Welcome. Enjoy.

When I look at my own profile there's a list of nearby members, and not all of them are looking for dates. You could also post something and make your city or geographic area a tag. Maybe more locals-to-you will find it. Good luck and welcome!

It seems primarily a discussion forum, mainly I think due to small numbers and great distances. You may not be seeing local people because there aren't any.

There are virtually no local men on this site that I would date. The only one is a friend of mine who I met on another site.

I live in the middle of nowhere have nobody close either. 80 miles to the nearest city there are 400 people in this town. Was my choice to move here though love being out in the country.

You can do both. If you want to make friends near you or date-complete yourprofile and join discussions. When you reach Level2-you can see on your profile who lives near you and you can message members.Welcome.

It is what you want to make it. If you look at your profile you see a list of nearby members.

More posts = higher levels = more interaction = more opportunities.
Plus, there might not be a lot of "local people", depending upon where you live.
There is no one local to my location. If you're open to dating, make that clear on your profile settings. Welcome and good luck.

If you click the "More+" button on the right, one of the options is to sort by "Nearby". Hope that helps!