The world of online dating can be an overwhelming place to find yourself. That is exactly where I found myself 18 months ago. So I want to help you navigate the waters and make your experience a little more enjoyable.

After being married for 10 years, I had no idea how much the dating scene had changed. The only way I knew of to meet beautiful women was to either go to a bar or get lucky enough to meet someone through a mutual acquaintance. At first my thoughts of online dating were that only desperate people did something like that. I am sure glad that I got over that quickly.

First thing I want you to remember, is that you are going to get what you pay for. If you are thinking that “free” is the way to go, and you want to use something like Craigslist or possibly some other free dating site, be prepared for the worst. Now I can only give you my perspective and experience to draw from, but I did not have very many success stories that I could share with you now. I found that most women (and I know that is a broad term) seemed to be hiding behind their profiles, whether it was they were still holding on to their youth by posting pictures that were a few years old or maybe they had gained a few pounds and liked the way they looked when they were younger. I am here to tell you that I struck out on meeting anyone that portrayed themselves honestly through the pictures that they put out there. Maybe it was just bad luck, but I realized that it would be cheaper for me to pay for a service like match.com than to continue spending $75 to meet women that I really wouldn’t have chosen if I would have been given full disclosure on who they were in the first place.

There are a lot of quality sites out there for you to choose from. Whether you are looking for a specific nationality like Asian or  Thai, or if you are wanting to go deeper than that and know about all of their likes and dislikes. The main thing that you need to focus on is taking your time and actually getting to know someone as best you can through email and telephone conversations before you actually jump into a real live face to face meeting. Be prepared to ask a lot of in depth questions about their past, their family life and even past relationships. By being able to “interview” your prospective date first, you will be able to make a better informed decision on whether you actually want to spend an evening with them.

With billions of people in this world, there is definitely a perfect match out there for you somewhere. Do your due diligence first and try not to dive in to quickly.

Okay guys, this one’s for you. Here’s dating advice for men on where to meet women. If you’re tired of the dating games played at nightclubs and bars, then keep on reading.

The chances are, you won’t meet the girl of your dreams in a nightclub. It really doesn’t fit anyone’s romantic date idea. The girls are there to have a good time with as a girl’s night out. They’ve dressed up to party and they know they will get hit on. It’s a game to them and their looking for an ego boost. My dating advice for men is that if you’re looking for a night out then by all means, go ahead, but as for finding that special someone, not likely to happen.

The next popular destination for guys to find women are bars. This has become such a cliche that it doesn’t work anymore. Again, if you’re at a bar to quench your thirst you’re at the right place. But if you’re there to meet a future partner there are better pickings at other places where the competition isn’t as keen.

So guys, what dating advice for men am I offering to meet women? Warning, these aren’t the most romantic date ideas and might appear downright boring… but in case you hadn’t noticed, women are everywhere! So go ahead, chat one up at the grocery store. Seeing what she’s buying might indicate whether she’s single or not. What does it hurt? Is that harder than going up to a woman at a bar? Another place that might indicate the relationship status of a woman is the laundromat. See what she’s washing. Does she have her boyfriend’s boxers in her wash load? If so, stay away.

My point is that there are everyday situations where you can meet women and be friendly and start a conversation. Who knows where it will lead to. But, if you want more locations where the women are plentiful, my dating advice for men on where to meet women is to go outside your comfort zone.

Do you know how to dance? Do you want to learn how to dance? Even if you don’t, the effort to going to dance classes is worth it. The ratio of male to female is extremely low. The women will be clamoring to partner with you. My dating advice for men is to sign up for dance classes right away.

Another interesting place for men to meet women are foreign cultural events. You’ll stand out because now you’re the “foreigner” in a strange environment. Most women will help you get your bearings and chat you up along with feeding you! You’ve taken an interest in her culture as well. That’s extra bonus points.

That’s my dating advice for men on how to meet women. They might not live up to the romantic date ideas of meeting across the crowded room somewhere but they work.