Adverse pressures and (mis|non)communication create confusion.  Considering this, I might never go to Europe to find a spouse after all.  I need a strong woman who upholds her inner values to the extent that she'd rather knock out a guy who wants no strings action than date him.

I promise you that nobody who can convince themselves to no strings sex can impress me with their level of sophistication.  Less emotion allows you to think more like a machine, but takes away from thinking intelligently as a human.

i think americans are too obsessed with defining themselves through their relationships as it is.  i've always been a fan of the friends-first-then-lovers ideal--i just never realized it was the standard in europe.

don't know what kind of america you are living in LOLs

I like labels. Call me insecure, but I like to know that there is some equal level of dedication. I like to know FOR SURE.

Europe's got some places where they're strangely relaxed, in their cultures, actually. Considering I have a good friend who lives in Britain, I've heard alot of complaints about how REALLY laid back they can be on the issue of romance.

It's why when you hear about a foreign man with a british accent dating an american girl, everyone wonders if something's up and they speculate on how much harder he might being trying to romance her.

I think...Americans are obsessed and shy about romance all at once. Insecurities and strong personalities mixing so often and chatting amongst the people in their niche leads to a kind of...cultural soup which is common for so many things in our culture -- because we're all so different and trying so hard under the eyes of those around us.

In Europe...you're either yourself or definitely not, and most people just...don't care about the insecurities, what others think, etc. If we Americans are narcissistic by nature, then I'm not sure what Europe is! Lol.

It just goes to show, that there is no such thing as "normal". xD

I have been to Europe several times and have a few friends from France and England. Things ARE different there but I wouldn't go so far as to say things are "starkly" different. Things are a little bit more lax, but don't kid yourself into thinking that European girls don't also go through the confusion and doubt when "dating" and falling in love. Also, I think that we are (sadly) moving closer and closer to a European way of dating. I only say sadly because I think American dating customs, while annoying sometimes, are kind of cute.

Dating attitudes in Europe fall along a spectrum, as do attitudes in America, and there is quite a lot of overlap between the two. We're not as different as you might think. 

My last "boyfriend" was European. Most of the time it was good, except when we were talking about where we stand in our relationship. He would do the whole "go with the flow" speech and hardly give me a concrete answer (and he knew that drove me crazy ). He ensured me that he was only seeing me and no one else. Even now that we're oceans apart, he still tells me that we should go with the flow. Uh huh, in my mind it was already over when he purposely avoided my phone calls and left me without a word to go back to his home country. I didn't hear from him for a month. Now he's back for more? Argh!! 

No matter which country he's from, a man should know the value of making a woman feel secure. It will make life a whole lot easier and with less drama.

My relationships seem to be very European...though they aren't.

All I can say is:  Down with tradition, gender roles, and dating rules!

I've lived in UK and in Hong Kong before coming to the US. 

In Hong Kong (as I suppose most of Asia), girls DEFINITELY never, ever, ever make the first move or call AND are "more proper"; it's worse there than it is here in the States.  Some of them only have two or three relationships -- AT MOST -- before getting married.  Also, they often start dating at a later age.

Women here in the States are extremely lazy (and I mean this in the most academic way haha) when it comes to the pre-relationship stage; it's that they are soooo "movie-ish" when it comes to relationships with the whole damn princess/damsel-in-distress role.  Also, American women (and men) are fatter than in Europe and Asia  (just throwing this in here as a side-note). 

In the UK, it's still the social norm that guys usually make the first move and call first, but it's still significantly more likely to find a girl that isn't bound by the dating rules!  Culture as a whole is different as you can tell by different views on sex and nudity.  In many places, children and old ladies pass by posters of nude women like it's normal whereas in America -- it's a big deal to see said posters.

I think dating is strange anyway. I feel like it's... more complicated than relationships themselves. If you like someone who's a friend, go for it, but other than that it feels like... I don't know, friendship would make it more obvious if you could get along with them. But casual dating is... more... eh. I don't know how to explain this. Maybe someone will understand this and rewrite it for me.

Europeans just like to say things like this because they think that they are superior to everyone else, when in reality, they are just snobs parading around in their own shit. 

Intresting... I never thought much about this before!