Again. Let's ask ourselves what the prize really is at the end of that game. If by "marry better" you mean marry a rich man who doesn't think much about your wants and needs after marriage, then our desired end game is not the same. I wanted to be a high priority to a husband who adores me. By watching carefully and waiting for such a man, that is what I got. He is also on track for a great career (we are both early 30's). I will add though that if by "subtly pursuing" you mean being very responsive and encouraging to overtures from the man, then I agree with you. I definitely advocate that. |
Sorry, that's a myth in my experience. I know plenty of women who dated men below their league. These men pursued intensely because they weren't used to being able to date decent looking women from good backgrounds. These men didn't treat their wives like prizes after marriage. Many sat around while the wife ended up making more than half the household income and doing all the chores. Meanwhile, the women I know who quietly made things happen with better quality men ended up with great marriages and awesome lifestyles. |
No where did I say ANYTHING about "below their league." There is an element to compatibility and love to all of this, too, believe it or not. In other words, if you take 10 men who are roughly of the same high quality, 9 of these men might marry you if you do some of the work for them because they believe you will continue to be easy to deal with after marriage and that is appealing. But 1 of them might actually share a strong connection with you and be particularly attracted to your physical type, motivating him to pursue you a little above and beyond. It's quite nice to be married to such a man. But then again there are women who just care about "awesome lifestyles" and don't actually want a strong connection with their husbands anyway. Maybe that's you and your friends. Rock on. |
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Women who are most successful at dating know how to subtly pursue while always making it seem like man's idea. Asian women are skilled at this, which is why they are able to marry better than their looks would usually allow.
what do you mean, like Wendy Murdoch? |
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How to spot? They just got dumped by their very good long term girlfriend for "not knowing what he wanted." That was the kick in the pants and he proposes to the next girlfriend relatively quickly (maybe after the shorter term rebound).
Timing is everything. Mom would say Person, Place, Timing, but from what I've observed men turn 30 and if they're dating something they propose. |
+1 Nailed it. Guys aren't stupid. They know a gold digger. |
| Nailed it. Women's aren't stupid. The social climber ones match up with the workaholic patriarch type who's never home. Win win win. |
Written by a woman lol |
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What about nerds? Science or social science PhD's?
I played on a social science PhD sports team because my major, the more nerdy engineering program didn't have a team (or know what a ball was), and that is where I met my DH. Not by design - I had no intention of marrying but after a few years I relented. If they are near the end of their academic program they might be ready for marriage. It's not necessarily a high socioeconomic pairing but intellect can make a great companion- always something to chat about. |
Yes, nerds can be great. But be VERY careful about this because you really do not want to get stuck with someone who has to move every year for 10 postdocs. Make sure they are interested in going into industry right after PhD or already have a tenure track offer. |
This is going to sound like a jerk DCUM thing to say, but I don't mean it as such. You are pursuing guys out of your league, either in terms of professional status or looks or something. Lots of men will string along women that they're not terribly interested in for sex or attention, while still looking for a marriage partner. This view that you have, which is "I am an incredibly desirable woman but DC is overwhelmed by a plague of 'commitment-phobe' men who are 'afraid to commit'" is not an accurate description of reality. You are pursuing men who are only marginally interested in you. Open up your restrictions a little and you will find someone who will commit to you. |
| Marriage is way overrated. Reading dcum makes me never want to marry. |
The "out of your league" thing isn't necessarily accurate, but the rest of it is spot on. The men you are dating are "just not that into you". |
My friends who are economists do very well--$200-300k. Excellent retirements too, if they work at the IMF or World Bank. And the prestige of having authorship (books, articles) or testifying to Congress. Travel all over the world at employer's expense. But be careful with professors, many are narcissists and they will cheat. |
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I'm 40 and married.
I never had an issue finding guys who were interested in a relationship. In fact, some were more interested than I was. Interesting thing, one guy I dated who wanted to get married was never interested in marriage with his ex-girlfriend. I have no doubt that he liked her, felt fondness for her, but it was clear that, even though he was with her for a while, he just wasn't that into her. You have to get better at recognizing when you are being strung along and learn to walk away. |