I met my Russian wife on the internet. Hot, sweet, and fresh off the boat, she was already in LA visiting her mom for 6 months, and I grabbed her. Before her though, I went through a period of about 4 months with almost 70 dates, all either idiots, or not my type.
Rules:
1. Meet in public places
2. Never take another person back to your place.
3. Come right out and be honest...why your there, what you're looking for, disqualifying traits not acceptable for your "relationship"
4. Try to find a free site, like
www.myspace.com or something, just because all people are cheap to some degree, and there's no reason to pay for it
5. Don't get discouraged. As I already stated, I went out with a grip of girls, none made it past a second date, until I met my wife. You will probably have to dig through the haystack to find your needle.
6. When arranging the meeting, never give your address, or any phone numbers that you don't mind changing.