Suzanne Harrington doles out some practical advice on meeting new people in the digital age.
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I started dating aged 38, a year after my husband and I separated. Not free fun as in blagging drinks or dinners from unsuspecting blokes — this is not the s, and I have my own cash, thank you all the same — but free fun in the sense of meeting so many interesting people, forming some fantastic relationships, and making some lifelong friends. And obviously a few duds, a few hilarious horrors, and one case of medical grade heart break, but these are the rules of engagement. Dating in your fifties is the same as dating in your twenties, except with more confidence, clearer boundaries and a greater sense of freedom.
You know quite well what you want. And to have a laugh with interesting people. Or a serious read article that makes you think.
Mature dating in Northern Ireland
Or a shared enthusiasm for something you both enjoy — golf because apparently some people dopolitics, books, cooking, football, bog snorkelling, whatever. Shared values are more important — as a Irish resident, my dating profiles always prominently state No Tories. It separates the wheat from the chaff, because those with whom I am politically incompatible are repelled job done and it cuts through tedious first date pussyfooting. Oh, you voted for Brexit? Waiter, bill please. But differences are great too, so long as they are stimulating, rather than horrifying, and underlaid by shared values — my last relationship was with someone whose way of thinking was radically different from mine, which made it really interesting, although ultimately untenable.
We are close, for not romantically. Even now, online dating — because frankly, outside of a Richard Curtis film, is there any other kind?
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Given how we do everything else online — banking, shopping, socialising, working, studying, sharing our every move — it seems a bit odd to suddenly worry about online security when Amazon, Google and Facebook know about every time you make a over of tea.
Swipe apps may not be your bag, however. I find them annoying, because they encourage impolite interactions, and the world is already discourteous enough. This is insanity. If for date is objectionable, just go — sometimes, no matter how good over instincts, or your online vetting, a dud one slips through. All you need dating to be interested in other humans, and have good boundaries.
How to Create a Profile for Mature Dating in Northern Ireland
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