Originally Posted by
doppelgaenger
I think he's for real.
Listen, Splash, I have direct experience with this kind of situation. I'm a regular here, and I met a girl on THIS forum. We had a relationship for two years. She was from Former Yugoslavia, I am American, and she was 6 years older than me. I went to visit her three times during those two years, and we spent about 7 months total together IRL. The rest of that time was spent chatting on Skype - we were both in school during that time.
I don't remember how it all started and I don't know what made me so desperate to pursue her, but what I can tell you, is that it was a waste - apart from extrinsic experiences, it was all a waste of time, money, and effort. The first time we met, I should have realized and accepted that it wasn't going to work out. She was completely different than I thought she would be. We fought so much after we met in person, that I knew it wouldn't work out for over a year. I deceived myself. I kept trying anyway, because I didn't want to lose what I invested in already, and suddenly, I had already blown $8k on a girl who treated me like shit. I could write a little anecdote about the time she whipped a lotion bottle at my head because she embarrassed herself in front of her family by spilling a drop of Martini on a white table cloth, or perhaps the time where she started strangling me and beat me in my sleep because she logged onto my Facebook and found female friends on my account, or a thousand other miserable details of my repressed memories of her, but I'll spare you that, because I think I've made my point, and just give you the advice.
What did I learn from all that?... well, if you really want to meet someone, whether it's out of desperation, attraction, or love... even if you met this person on the internet, you will meet them, no matter what your friends, family, or internet peers say, even if the risks involve getting kicked out and living as a second-class citizen in a foreign country, for weeks, out of your suitcase in a shitty hostel. I wish I had the capacity to realize all this three years ago. They say hindsight is 20/20.
I hope you can learn from my mistakes, even if you do decide to give it a go. And by the way, your risks don't seem as great in this situation as mine were, but that doesn't change the outcome of regret. If you pursue this relationship, just know when enough is enough. Drop it at the first sign of trouble, no matter what the cost is. Life is too short for all the bullshit. I'll leave you with that to ponder.