Dating can be fraught with issues at the best of times, but when you’re dating someone whose culture is different to your own, it can be even more challenging, which is why I’ve put together some tips for dating outside your culture that will hopefully help you to have more fun and fewer challenges as you date…
- Be flexible
Dating customs vary widely between cultures, so while you might be ready to take things to the bedroom, your dating partner may not even have reached the holding-hands stage! If you like them enough, and you think they are worth your effort, then you are just going to have to be a bit more flexible about your expectations – it will all be worth it in the end.
- Learn everything you can
When you’re dating outside of your culture, it is important that both of you learn as much as you can about the customs and culture of the other. This will help you to better understand each other and better know the reasons for various boundaries, which will help you to navigate this whole dating game a lot more smoothly.
- Practise patience
If you ever want it to get to the point where the question is being popped and the immigration solicitor is being consulted on residence options, you need to be patient, more so than you do when dating within your culture. Why? Because when you are from different places and have different customs, misunderstandings are going to happen and mistakes are going to be made. If you can keep calm, be patient and discuss them instead of getting all mad or passive-aggressive, you stand a far better chance of staying together and getting through it all.
- Make sure you really fit
There is no point in keeping a relationship going if your values are not aligned and you do not have the same dreams and goals in life, even if you are in love. This is true of relationships in and outside of your culture, but it can sometimes be more difficult to determine this when you’re dating outside your culture, due to various areas of sensitivity. You can’t afford to be too sensitive if you want it to work out, so broach those tough subjects and see where you truly stand!
- Distance doesn’t have to be a disaster
If your relationship is also long-distance, you might see that as just another barrier, but you know what they say: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” If you want it to work out, it can – you just need to put the effort in with lots of Zoom dates and romantic packages in the mail until the time comes when you can see each other again.
- Meet the family
If things are starting to get really serious, meet the family. Why? Because while your partner may be understanding of the cultural difference, that doesn’t mean their family will, and if the family is difficult, it could break your relationship; the sooner you get the measure of them, the better.
