Here are my recent thoughts on dating in NY vs PL.

In Poland, people's visions of relationships are generally such that one person complements the other. The man is emotionally stunted (just as an example) and the woman is dramatically expressive. The man is the thinker, the woman doesn't think--she FEELS. The man makes money, the woman makes things (including herself, and him, and whatever) beautiful. I'm not saying that these are the relationships that work and thrive, I'm just saying that in the relationship-seeking stage, people think they want someone who is their opposite, to supply to the table what they themselves don't bring. Completeness in a human being comes from a relationship with someone whose qualities complement one's own.

In New York (and possibly other regions of North America) people want someone who is JUST LIKE THEM. They want a lifestyle match, but they also want an attitude match, a match in preferences for speech tone, in affective expression, in intellectualism, in athleticism.

I say these things not only from personal experience (in disappointing men's expectations in Poland, mainly, ha) but also based on explicitly stated goals on internet dating sites.