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Long-distance. Is it a romance fantasy?

escapefromrealityy August 2nd, 2022

Hello, I've been talking to this man from Greece for a year now. We've met online and we both like each other and planning to see each other in Christmas since he's coming to the US to see me. This man is sweet, kind and respectful, sometimes too good to be true. He showers me with gifts, during my birthday, or even when I'm not feeling good. As an American with a past of getting cheated on, my friends tell me that I'm over romantacising him and should be careful with European men, especially Greeks, since they are womanizers and see Americans as an easy target for sex, and that they can make good lovers but not boyfriends, eventually leave and start looking for someone new when the honeymoon phase ends. And this is freaking me out! The thing is, he sometimes acts like my boyfriend, but never mentioned where we stand or if we should be "couples", he doesn't like arguing, and never really argued with me, which makes me sometimes think that he only wants to maintain the perfect image until he gets what he wants from me. We are planning on what we should do when he comes here, and he wants me to come over his Airbnb, watch a movie together, cook me some Greek food, and even have a pillow fight, yes, sounds a bit like a romantic fantasy, but he is really that romantic. I don't have any negative gut feeling about this, but I also don't want to end up fooled. I asked my friends in Europe about the dating culture there, and they told me that people there basically don't date, they just spend a good time together, have the first kiss, and continue as a couple (without having to discuss this) and for me, it just sounds like a cultural shock to me. I'm not sure if really that's his culture, or he's just playing around and possibly doing this with other women at the same time. I know his personal details (where he works, studied, his address, his full name) and did my research and found him on several websites which is a relief that he's really whom he is and not lying about his identity,but still that doesn't mean that he's not playing me. And it also gives me doubts sometimes that he never talks about his past relationships because when I talk about mine, he immediately gets a bit upset (he doesn't tell me he's upset but I can notice it from his face when we video chat), the only thing he told me about his part relationships is that he used to be in a sexual relationship with a girl but eventually ended it with her since he wanted to look for something more serious (he told me that she was also crazy and threatening him as she was in love with him but he was clear from the beginning that he doesn't have any feelings towards her, he just wanted to have sex and that's it.)

Anyone can advice me what to do?

5
LostTurtle22 August 2nd, 2022

@escapefromrealityy

Interesting story. some people are honest (even European men, lol), some are not (even Americans, lol). It's hard to know prospectively, easy in a hindsight. You can always meet and not have sex for longer while. Having sex too quickly can mess up the relationship, it happened to me too, getting attached to the person who is not a good match. How about surprising him in Greece before Christmas? YOLO!

Please keep us posted...

1 reply
escapefromrealityy OP August 3rd, 2022

Wish I could, but financially it's not possible ATM 😓

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LostTurtle22 August 2nd, 2022

@escapefromrealityy

one more thing:

"he doesn't have any feelings towards her, he just wanted to have sex and that's it."

Ask him if this is with you too. He should be able to tell you what he feels toward you (hopefully not lying in your face).

confusedRaven6140 August 3rd, 2022

"Europe" is a big place with a lot of different cultures lol I couldn't tell you what the dating culture in Greece is any more than I can tell you what the dating culture in Japan is.

Having said that, there are all sorts of people everywhere. I would say most likely, if he's been sticking with it for a year, he probably wants more than just sex. Generally guys who just want sex aren't willing to wait for a year to have it. As someone else said... set your own pace. You don't have to sleep with him when you meet. I'd personally insist on meeting someplace public the first couple of times (sucks to have to think this way, but safety first always 🤷🏼‍♀️).

Also, consider what you see your life looking like. Would you move to Greece? Would he move to the US? Should things work out that is.

Stay safe!

dukeofdearham August 3rd, 2022

As an European (no, I am not Greek) I can say that your American friends are biased and ain't got a clue what they are talking about. Don't pay attention to them.

As for dating in Europet, there are lots of dating sites and dating is very common. So your European friend too ain't got a clue what they are talking about.

Be aware though of cultural differences. A good way to get a better feeling is to share needs, expectations, how one sees the future. Talk about more serious world challenges. You will know whether someone shares your views or not. If someone seems to always agree with you, well,to me that is a big red flag. Same when someone disagrees and either does everything to be right, or does everything to avoid discussions.

If you feel comfortable after meeting then just take it slow. If there is a little voice in the back of your head, your intuition saying something is off, well, intuition is always right.

Good luck. Also realize, LDR's are not working in the long term. Never.