No Luck with Online Colombian Sites

[Jedimaster]

Over the past few months I have tried my luck with a couple of online dating sites and so far it doesn't seem to be working.  I tried Colombian Cupid first and this site for the most part was a joke.  The site was plagued with scammers, prepagos, Match.com types, women only interested in adding you to facebook, etc.  I have also tried Latin American Cupid and this site doesn't seem to work for me either for many of the same reasons that Col Cupid was a failure.

At first I thought that these two websites were just horrible websites and perhaps I should try a different dating website.  But the more I think about the more I am fairly convinced that none of these dating websites is going to work for me.  At this point, I'm considering forgetting about the online sites entirely and just buying a ticket to Colombia and possibly signing up with an agency.  

[Zon]

Yep. You have to be pretty lucky to have success online. I determined it was not worth the effort.  Although CyberCupido is much better.  Stay away from sites that market to American men - the gravey train.

Depending on how much time you have and you r knowledge of English - visiting and living is the best way; hands down. 

[Jedimaster]

A couple of footnotes in regards to both Col Cupid and Latin Am Cupid--on both sites I was getting quite a few interest signals but not that many letters.  And when I did get letters, they were very short and poorly written.  Also, I found the online chat feature to be ineffective--(the chat box would time out or sometimes a woman would initiate a conversation and then all of a sudden she would go offline, etc).

[Researcher]

    Hey Jedi, I never used a sites own chat feature.I would always get the girl to go to Yahoo or MSN for that.



   Researcher

[CeeTeeEnn]

Jedimaster, regretfully I concur with your findings.

I tried meeting Latinas online using several sites over the last couple of years, including Cybercupido, Latinkisses, LatinLoveMatch, Corazones and Amigos (I didn't try the Cupid sites) but I had similarly negative experiences. I am confident in my Spanish; I wrote extensively explaining my personality, my interests and goals, but the responses I received were generally paltry with many one-sentence replies and plenty of bad Spanish to boot (I did receive one or two replies in English but they were rare.) The majority of girls I wrote to were Colombian but I did also write to some Peruanas, and the responses I received from them were generally of a better quality. However, I did notice that few girls from the other Latin countries posted profiles on any of these sites, with the notable exception of Brazil (though I passed them by just to concentrate on Spanish-speaking world as my Portuguese is not quite up there with my Spanish.) Nonetheless, I also came across many girls just collecting Facebook/Myspace/Hi5 friends aimlessly, and my experiences on MSN chat (hotmail is much more popular in LA than Yahoo mail, Gmail or AOL) were on the whole a waste of time. I confess that this experience severely dented my committment to the idea of travelling to Latin America to meet and date latinas.

Reflecting on this, I recall some advice I once received from a Colombian agency owner on the phone. He sold contact addresses openly (this was a few years ago) but told me that while it may be possible to meet someone special through online correspondence, he advised against taking this approach as on the whole it has proven to be a waste of time for the vast majority of his clients, and that there is no substitute for travelling to Colombia practically "blind" (having made no previous contacts) and letting his agency do all the donkeywork (for plenty of $$$.) I ignored this advice on the premise that whilst corresponding in English may be a drudge for many Latinas, corresponding in Spanish with an adaptable and knowledgeable gringo would yield better dividends. Alas, I was proven wrong. One part of me suspects that many of the Latinas I targeted were simply not turned on by the idea of meeting an educated outspoken Westerner - I'm too much hard work for them! But another also recognises that internet access may still be scarce and possibly expensive in Colombia outside of the cities. The effect of this is that too few girls would have the resources to correspond online regularly or extensively, and also that many of the profiles I responded to were placed out of genuine initial curiosity but were subsequently rarely used on account of various practical difficulties; yet these same girls would be delighted to talk to me if I approached them face to face.

It's not all bad news online. It's still possible to meet some, if not many, Latinas on "serious" dating sites like eHarmony where women have to pay for membership; these girls will likely be from middle class or professional backgrounds, with regular online access, who are committed to the idea of meeting a gringo. The social networking sites present another option. I did meet some nice girls on Facebook; they contacted me after having seen my profile and concurred with my interests (all are middle-class student girls from the Southern cone.) However, while Facebook may now be the world's leading networking site, it's profile browsing features are limited (most likely out of security concerns) which is a pity as Facebook offers immense potential for meeting people from all over the world. Other sites such as Myspace have better browsing facilities with detailed searches possible, but many Myspace users are young and so unless you're focused on meeting girls in the 18-25 age range your options there may be limited.

I am left to conclude that whilst the recent posting here that quoted memorably "Colombia is not a reading and writing society" is perhaps a little harsh, it remains true that in spite of the internet's immense potential for bringing people together, any Western guy who is serious about meeting a decent and worthy Latina, especially from a country like Colombia, must accept there is still no substitute for making the journey there and doing the tedious but necessary legwork the old fashioned way. Needless to say, this is not an adventure for the undercommitted, the underprepared (especially linguistically), or those with tight schedules in life to stick to; such guys would we well advised to consider alternative options - be they Latin American or otherwise - where more reliable and informative online communication is available. I implore ALL newbies here to take this advice seriously and think carefully before making concrete decisions.

[Researcher]

I am left to conclude that whilst the recent posting here that quoted "Colombia is not a reading and writing society" is perhaps a tad harsh, it remains true that in spite of the internet's immense potential for bringing people together, any Western guy who is serious about meeting a decent and worthy Latina must accept there's still no substitute for making the journey and doing the tedious but necessary legwork the old fashioned way. Needless to say, this is not an adventure for the underprepared, the undercommitted, or those with tight schedules in life to stick to.

