If I look back on my own personal dating history, I’ve always been attracted to men who are slightly older than me – even if they are only 2-5 years my senior. I’m not alone. A lot of younger singles prefer to date older men and women because for a variety of different reasons. Although I tend to stick within a 10 year age range when it comes to dating, many of my close friends are either attracted to and/or have found true love with partners who are 15 to 20 years older. So, if you find you’re attracted to a more mature age group, where should you go to meet the silver fox of your dreams? Easy: go online.
Whether you like it or not, online dating is where it’s at these days. Where else are you able to be put in touch with thousands of eligible singles at just the click of a mouse or touchpad? Online dating is also becoming increasingly specialized, with online dating sites like OurTime.com which are specifically designed for mature singles over the age of 50. However, if you’re a younger single hoping to meet an older mate, is it OK for you to use online dating websites designed for mature singles? Or is it better to stick with the more general online dating sites? There’s plenty of pros and cons on either side.
Using a Mature Dating site –
If your first impulse is to cut right to the chase and sign up for a Mature Dating site like OurTime.com, you wouldn’t be wrong. OurTime.com has one of the largest user bases of singles over the age of 50 who are looking for all types of relationships, including marriage, travel companionship or even pen pals. The great thing about using a mature dating site like this is that it automatically narrows your search for the right person, right from the get-go. Also, if dating someone your age or younger isn’t something you desire, you’ll never have to reject the online advances of people outside of your desired age range.
It also doesn’t hurt that OurTime.com has a lot of great features that make it very easy and straightforward to use. The sign-up process is extremely simple and searching for users is intuitive. The basic search function allows you to search by gender, age and location and to specify whether your results should only include profiles with photos, video or other features. The advanced search function includes additional options such as marital status, relationship expectations, zodiac, and religion. Without a lot of techy bells and whistles, OurTime.com allows you to focus on what matters: finding the right person.
OurTime’s “My Match” feature makes your search easier by matching you with compatible users based on criteria you specify. You can interact with other users through exchanging messages, live chat, sending flirts (a way of indicating your interest in another user) and adding users to your favorites list.
However, keep in mind that sites like OurTime.com are created to serve the specific needs of the mature dating community, by recognizing that their users attitudes and expectations are likely going to be significantly different than how they approached dating as a younger person. In other words, OurTime.com isn’t designed with you in mind. Although many members on mature dating sites would likely be receptive to dating someone younger, there are likely an equal amount who aren’t. They’ve come to OurTime.com because it offers a different online dating experience than a general dating site. Although younger singles can find love on a mature dating site, there’s always the chance that you’ll be met with a similar “go back to your room!” reaction, like that time you climbed out of bed as a kid to intrude on your parent’s dinner party.
User a general online dating site –
If you don’t want to feel like you’re crashing someone else’s party, there’s always the option of using a more general dating site like Match.com. As one of the largest online dating sites, when you sign up for Match.com you’re gaining access to millions of singles of all different ages, from all over the world.
If that sounds overwhelming to you – don’t worry. Match.com has one of the most advanced search functions of out there. If you have very specific criteria for a partner, for example you’re looking for someone aged 50+, Match.com will help you find them. With Match.com’s advanced search functionality, you can literally build your own match, based on age, interests, background, and lifestyle. The search functions will also allow you to search under and specific keyword in profile, such as “mature” or “runner” by using the MatchWords™ feature. You can even choose a set list of words that other users can search for you with.
The nice thing about a site like Match.com is you get a lot of flexibility. Instead of restricting yourself to only meeting singles over 50, you can set more specific age ranges, for example if you’re interested in meeting singles between the ages of 45-62. Match.com even has a Seniors Dating community, that you can access while still keeping your matching options open.
At the end of the day, choosing the right dating site all comes down to knowing what you want, what you are comfortable with and having the flexibility that you need. Happy searching!
