How does one go about dating after leaving the WT?

by Left in the Cold 36 Replies latest social relationships

  • HintOfLime
    HintOfLime
    Seriously though, sounds like some pretty good suggestions here. I wouldn't recommend dating sites; I'd say start with a group that has interests you share and just try meeting people.

    I agree. I never met anybody interesting on dating sites, and quit using them. I find meetup.com a much better way to meet people - as you can make a lot of friends that already share some of your interests. (For example, I'm a member of a local film & photography group, where I've been the Director of Photography for a few indy shorts, and I'm in a few game and buisness development groups.) It is a little akward the first time you try a new group - but most people are happy to see their groups grow and are pretty inviting.

    Granted, it hasn't led to any dates for me - but I've made a lot of local friends. It is a way to get into some new social circles, with real face-to-face meetings.

    - Lime

  • Band on the Run
    Band on the Run

    I lived the real Sex and the City life, even lived in the same neighborhood as Carrie. Altho it is fine entetainment, it is not real life. Not once did I ever hear such conversations. The show is incredibly shallow. I believe it did a disservice to all Manhattan women. Yes, I overheard and particpated in conversations that vaguely resembled what is in the show. No matter what circle of women I was in, actual sexual detail was never discussed in a public setting.

    Also, the number of single professional women who could drop money the way they did or even dress the way is minimal.

    It is highly fictionalized.

    What is striking though is the conversations I heard among all people in Manhattan and the conversations I overhear in exile.

    Manhattan draws single women b/c there are so many single men. It takes a fortune to send children to private school so most parents move to the suburbs. The conversations I overheard were full of ideas and interesting. It is rare for me to hear anyting remotely interesting here.

    Manhattan has many orgs. for single people. The food is different than in the suburbs. Smaller portions. No matter what your age or interests you can connect with others who share your values-and are probably single. People are serious about being single as being a worthy state and still would prefer to be married. Manhattan people seem to be more pro-active. They go out an do things in the world. So some aspects of Sex and the City are absolutely fantasy but some of the details are accurate. Being on the sidelines, incapaciitated is not an option in NY.

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    Clumsily?

  • Band on the Run
    Band on the Run

    Clumsily and with a bit of agony is the true answer for me. It gets better. To be honest, I don't recall a particular moment arriving and then it was all right. It happend gradually and not fast enough in my book. Clumsily might apply to all of us, though, raised JW or not. I have a private theory that God wanted us to be together so he made being apart far worse than the indignities of dating.

  • whathappened
    whathappened

    I am on Plenty of Fish, it's a free web site and is the largest free dating web site. I have been on for almost 2 years and haven't found anyone I dated for more than a couple of weeks.

    I do find that telling them about my excape from a cult is a very good ice breaker. Everyone loves to hear about how awful Jehovah's Witnesses are and they are stunned to learn all the things that go on in the organisation that they never knew. Most people can't believe all the crazy rules. Don't be afraid to openly discuss this aspect of your life.

    I have had no men reject me for my JW past.

    The suggestions about joining groups and getting out is a good one. I am trying that also now, since I've had little luck on Match, eHarmony, SeniorPeopleMeet or Plentyoffish.

    Good luck.

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot
    Band on the Run: "Clumsily might apply to all of us, though, raised JW or not."

    Yeah, probably.

    BTW (and off-topic, sorry), my teachers and devout JW Mom thought I argued well enough to be a lawyer (I'm in engineering, though).

    Since I like your posts (and thusly like you), I consider myself in distinguished company.

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot
    whathappend: "I have had no men reject me for my JW past."

    Most non-JW guys are pretty decent, when you let yourself actually know them.

    Horny, to be sure, but still decent.

  • Think About It
    Think About It
    I have had no men reject me for my JW past.

    My JW past...........has been a closely guarded secret.

  • jws
    jws

    I don't know that I have any good advice. I'm a guy for one, so I'm speaking from the opposite point of view. And I've always been more attracted to "wordly" girls. I'm also shy and am not good at getting up the courage to ask girls out.

