[yencabulator]

I'm married and neither of us has a ring of any kind. It is possible to find reasonable, non-materialistic, people, even in the US. The average mindset can be quite disappointing for sure -- but hey, we're aiming for above-average mates right?

(Pro-tip: If you find yourself surrounded by people with incredibly old school value systems and no desire to think for themselves, move to one of the bigger melting pot cities on the coasts. You'll find others like you already did.)

[friend_and_foe]

For me it was the opposite: move to the middle of nowhere because big city girls are materialistic and more often than not unscrupulous in my experience. It worked.