Moving to Manhattan changed my life

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I had just completed college at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas with a degree in Chemical Engineering. My friends and I in Kansas often joked that someday we would like to go to “the other” Manhattan – the one in New York.

As luck would have it one of the jobs that I applied for after college was – you guessed it – in New York, New York. New York City. The so-called “Big Apple.”

When I arrived in New York City, I discovered that Manhattan is quite a formidable place. Very busy, go-go-go all the time. Everything and everyone seem to be in a tremendous hurry. There are lots and lots of people, but in a strange way, it is a very lonely place. Very differently than back home in Kansas, in New York no one seems at ease to strike up a conversation with a stranger. People on the subway simply look into the distance and mind their own business.

As time passed, I yearned for friendships. The people at work were mostly older than I and had families and children. I wished for a social life with people my age. As such, I thought “why not?” and thought of trying an online dating app.

The thought of using an online dating site has always felt a little embarrassing to me. I could not shake the feeling that “desperate people” use those sites. But here I was, giving it a try. I reassured myself that these days online dating is becoming more and more popular. As our world becomes busier and busier – and New York City is clearly a busy place - it is no surprise that there are many dating apps and dating sites which have been created to help people find their partners. These apps and websites offer a variety of features such as messaging, chatting, filtering by location, and other tools to help you find your perfect match. The one thing that I did not like was that most – if not all – of these sites charged money!

I felt that it was bad enough that I felt a little uncomfortable using an online dating app in the first place – but to add insult to injury I now had to pay too? That felt like maybe this just might be a bridge too far.

Then I heard about FindAMateForFree.com (or, just typing FAMFF.COM takes you there as well). My friends told me about this site. They said that this site was becoming very popular and that, as the name says, it really is free! My friends said, and I agreed, “If you don’t like it, you wouldn’t have lost money trying it”.

I therefore went on FAMFF.COM, created my free account and started to look around.

Almost from my first day on FAMFF.COM I met Maria. She was very shy and, I could tell, she herself felt a bit embarrassed to be on dating site. She had recently moved to New York City from South Carolina with her family because of her dad’s work and wished to make friends. Like me she felt that Manhattan was a “busy place but a lonely place – if that makes any sense” and I said “YES! I am SO GLAD that there is someone else who feels the same way that I do!”

Maria and I corresponded on FAMFF.COM for the next few weeks. Whenever I came home from work, I could not wait to log on to FindAMateForFree.com to see if Maria had written to me. She later told me that she did the same thing!

Little by little, our friendship grew – as did out trust level with each other.

Finally, one day, I thought that maybe she might be receptive to meeting at a Starbucks for a cup of coffee. I thought that a Starbucks was a safe, neutral place for our first meeting – and indeed it was.

I arrived first, bought an espresso for myself, and waited. In walked a slender, beautiful young lady with long black hair and dark eyes who looked Spanish. I immediately sensed that this was Maria and indeed it was!

We spoke for what felt like just for just a short while, but when I looked at the time, I realized that we actually had spoken for hours! The conversation between us flowed effortlessly. I had never met a woman with whom I felt that I “clicked” so easily!

At the end of this first meeting, I walked her to her train station, and we agreed to meet for dinner a few days later.

That dinner was two years ago. At this point, I have not only been seeing Maria for two years, but I as well have met her family and they have met me. I love all of them and we feel so very comfortable together. Maria and I are speaking of possibly “making it official” someday. Little does she know that I have already been out looking for an engagement ring.

And to think that if I had not taken a chance to try FAMFF.COM “because its free” I would have never met Maria. She is truly the love of my life and I do not know what I would do without her.

So if you see someone who is hesitant to try online dating, tell them to try FAMFF.COM. As the name “FindAMateForFree.com” states, it REALLY IS FREE. Please tell them that since FAMFF.COM is free they have nothing to lose, but as my life grows with Maria, they have ever so very much to possibly gain!

Ryan Abeling