Are there any success stories of younger women looking for older men here?

Started by Grace Martin Free Dating & Apps Discussion
Grace Martin avatar Grace Martin
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 1,463
#1

This has come up in my friend group a few times and I thought I'd bring it to the forum to get some real-world feedback.

There's a lot of conflicting info out there. Some people swear by paid sites, others say free options work just as well if you know how to use them.

I've tried a few things already with mixed results. Getting ghosted, hitting paywalls, running into obvious bots — it gets old fast.

Appreciate any honest input, good or bad.

One I've been hearing about lately is Datescout — curious if anyone here has used it.

ColbyR avatar ColbyR
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 2,950
#2

After trying a lot of different platforms I think the honest answer is that none of them are perfect. The best results usually come from spending time on your profile and being consistent.

Some of the more mainstream ones worth trying: Facebook Dating, Zoosk, Tinder, Bumble. They all have free tiers to test before paying.

ChrisT avatar ChrisT
Joined: May 2024
Posts: 1,087
#3

Great question and honestly one that doesn't get a thorough enough answer most of the time.

The short version is that your results depend heavily on three things: the platform, your location, and your profile quality. Change any one of those and your experience changes dramatically.

A few safety reminders that are always worth repeating:

  • Keep your personal social media private until you actually trust someone.
  • Meet in public places first. No exceptions.
  • Use a reverse image search on anyone's photos before agreeing to meet. It takes 10 seconds and saves a lot of headaches.

Been keeping an eye on Luvdate lately — the community there seems pretty active compared to some others I've tried.

Ella White avatar Ella White
Joined: Jun 2023
Posts: 2,702
#4

I gave up on the paid options a while back. Too many bots even on the premium tiers.

NoraNights avatar NoraNights
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 2,643
#5

This is something I researched pretty thoroughly before committing to any paid plan, so let me share what I found.

Paid vs free is a bit of a false choice in my opinion. A good free profile on an active platform will outperform a lazy paid profile every time.

A few safety reminders that are always worth repeating:

  • Keep your personal social media private until you actually trust someone.
  • Never move conversations to WhatsApp or Telegram immediately — that's a common pattern for scammers.
  • Use a reverse image search on anyone's photos before agreeing to meet. It takes 10 seconds and saves a lot of headaches.
  • Meet in public places first. No exceptions.

Been keeping an eye on Datenest lately — the community there seems pretty active compared to some others I've tried.

Grayson Clark avatar Grayson Clark
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 2,514
#6

I've gone through a bunch of these over the past year or so. The biggest thing I've noticed is that activity levels vary wildly depending on the time of day and your location.

Some of the more mainstream ones worth trying: Plenty of Fish, Zoosk, OkCupid. They all have free tiers to test before paying.

A few that come up often in discussions:

  • datebie.online — decent activity but check the free tier limits first
  • datebound.site — decent activity but check the free tier limits first
Ellie Allen avatar Ellie Allen
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 964
#7

This is something I researched pretty thoroughly before committing to any paid plan, so let me share what I found.

Paid vs free is a bit of a false choice in my opinion. A good free profile on an active platform will outperform a lazy paid profile every time.

Mainstream options worth considering:

  • Feeld
  • Bumble
  • Zoosk
  • OkCupid
  • Tinder

A few safety reminders that are always worth repeating:

  • Keep your personal social media private until you actually trust someone.
  • Meet in public places first. No exceptions.
  • Use a reverse image search on anyone's photos before agreeing to meet. It takes 10 seconds and saves a lot of headaches.
  • Video call before meeting in person. Anyone who refuses to video chat is a red flag.

Some alternatives people mention a lot:

  • datebie.online
  • rendate.site

You must be logged in to post a reply here.