International Love - Delivered.

This morning I caught a segment on The Today Show, "From Russia with Love" and was reminded of my neighbor growing up, Sam.  Sam had two teenage daughters when I was in grade school and we had a party line (multiple families shared one phone line and yes, I grew up in a really small town). This worked out great for me because it was a constant source of entertainment - I was really good at eavesdropping. The sad part was there was always something going on in that house, because Sam could not keep a wife to save his life. Life was so chaotic in his house the cat walked a mile down the road and moved in with us.

That is until Sam met his Russian bride.  This was clearly pre-internet and "mail order" was right. To his credit, it worked. Sam never divorced again and boy did he give fodder for my eavesdropping!

I'm aware that the dating industry is booming amid tough economic times but what I was unaware of is that this particular portion of the industry has more than doubled in the last decade.  Code name "international matchmaking". And so the debate begins - is this human trafficking as some would call it or is really just expanding the horizons of sites like Match.com? Both industries appeal to a similar client - men who might otherwise have trouble meeting women. And the appeal to women - perhaps the unfavorable female to male ratio in some Eastern European counties, the chance to come to the US or a wealthy lifestyle.  But if you read their testimonials they are simply looking for love, just like the rest of us.

And who am I to judge? The path to finding love is not always an easy one!  But buyer beware - there are scams galore.  Between hidden fees and the safety concerns alone this is not an option to take lightly. Not to mention you might want to check the return policy :)