      I have to agree with you there CeeTeeEnn.I never relied solely on the internet to meet and get to know women.It is a good tool to use to keep in touch or maybe make initial contact. I did meet some women on the internet but never really took them seriously until I met them in person.Probably the biggest reason was that there is no way to tell who is really on the other end of the connection.I just never could buy into a few profile pics and some chat time on a webcam as being a real relationship.I knew it was going to take some travelling so I made it a part of my life.


     Researcher

[fathertime]

Over the past few months I have tried my luck with a couple of online dating sites and so far it doesn't seem to be working.  I tried Colombian Cupid first and this site for the most part was a joke.  The site was plagued with scammers, prepagos, Match.com types, women only interested in adding you to facebook, etc.  I have also tried Latin American Cupid and this site doesn't seem to work for me either for many of the same reasons that Col Cupid was a failure.

At first I thought that these two websites were just horrible websites and perhaps I should try a different dating website.  But the more I think about the more I am fairly convinced that none of these dating websites is going to work for me.  At this point, I'm considering forgetting about the online sites entirely and just buying a ticket to Colombia and possibly signing up with an agency.  

hey jedi,
You just gotta go to Colombia, there is no shortage of beautiful available women.  After you buy your ticket, you can then communicate with women from the city you are travelling to.  You might find yourself wasting years trying to find a woman strictly by writing.  I'd recommend using an agency, just to use your time with more efficiently and get the ball rolling.  After you hit the ground you will get a much better feel for who is well-intentioned and who isn't.  Getting a grasp of the Spanish language (if you don't already have it) would be a good step to take in the meantime.

Fathertime!

[mudd]

also, sometimes using an agency is a good way to go, to get started and get some contacts going. at least you know the agency knows the girls a little and has met them in person, has a copy of their ID and has an opinion of them, unlike internet dating sites, where you don't know krap about them.

[Researcher]

     Jedi, Don't commit too soon with these internet chicks.Alot of guys will see a profile pic and soon start drooling on their computer keyboards without even meeting the girl....Imagine if they flew down to find out that the Colombian girl is really a Colombianguy!!...tragic.

   Researcher

[utopiacowboy]

Personally I think you should go down and hang around one of the innumerable toll booths on Colombian highways. There is usually someone selling food and maybe someone with a juke box. Sometimes the chicks who work in the toll booths are babes, too.

I never had any problem with the online sites. Always more interest and activity than I could handle. I found a couple of girlfriends and one wife that way.

[JimD]

Depending on how much time you have and you r knowledge of English - visiting and living is the best way; hands down. 

Zon I´ve got a pretty good grasp of English. Do you think that will improve my chances of scoring?

[whitey]

Personally I think you should go down and hang around one of the innumerable toll booths on Colombian highways. There is usually someone selling food and maybe someone with a juke box. Sometimes the chicks who work in the toll booths are babes, too.

Hey, don't be eatin' my lunch!  That's how I make my beer money in Colombia!  I'm the one hanging out on the highway trying to sell the big fish I just caught.  If I come up empty that day, I put on the mime makeup ...

[utopiacowboy]

Hey, don't be eatin' my lunch!  That's how I make my beer money in Colombia!  I'm the one hanging out on the highway trying to sell the big fish I just caught.  If I come up empty that day, I put on the mime makeup ...

My mother-in-law would buy your fish and whatever else you had. She can't resist those frigging food vendors. The toll booths really are a scene though.

[Researcher]

  Jedi, you really have to go there.IMO,most women aren't going to take you seriously unless you have plans to visit their country.Other than that its just a cyber space fantasy.Too many people playing around on these internet singles sites.




  Researcher

[ignorante]

The site was plagued with . . . prepagos

  now how in the world did you figure THAT out? 

[whitey]

  now how in the world did you figure THAT out? 

Sometimes it's pretty easy to figure out.  A buddy of mine was chatting with an attractive colombiana a few nights ago for the first time.  He'd had enough for the night and told her he was signing off.  At that point she started asking sexual questions ... "I'm a member of the mile high club ... do you know what that means?"

She obviously figured her fish was getting away, and decided to try to bait him with the big worm. 

So ... I'm not surprised to hear that there are a lot of pre-pagos on these sites.  You must always keep in mind as well that the majority of guys on these sites do not have good intentions either ... the VAST majority. 

One type is just looking for cheap thrills, they will often start asking sexual questions after a few emails, ask for nude photos or nude chats, will sometimes send the girls nude photos, or just trying to line up "dates" for their next trip.

Another type has never been to Colombia and never will, and just wastes the woman's time trying to develop an online girlfriend while sitting in mommy's basement.

The minority are serious guys looking to meet a serious woman for a serious relationship.  So, it's no wonder that many colombianas get jaded fast on these sites, and won't invest much time writing emails, chatting, etc. until you have a plane ticket.

[JimD]

I´ve come to realize that "prepagos" aren´t that easy to define. You can really include most (but not all) lower strata chicas. If they´re hot they´ve been offered one or two hundred thousand pesos by some guy at a disco and probobly taken him up on it. They can get a lot more from a "traqueto" but it´s not an easy life. These barrio chicas are very fluid with their "morals". When times are good ie., have a job, are getting money from thieir novio or maybe western union giros from family or a gringo online they can be "good girls". When times are tough, no job , no novio etc. most will hook if given the chance. In the end maybe it doesn´t make a lot of difference is she was screwing some noviocito who doesn´t have two pesos to rub together (but has good abs) or some traqueto who was giving her a million ($500US) a pop.