8 Top dating sites for business and professional women
Online dating sites are a common occurrence in today’s world. Still, business and professional women –and men- might have some doubts about the benefits of going through hundreds of profiles that … well, say nothing to you: Ugly, funny-looking, scary-looking, too fat, too old, and so it goes, mostly looking at how people look rather than who they are.
Here comes again, Valentine’s Day, and you and I will stay home or go out with our girl friends because we don’t have a date. Dating has become a real nightmare for busy people, going through the motions, forcing yourself to go to bars or boring single events, having blind-dates, friends’ introductions, God help me! Are you, then, ready for online dating?
Mea culpa! I’ve done it a thousand times, and I would love to write a book some day about all the funny and not so funny situations I’ve encountered while dating online. Results? Yes, a 10-year relationship with so many ups and downs that finally we had to give it up.
Being my work such an important part of my life, I always felt that the possibility of finding someone with common work interests was the key to compatibility, even a good way to start a conversation or to share views. However, I found out that most sites rarely offered you this option or it was the “only” option.
For instance, if I said on my profile I was an architect –yes, I have a real past life-, a site matched me with an architect that was 5’4 tall –and I’m 5’7. Is it too shallow? Maybe, but…
Mentioning I had 2 masters degrees would generate a sudden vacuum in my mail box, not even to mention if I said I had strong political opinions. Sorry, I’m not looking to “walk down the beach under the moon holding hands” with someone! I want a substantial relationship with someone who is my peer in all aspects of life; ideally, finding a site that showed me people with my same interests including my line of work.
The “niche dating sites” are a growing part of the online dating industry that, according to Business Insider, is now a $2.1 billion business. So we did some research about dating sites for business and professional women –and men–, based on certain work interests.
Here are some of them:
1. Geek2Geek:
Story tells that about seven or eight years after Spencer Koppel retired and tried –and failed– with different online projects, his daughter suggested him to launch a dating website for geeks.
Geeks are usually eccentric untraditional people who are enthusiastic –or obsessed about a hobby or an intellectual pursuit. According to WikiHow, it is “somebody who is generally very knowledgeable—even to the point of obsession—about a particular topic.”
Geeks are generally social so they might participate at dating sites showing off their knowledge but in a social situation, they might be pleasant company. Traditional dating websites might not work for geeks because they need to peruse through hundreds of profiles until they find someone who shares their particular interest.
Although not a very attractive-looking site –maybe they could find a web design geek to help–, you might want to give it a try if you are looking for your “geeky” half.
2. Hitch.me
I was terribly excited when I read about Hitch.me, a dating site aimed at business professionals that use single and active members’ profiles on LinkedIn, and it is exclusively reserved for LinkedIn users. Although the site still has a page on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, I couldn’t find the real site where to signup. Dissapointed!
3. eHarmony.com
One of the oldest and most popular dating sites, Dr. Neil Clark Warren developed a complex matching method by testing married individuals. The site guides you through sets of dozens if not hundreds of questions on different topics–only drag. Yes, been there, done that, no results other than the 5’4 architect!
However, if you answer all those questions and pay the hefty over $200 membership, it is because you are seriously looking. Free browsing and even communicating on certain weekends have made this site one preferred by many women.
Launched in 2001, this dating platform is comprised of more than 70 dating communities targeting specific dating niches. According to DatingSitesReviews.com, “you are not tied directly to the specific dating community when you join TangoWire—at any time you can search other communities or the entire TangoWire dating service.”
From the military to BBW, Tangowire does not offer a complex matching system but so many communities to choose from –also based on gender and orientation, age range, and multi-select ethnicity– you surely might find a match. Another way of searching is virtual dating, which allows members to pick avatars and set up a fun, interactive environment to go out on a date before meeting in real person.
5. OkCupid
According to Bonny Albo, Dating Expert from About.com/Dating, OkCupid “has more unique features than any other dating site –free or otherwise– reviewed to date.”
“Just some of those features include a complex matching mechanism that allows its members to create quizzes and tests on thousands of different topics; matching based not just on dating potential, but also on a ‘friend’ or ‘enemy’ basis; and integration with Facebook so that users can place their entire profile, or answers to any of their dating quizzes on their Facebook page.,” she says.
Most importantly, the site is free to use if you don’t care about ads showing up on your screen –premium memberships are also available. It seems a good option as you can develop a series of quizzes based on what you are looking for –if you don’t mind some time investment on your search.
Built by the creators of Match.com, Chemistry is based on a science and compatibility matchmaking system designed by Dr. Helen Fisher, Biological Anthropologist and a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, member of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies in the Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Internet dating site Match.com.
I have not used this singles search but according to reviews, “From the moment you join the site, it’s easy to see that unprecedented levels of time and effort went into designing a dating system that works on both levels… Chemistry’s four-part questionnaire kicks off with a “My Personality” section, which mixes traditional multiple choice questions with questions that use images (like choosing which drawing looks most like your doodling style, or which hand looks most like your right hand).” Sounds like fun!
According to Cupid’s Library, “The entire premise of www.rightstuffdating.com is that all of the members of this site have proven they have a degree from, or work at, an institution of higher learning that is on a certain, prescribed list. It’s for that reason that the site is called the “Ivy League” of online dating. With a claimed 4600 members in the United States, and a growing population from Europe, the site claims to give more than lip service to the idea that smart is really sexy.”
Does the site really works? For one, it is hard to get in and there is no guarantee that smart is really sexy or the fact that having a degree makes you an attractive partner. If you like the challenge, give it a try!
Although it is not specifically geared to the business or professional woman, I included this dating site because of its niche ethnicity. LatinAmericanCupid.com is one of the most popular singles search for Latinos and Latinas all over the world. Available in eight languages, members have free access to almost all of the features on LatinAmericanCupid.com.
According to DatingSitesReviews.com, “one of the strongest features of LatinAmericanCupid.com is its thorough profile. In addition to answering basic questions about yourself, you also have the option of filling out essay questions on your personality, likes and dislikes, favorites, etc.”
Other interesting features: You can use CupidTags to tag yourself with keywords about your personality and interests or tape a video greeting. (No special software is required.)
Because of its global reach, Latin American Cupid also offers important information on travel and safety, sending money overseas, different kinds of visas, a guide to passports, health and safety, and using money abroad.
Now that you have your options, we would like to hear from you what features are important for you in a dating site, and if any of the sites out there have really “matched” your needs. Who knows, maybe a relevant dating site for business and professional women would be our next initiative!