    If it's meeting people, you could try joining groups that tend to have singles in them. That way it's not instantly a "date". You get to know the guys first. Even hear opinions or stories (or warnings) from other women in the group. There's also online dating, but that throws you right into a date situation, basically with only him to tell you about himself and no second opinions. There are all kinds of hobbies and a lot of clubs have singles because married life takes many away from hobbies. And if you're both into it, that means you already have a hobby in common. I'm a member of a running and drinking club called the Hash House Harriers that is probably 80% singles. And because most of us run, there's a lot of singles in mostly good shape too. At least as opposed to the population at large.

    There are a lot of different types of people in the world. Now you're free to find one that suits you from among thousands that you may come in contact with. As opossed to the JW way of having to pick from a few dozen that might be in your district and you might have the chance to meet once a year at a convention. Or choose from the slimmer pickings in the circuit or the even slimmer choice of bachelor #1, bachelor #2, or bachelor #3 at your hall.

    If you're new to being out of the JWs, I would go slow. Don't look for something serious immediately. You still have some adjusting to do yourself. Find where your head is at. Not to say your journey would follow mine, but mine illustrates some changes. When I was a JW, I wanted to find a mate who might be a bit flexible with the rules, but was going to stay a loyal JW. Glad that didn't happen. Then, after I left, I wanted somebody who at least believed in God, but wasn't adamant about beliving certain things because I wasn't sure what to believe yet and I didn't want us to end up fighting over it. Now I'm agnostic or maybe athiest and I'd want somebody who feels the same way and glad I didn't get involved with somebody religious. Not to say you're going to become an athiest. But you will have adjustments in your beliefs and outlooks to make. What's important to you right now may change greatly and may affect who you want to be with. So I recommend no big attatchments right away.

    I don't know how it is where you are and how things are these days, but when I was a teenager, at my hall, starting to date was almost as good as a proposal. Nearly every couple who started to date ended up married. Which seemed totally opposite of the concept of "searching" for a good mate. You can't know somebody without dating them. You can't know somebody from outward appearance and the personality they wear out in public. But if you date and break up, you were seen as not seriious about marriage/dating.

    Learn to date casually. Forget about where it will lead and whether he's going to make a good husband. Enjoy the moment and the company. That was the biggest thing I had to get over and I'm still not certain I'm entirely over it.

    As for trusting guys, in what way? Cheating? You've been divorced twice as a JW and there's only one way to get a divorce approved by JWs. So if your ex'es were cheating on you, then it's not an issue of worldly guys being less trustworthy. It's JW guys too. So it's men in general. There are people who don't cheat. Just have to find the right guy and like I said, you have a lot more to choose from now. I was already an ex-JW when I got married, but my divorce would qualify as legal to them and it wasn't me who cheated. So not all guys cheat.

    There are also a lot of guys out there who are after only one thing on a date. And I would guess that's a little more of a concern when you're dating wordly guys than JWs. JWs have that fear that not only might you turn them down, but you might also report them to the elders. So they wait longer until they're sure you might go for it. Wordly guys don't have any such fear. It's only the fear of whether trying will turn you off to them. And since sex is much more casual "in the world" and now days, he's probably used to getting sex more often when he tries for it. You can always say no. And don't be afraid to. If you're so inclined. If you want to, go ahead. You no longer have to fear a judicial committee. Just use protection.

    And forget about all the nonsense the JWs told you about what is and isn't appropriate in the bedroom. If you both enjoy it, it's all good.

    Watch out for players. If you see a guy who's always talking to women (even if he says they're just friends), and talks real smooth and is too good to be true, it's because he's got lots of practice. He's made those moves on hundreds of women and found what works for him and for the type of woman you are. Beware! Go for the casual sex if you want it, but don't look for anything more.

  • jws
    jws

    I was still a JW, but not very active when I was dating a wordly girl. When I told her I was a JW, she started to hyperventilate and it practically sank the relationship. An overreaction for sure. Not saying this girl was exactly stable.

    On the plus side, her mom taped a show on JWs that was the start of the journey that led me away for good.

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