For some reason, Dale Ballard never clicked romantically with American women. He wasn’t well versed in Game or the timeless art of seduction — unlike these Casanovas, who have built careers out of charming the fairer sex — a skill which would have helped him make better connections, but he shunned these sorts of tactics anyway. He disliked playing games or using any kind of manipulation strategies with women. He just wanted to be himself, and for American women that didn’t seem to be good enough. Luckily for the 32-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona, he seemed to have better luck with ladies from other countries (in particular, Bosnia, Estonia, and Sweden).

When asked via our phone conversation the other week why he connected better with foreign women, he parried the question a bit, trying to appear diplomatic, perhaps betraying his real feelings about American women. But he was sure of one thing and was willing to state it on the record: Foreign women don’t play games the way American women do.

In 2008, in his search for love, Ballard joined the typical dating Web sites — Match, eHarmony, OKCupid — but was disappointed when he couldn’t find foreign women in his area. Moreover, “when you type ‘foreign women’ into Google, all you come up with is ‘mail-order brides,’” he said with a laugh. Frustrated by his experience and recognizing a need, the young entrepreneur started mulling over the idea of launching his own dating Web site to accomplish what he wasn’t able to do via the traditional sites: find foreign women locally. There’s gotta be other people that feel like me, he told himself. 

Two years went by, his idea still simmering inside his head, like a slow-cooking stew. He hadn’t taken any action but was inspired by 2010’s The Social Network to turn up the heat. Shortly thereafter, DatingMashup.com was born. With his parents’ help – their expertise in marketing, research, and information technology was crucial — Ballard was off and running.

“If you could date anyone other than an American, who would it be?” he asked me during our chat. I didn’t have an answer, but Ballard reflexively answered his own question:  “Seventy to eighty percent of the people I’ve surveyed knew immediately. They just don’t have the resources to act on their preferences.” Ballard also added that DatingMashup.com is a great site for foreign people who move to the U.S. and are looking to find others with similar backgrounds, even if it’s for platonic purposes. Currently, the site is free, making money through advertising, but it will eventually sell e-books full of dating tips and strategies for both men and women. Since the site officially launched, in March of 2011, it has been growing steadily and continues to expand its roster of countries — currently, there are members from the U.S., Korea, China, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, the U.K. and Japan.

So if you’re in the market for some global lovin’ or you’re an expat looking to find someone of a similar background, check out DatingMashup.com.

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Happy hunting!

About The Author

Neely Steinberg is a Blast correspondent. Follow her on Twitter @NeelySteinberg She answers your dating/relationship questions in her Blast video advice column MP4 Love.

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