farmers!
Cons: It felt like there were not enough questions or space to state what I was looking for in a guy (or farmer).
Signup fee: No idea. All I found on the site was a 3-day free trial membership — no info on what it will cost after that expires.
Trekpassions.com
Tagline: Love long and prosper
Audience: Science fiction lovers, including but not limited to fans of Star Trek and Star Wars
Profile tidbits: By far the longest and most entertaining profile to fill out (and only one open-ended question!). Under hobbies, users can choose from Cosplay, Larp and Manga, among many others. I’m assuming Sci Fi fans would understand? And under Body Type, this site offers a lot of ways to say “could stand to lose a few,” including “Pleasantly Plump” and “Fat and Proud.”
Heads up: The profile is long; for some it may be almost as overwhelming as the prospect of a Trekkie trivia challenge on a first date.
Signup fee: Free, and it’s also a social networking site.
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Jump to:
Part I: 3 rules for online dating success
Part III: 5 ways to make Internet dating less awkward
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We live such a rushed and busy life, we hardly have time for ourselves let lone finding a genuine and lasting relationship.
After graduating from law school, I finally felt I was ready to find my soulmate. I joined mathc.com and I wrote a letter to God describing what I wanted in my spouse. I then meditated for about 2 months to get to know myself and what I wanted in my future as a careerwoman and future wife.
Literally 2 months after writing the letter my now husband contacted me through match.com.
Our first date lasted 8 hours and I know that he was my soulmate as soon as I saw him standing in the parking lot of the restaurant we went to for our first date! We've now been married for six months and together for almost 4 years!
Jun 25, 2009 10:58:59 AM