Some of the posters on here seemed to have missed that I didn't say that I was looking to give up permanently. What I said is that 2020/COVID has made me feel the pull to focusing on myself instead of trying to date. Given what is currently available and what I've experienced and witnessed I just don't really feel all that much desire to honestly put myself out there. I also did say that I'd be open to meeting a woman but given the current circumstances I just don't think it's all that realistic to expect to find it.
This has been a fantastic year for me, which I consider myself fortunate because I know a lot of people have had some serious issues this year (financially, emotionally, etc.).
If you can make it happen, taking 1-2 years off and letting the pandemic pass is a defensible move. However, going without a partnered physical release for that time is not feasible for a lot of men. Porn and mbate indulgence to make up for being unpartnered is worse. MGTOW monk mode is bad too. It's a lousy set of options out there for the unpartnered man. Sitting it all out or keeping the in-person approach game going (if lacking a social circle or social circle is exhausted) are probably the best two options.
There also is a tendency to settle down relatively young here, though I get the inclination that this is due to there not really being much of a dating pool beyond university age.
Accurate for the area.
As I mentioned on a previous post on here, I did in fact date a girl who was in college, 19, when I was 27 but due to the maturity gap it naturally didn't last. I do know that there are in fact outliers but I feel that for where I'm at in life and what I focus on an experience like that would be more the norm for me if I was to pursue college age women.
The fact that you were able to attract a 19 year old at 27 and retain her for some time is an accomplishment. The maturity gap might be overrated. None of us on the internet can truly assess how bad it was or if you overreacted to it because we weren't there.
The university there has a major princess syndrome among its women. The community college there has less of that element and might be better for finding a girlfriend, though there would be fewer options.
Also, with COVID pretty much all forms of nightlife and social gatherings are either closed down entirely or modified in a way where people aren't approaching those outside of their group, which is something you touched on with your previous post.
I did touch on that. Social circles have been weakening for the last 3 decades prior to the pandemic. Those who had one going into the pandemic have a huge advantage now. Even in non-pandemic times, a viable social circle for feeding someone dates is an advantage over cold approaching.
Stop looking for women your own age, the overwhelming majority of them go to **** in their 30s. Go for the women 18-25 (25 being a HARD cutoff) and you'll save yourself a lot of headache, frustration, and disappointment.
Swipe apps make it more difficult to get more than a 3-5 year age gap. That can be avoided with in-person approaching. It can be done now, though it is probably going to be done more outdoors on hiking and walking paths. Places with warmer winters have an advantage here for the next 4-6 months.
