Midlife Dating: Matching Supply and Demand

THe San Francisco Chronicle reports on a dating service that matches an area with an oversupply of eligible women (San Francisco) with an area with too many eligible men (Silicon Valley).

... As the work-obsessed get closer to middle age, opportunities to find romance dwindle. These Silicon Valley Bridget Joneses, who embedded themselves in cubicles during the 1990s high-tech boom, are waking up to what they missed while they were logged on and tuned out to love.

... Amy Andersen (is) the 30-year-old founder of Palo Alto-based Linx Dating LLC, a company with a unique Bay Area twist: Andersen's company pairs San Francisco women with Silicon Valley men.

The idea came to her back in 2001 when she herself was dating a man who had loads of buddies who were single bachelors sporting Ivy League degrees and high-powered careers but few romantic prospects. Some 30 miles away in San Francisco, Andersen's girlfriends, who had similar Junior League pedigrees and Pilates-sculpted bodies, complained they couldn't meet any mates with marriage potential.

"That is when it really dawned on me: What about bridging the gap between the Silicon Valley man and the San Francisco woman, about creating new possibilities that they might not have otherwise?" said Andersen, who launched Linx Dating in December 2003.

As with so much else in the Bay Area, clients pay top dollar: up to $8,500 for 24 months of matchmaking services.