I've used online dating services almost since their inception when I've been single and wanted to meet someone. I started as a geeky girl in demand when there were few of us online, and from that a sort of elitist mentally spawned: online dating sites were fine, but I drew the line at the classifieds and chat rooms. For many years I've clung to this unspoken yet firmly entrenched rule of mine, and many of my friends have as well. Clients that have used Craigslist to meet people were few and far between, so I wasn't asked for advice on the subject often.
Fast forward to a few days ago, when I realized I've been single for some time and would like to start dating again. How should I meet people that I could potentially date? Sure, I can review my own list of places to meet people (and did), but I wanted to try something different. Something I'd never done before, something that might help me encounter folks I wouldn't meet otherwise, something totally out of character. A girlfriend of mine suggested Craigslist. My first reaction was to laugh, and then... well why not?
I wrote up a short blurb explaining where I was at and what I was looking for, as well as what I have to offer someone else. A quick proofread and a few mouse clicks later, my Craigslist ad was live. Would anyone reply? Would people make fun of me? How many inappropriate photos would I get? Would safe dating be an issue?
It didn't take long for the first people to answer, and I was surprised with their candor and intelligence. Yes, I did receive a few undesirable responses (which were immediately put in my spam folder so I never heard from them again), and a dating scam offer or two. Many were considerably older than what I'd expressly stated a preference for, and some were honest with their want for casual dating only. One gent sent a nasty note when I didn't reply in a timely manner, and one email was from a good friend (we shared a few laughs over that one).
All in all though, the experience was better than I'd hoped for. Its success is still pending, but if meeting new people was my only goal, Craigslist provided me with more positive interactions and opportunities than any online dating site has in years. If things don't work out with any of the Craigslist folks, maybe I'll try something even more out of my comfort zone in a few weeks' time.
But what about you? Have you used Craigslist to meet people? Why or why not? Are you concerned about safety, who will contact you, privacy or how it will come across to your friends/family?
I have used online dating sites for years and have gathered positive and negative experiences. I guess, Craigslist is an interessting dating service if you just want to meet new and interessting people online. But if you wanna to meet your soul mate and husband, Craigslist is not the right service. But may be wonders happen sometimes
I have not only used Craigslist to meet someone, I found my soul-mate on there and we have been happily married for just over 1 year now.
It can take a while to meet the right person as a lot of them are flakes that answer you and often will drop you like a rock without notice right in the middle of what seems like a good connection.
All in all – don’t lose hope. I just about lost all hope and then my soul-mate arrived!
I met a really great guy on Craigslist. I am trying not to rush into anything, but I am 37, single, never been married, no kids, so I would really like to find someone to spend the remainder of my life with. I am actually quite surprised that things are going so well, and that he is not some creepy guy, but a really great man. We both admitted to enjoying our freedom, but that we are both willing to see where things lead. It could turn out to be a long term relationship and to be truthful, I feel that it is heading in that direction. My experience has been very positive and you just have to use your gut instincts sometimes. I talked to this guy for about a week on the phone before we first met. This helped me to feel the situation out. It just goes to show that you never know.
I’m shocked at how many people met people through craigslist. Personally I wouldn’t even look for a job on craigslist as most are bad, to look for someone on craigslist just seem odd.
I think the free sites attract more random people so you have to screen harder. Paid sites filter out people who are serious enough to pay for a service. And relationship oriented sites that are heavy on the questionnaires are even more serious. It all depends if you want to put in the time and effort to only see people that are more relationship oriented or not.
I’ve been on paid sites and POF (not craigslist- yet) and found just as many or more nice men on the free site. And my new male friends agree that they too have met many nice women on the free site. Any body can pay the membership fee, so there isn’t much of a screening, and there are nice people everywhere. Finding a match is tricky no matter where you are.