This is my story!

[Bear]

I like it that you haven't limited yourself to one place but then that could also really be confusing and hard to focus.  Becoming engulfed in another culture is an awesome experience.  Trying to jump between them might have caused you some confusing expectations.  Slow it down here.

Next, for me, I was involved with 13 Filipinas before I met Honey and chatting with literally hundreds.  How are you going to find what you are looking for focusing on one-at-a-time.  Also this process can be very long and your method appears to be dragging in out which could make it more tedious and spoiling expectations.
In other words I'd say you are going too slow, speed it up some here.  Chat with more.

Since I was divorced and had a lot of experiences, I never wanted to think about again, much less experience again, I was able to focus on what got me there and an idea of what needed to change.  It also made me aware of some failings of guys around me and an idea of what got them there.  I formulated some questions and altered some of the ones that were being passed around the Asian side at the time and my first few weeks/month of chatting with a candidate was a questioning period.  It seemed to help run the scammers off because they didn't want to participate; they wanted to get "emotional" quickly and I wouldn't have any of that.  Keeping track of the questions and how answered them was surprisingly easier than I thought and I only once sent a girl a letter with another's girls name on it (oops).  

International dating to me changed my life.  It's made my life so radically different from 10 years ago.  I know I don't look, think, work, eat, or even sleep the same.  But like in any marriage there lots of bumps in the road, I think this road had way more than bumps than expected, things I just never thought about due to culture changes.  It sounds like you yet to even hit this part or you are in its confused your expectations.

I guess what I'm trying to say is do you have a plan?  Do you know what you want/expect from this person and to what outcome.

The Bear Family

[utopiacowboy]

I didn't marry the first woman, I married the right one. I had had a relationship with a former classmate from elementary school, then a brief relationship with a woman who turned out to have mental problems, and then a Mexicana who was a lot like m ex-wife.

[Pivery]

  UT,

It sure looks like you got it right with your wife. I think that's the idea - to get the right one. Not spend endless amounts of money and trips going back and forth. Some guys don't have a real good idea of what they want, so their time is wasted.

I just think some guys don't spend enough time getting to know a woman on a daily basis. They see a picture of a short skirt and that's what they focus on. They cut off all of the other possible candidates, and when they actually get down to her country and the two spend quality face time together they find they have nothing in common.

That to me is a waste. But whatever works for that guy - it's his business. I just hate to see a guy go down there with unrealistic expectations because he did not do his homework. The journey pays off for a guy who knows what he wants in a woman and dedicates himself to finding a woman with those qualities.

Pivery

[Researcher]

             I agree with Bear. That many countries in one year is a bit much. I visited several countries but over a much longer period of time.
             I still recommend meeting several women. It's not that difficult to do if you have the right frame of mind. My goal was to meet women when I started and that's what I did. But that's all it was, just meeting them and getting to know enough about them to decide whether or not I wanted(or they wanted) to go further. And by "go further" I mean get to know more about each other. Some guys decide that they are engaged to a woman before they even say hello, so it would be difficult for them to use this approach. Other guys think of it like "picking out a puppy" but that also is not the best way to approach international dating. There is nothing wrong with looking at profiles, photos and sometimes videos to decide whether or not you would be interested in meeting someone.  I enjoyed "looking" and meeting women. I lost count of how many women I have met over the years probably because it just wasn't that big of a deal. I also can't remember how many I dated either because the one I married is the only one that really matters.
             To me, the best approach is to plan on meeting many women. I agree with KB about having a plan A,B,C,etc... For some guys, plan A may very well be the right one.For other guys, Plan Z may be the right one. I just don't believe in "putting all of the eggs in one basket". And wondering the globe waiting for Miss Right to come along may have worked for some but if I am a single guy that's open to the possibility of a relationship, I'm gonna be meeting some ladies.


  Researcher