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Free websites that make dating in Dayton a little easier

So- you’ve tried Match.com, Matchmaker.com, Yahoo! Personals, Friend Finder, eHarmony, Jdate, Bikerkiss etc- all the personal sites have one major problem- they all charge money- and the person who might be perfect for you- isn’t on the one you are on- when you are looking- so- dating in Dayton doesn’t have to be expensive- it can be free!

Not that I’ve had a ton of success – but, I have made a few very good friends that way. So- I offer two ways to meet people that are free:

www.plentyoffish.com [1] is a free dating site that is far from slick- but, it does have the advantage that anyone who is on it- can write you back (unlike most pay sites- where they leave people’s profiles up who aren’t paying and can’t respond). The search functions are mediocre- it does really awful things to pictures in the preview mode (think funhouse mirrors)- but, if everyone who was on a pay site in this town covered their bets with a posting on the free site- I bet we’d have more successful hook-ups.

The second site is for the hipsters- and is much more than a dating site. CraigsList.com is the bomb in major cities- attracting the literati and the forlorn to write some of the coolest freeform ads- unfortunately – although it’s been up in Dayton for a while- mostly people who have lived elsewhere seem to know about it.

It’s a great place to sell a car, rent a room, make friends, find a job- and it allows people to self govern the site- check it out:

craigslist: dayton classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events [2]

As always- be careful on these sites- don’t use an e-mail address that is traceable back to you- or to work (get a free hotmail, yahoo or my fave- gmail account). E-mail the person a few times- then meet in a very public place- and make it planned for a very short time- half-hour or an hour tops. Then agree if you’d like to meet again. Great places to meet are a coffee shop, the Dayton Art Institute, the Air Force Museum, bookstores, etc. Only give your number- once you are very comfortable.

And- please- if you are a woman- do not take your eyes off your drink at anytime- a friend was once date raped by someone she met on a pay dating site- by someone who seemed very professional and legitimate.

You won’t read about Craig’s list in the Dayton Daily News because they still derive a lot of their revenue from classified advertising- but, trust me- it’s a great resource.

And here is one more: OKcupid.com [3] it’s free, seems to have half-way intelligent people on it- and is kind of fun. You take surveys to match you to potential mates. Have at it.

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Melissa

Yeah, who knew so many weird guys are just a short drive/phone call away? ;-)

Another site that I never would have thought of in re: dating possibilities – MySpace. Apparently, there’s some kind of feature where you can browse locally. The only reason I know about it now is because it’s how Darren found me in the first place. That was after the last match.com debacle …