01 Jun 3 Ways To Find Cross-Cultural Quality Dates

You want to find a date, but one who is different from what you’re used to.  Maybe all that handshaking and brushing of shoulders with foreign dignitaries has given you a taste for foreign companionship.  Or maybe all those global jaunts to exotic cities have made you want a connection as unique and as culturally diverse, but which is closer to home. And, this is not a casual hook-up you’re looking for – you want someone you can have an intelligent conversation with, bond with, and have a meaningful emotional connection, while having lots of fun.

In short, someone who is a candidate to be your life partner or soulmate who can understand and belong in your world as a globally mobile professional.

Try the smarter dating sites.  DeleteTinder from your screen to remove any temptation for a quick fling.  Invest in sites where people actually take time to work on their profile and where there is a vibrant international, intercultural community. Interesting features like matching profiles will also help you narrow down your choices.  Check Project Evolove for starters.  Sites like Stitch and Meetup can also expand your search for fun activities that may or may not have a romantic component; you can easily browse for an activity partner or a travel companion and not just a love interest.

Be a cultural buff.  If you’ve attended concerts and theater performances in the line of duty, do them now for fun, intellectual stimulation, and a way to meet kindred spirits.  The good news is, you could have developed an acquired taste for the culture and the arts, by now.  Schedule these new cultural activities during the weekend and include shows and other events from embassies and international cultural institutions.  Above all, be yourself and get into the heart and soul of what has made this particular celebration significant.  Don’t be afraid to let your hair down; join a Chinese dragon dance, munch heartily on that roundtable full of Spanish paella, or roar with that crowd as thos French acrobats succeed in completing that death-defying twist.

You’re not doing this in the line of duty anymore.  And they say that passion leads to attraction. Who knows?  As you flip through that musical theater program or study that Renaissance painting, you just might notice that beautiful lady or handsome gentleman beside you doing the same, while subtly checking you out.

Personal networking.  There are plenty of foreign singles who frequent your circles.  Assignees who are open to  a match are usually the more visible ones giving out their business cards in cocktails, asking for volunteers for a fundraising or feeding program, or recruiting fresh blood into their embassy’s new community-building ventures. And if you don’t want to venture out too far, you could get to know your colleagues in a casual setting when you volunteer. Some big companies require their employees to volunteer, which should help you get to know the person seated beside you at work without working getting in the way. The beauty of this approach is that you and the assignee can have lots to talk about if the sparks do fly.  Given the size of the expatriate community, another advantage is that mutual friends can give you the heads-up on each other and even arrange for a blind date.