When you meet someone on JDate, your first date generally takes place over coffee at Starbucks or, for the more adventurous, dinner at a restaurant, where you arrive in separate cars. For my upcoming first date, I’ll be arriving by jet.

No, I’m not one of the rich and famous. I’m just a West Coast Girl who has a thing for East Coast Guys. I don’t know when or even how it started. All I can tell you is that every man I have ever loved has been from New York or New Jersey . . . but lived here.

This is not to say that I don’t like men from my home state. But I’ve always felt more at home with East Coast men. It’s their traditional values, Jewish “tribal” identity and pride, and sense of humor. There must be something that produced Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, and Larry David. Whatever it is, I want a man who has it.

Being the early to bed (8:00), early to rise (4:00) type, I’m in sync with men on the East Coast, whom, I imagine, are asleep by 11:00 and up by 7:00. This means that, when I’m on JDate, so are the East Coast men, who seem to have a fondness for the “Who’s online” link. Leon was no exception.

But, when Leon contacted me, due to the distance, it seemed best to nip it in the bud. I wrote, “Hi, I see you IMed and Hot Listed me . . . Thank you. However, I noticed that you live in New Jersey and are not planning to relocate. Good luck to you.” But he didn’t take “no” for an answer. In his inviting message back to me, among other things, he wrote, “I did note that you weren’t relocating, but I thought we might chat anyway.”

For the first month, I wouldn’t give him my telephone number. I was afraid that, if he called, one thing would lead to another and we would want to meet each other.

So, instead, we wrote long e-mails, nearly daily. He wrote that he’s an optometrist who combines teaching and clinical work. He takes piano lessons, is learning Portuguese, works out, hikes, and goes bicycle riding. Like me, he reads and doesn’t watch television. Best of all, he struck me as a happy person, who enjoys his life and has a lot to offer someone—perhaps me.

I wrote that I was dating someone else, and it wasn’t going well. Hoping both to get a man’s opinion and forestall our inevitable meeting, I decided to pour my heart out to Leon. Well that backfired! He proved himself to be a sensitive listener and caring person, which made me like him even more. Then, in a moment of weakness . . .

What we started by e-mail, we continued on the phone. The minute I heard that accent, I knew it was too late to turn back. For starters, I love the way he says my name. Not “Sherin” (like I say it), but “Shaaron,” the way it should be pronounced. While other guys call me, Leon “cawls” me, and we enjoy “tawking.” And, by the way, I stopped seeing the other guy.

Yet, it’s been push-pull for me every step of the way. When Leon first broached the idea of my coming to New Jersey, I was both excited and scared, mainly scared. Based on our schedules, the soonest we could arrange it was two months in the future. Then, he offered to come here first, and right away (!), for a long weekend. My work schedule did not allow this, but his straightforwardness endeared him to me. Still, I wondered . . . What if I really like him? Then what? Should it come to pass, how far would I go for love?

I tell myself one step at a time. I’ll just focus on our first date, and it’s an exciting one! After Leon picks me up at JFK, we will have just enough time to get ready for a black tie affair in Manhattan, celebrating his students’ graduation from the SUNY School of Optometry. Maybe afterwards, we’ll go to Starbucks.