Where in the world is he?

There seems to be a growing trend on dating sites. Or maybe trend isn't the right word. Phenomena, maybe.

Men (maybe women, too, I wouldn't know) seem to be saying they live in one place, to attract people from a particular location...when they actually live in a completely different place.

I'm not talking about men who live outside the US looking for a wife (and presumably a green card), though I see my fair share of that (mostly on Match, FYI).

I'm talking about men who say they live one area of the state, when really they live in another. Take Mr. Ding-a-Ling for example. He put on his dating profile that he lived in a town in Upstate New York (where I live). That was how we met in the first place. At the time (less than a year ago) he told me he was in the middle of moving for work, but had an apartment and everything.

As far as I know, he never moved up here. The other day, I stumbled upon his Plenty of Fish profile - and it says he lives in Pennsylvania.

Not long after him, I met another guy. His profile says he lives in a different nearby town. When we started talking, he admitted he travels for work, and was actually in a mid-western state at the time, but eventally plans to be in this area, and he wants to meet someone when he gets here.

Whenever that happens.

On another site, I met a guy who changes his current city to match whatever the GPS on his phone says. Because he lives in one state, but works in another, and likes to meet people from both areas. He bought me dinner, then became a jerk. Dinner was good, though.

I suppose, as long as the guy is upfront about what he's doing, there really isn't anything wrong with the idea. It's just one more way online dating is useful where "old-fashioned" ways of meeting people would fail.

It's just a little frustrating for those of us who really are just looking to connect with locals, and meet a nice person with whom they can have an actual conversation and eventually maybe even a date.

Crazy thought, right?