We meet people from all economic backgrounds, ethnicity, or religion. Even the dating world is filled with interracial relationships and partners from diverse backgrounds.

I live in the Bay Area and luckily, I see such relationships all the time. I myself have dated men from different backgrounds.

If you are dating a guy from a different ethnicity or religion, here are some tips I can share from my experience:

Be Sensitive

Be aware about subjects that may be sensitive to your partner. Depending on your background, you may see life slightly different from your lens. It’s only natural. I’ve dated white men and I had to explain certain things I couldn’t do when I was living at home. Like I couldn’t just spend the night at his place. Or my views on sex.

I had to explain my family was conservative and I also adhered to my value system. Or maybe I was fasting during a religious festival and he would wonder why I was vegetarian during this time. Vice versa, I tried to understand his point of view that arose from his ethnic or religious background.

Communicate. In other words – Talk and Talk!

You should communicate anyway even if you both are of the same background! But this is really important with couples from different backgrounds. Explain your values and what’s important to you. For example: if I marry a man from a different background as me, it’s important to me that I raise my children in certain Indian traditions. And if he wants our kids to know about his culture, I would be happy to do that.

Open with Your Family and Friends

Be open with your family and friends about your relationship. This is easy if your parents are open minded. But if they’re not, you may have to take this step sensitively and gently.

Follow Your Heart

You can’t control who you fall in love with. You feel attracted to who you do. There’s nothing wrong with this and as long as the person brings out the best out in you, he is worth giving a chance to regardless of his background.

Related: What if You Need to Hide Your Boyfriend from Your Parents

What are your thoughts on this post? Please share with me in the comments.