Is Elite Singles Any Good in New York City?

It can be, for a man in New York who wants a relationship and will write a fuller page. The site publishes no figures for any city, so we cannot tell you how many active women are in the five boroughs. You can check the pool yourself in an evening, then run a two-week test against a swipe app and let your own numbers decide.

EliteSingles describes itself as serious dating for ambitious, educated singles. It is meant for people who want something long term, not casual swiping, and it works as a website and an app on one account.

Its FAQ says there is no salary requirement to join, and that honesty on your page matters most. It is not a club for high earners.

New York has a lot of single people, and that cuts two ways.

A large city usually means more members of any service, which helps a site that shows you fewer people than a swipe app. But a lot of people also means a lot of choice for everyone, so a woman on a serious site may be reading many men at once.

We have no city data from the site, so treat that as reasoning, not a finding. Look for yourself.

New members go through a manual profile review before they can use the site. Photo verification checks that the photos match the person. The FAQ is clear that verification is not a background check.

For you, that means your own page is reviewed before you are let in, so write it carefully the first time. It also means a verified photo is not proof of someone's character. In a city where you will meet strangers, take the usual care: a call before the first meeting and a public place for it.

On a swipe app, you flick through faces in a spare minute. Here, you read fuller write-ups and choose whom to contact. Members can chat and use voice calls, and a call is a fast way to turn typing into a real conversation.

That suits a man who writes well and wants to read a woman's background first. It suits you less if you want volume or a date this weekend.

Treat a paid plan as a test. We give no prices because they change, so read the plan screen when you sign up. a dating coach's rule for any paid plan is to pay for a short stretch, track your results and drop it if nothing changes.

Before you commit, look at the site's browsing and matches in your area. Note how many women look active and real, with clear and current photos and a write-up with some detail. Note whether they sit in the boroughs you would travel to. In a city like New York, the commute is part of the test, so set a distance you would genuinely go on a weeknight.

Be honest and specific. Say what you do, what a good week looks like and what kind of relationship you want. Skip a list of adjectives.

Use clear, recent photos of your face in daylight. Add one that shows how you spend a weekend and one with friends. In a city with so many options, a page that sounds like one real man stands out.

Do not let a chat run for weeks. Write something specific to her background, ask a real question, and suggest a call or a date within a few messages. My rule for any app is to move quickly to a plan.

Keep your messages about as long as hers. A single word wastes a woman who took time on her page, and a long paragraph becomes homework.

Run Elite Singles for two weeks alongside a mainstream app. Keep the same photos and the same opener. Write down four numbers for each: women you wrote to, replies you got, calls or numbers you traded, and dates you set.

If almost nobody answers, look at your page and your first line. If chats begin and stall, you are waiting too long to suggest a call. If you get dates but no second ones, the site is not the problem.

Keep the one that gives you more real conversations. In New York, you have enough choice that you should not stay on a service that is not working.