Anyone know if there are any Rails, Django, or CodeIgniter premade packages which I could just theme, update and tweak? I'd even consider buying some code to make it faster.
There are various premade dating site systems that can be found by googling (mostly non-free). Similarly, a search for "ruby on rails dating site" turns up an open source social network, <a href="http://lovdbyless.com/" rel="nofollow">http://lovdbyless.com/</a> , which might be a good place to start.<p>However, the important question isn't how to get the code for the site working, it's how to get a community established. <i>No one</i> wants to be one of the first people using a dating site, because then they can't find anyone else on it. The value of a dating site increases with the size of the community, because that makes it more likely that a user will find someone who is compatible with them. The market is pretty saturated right now, and it would be hard to compete with the larger players unless you have a very compelling secret sauce (which it doesn't sound like you do). There's probably still room for very niche sites, but if you're not a member of a niche it might be hard to get adoption.<p>If you don't have a compelling answer for how you're going to get users - and nothing with the words "viral marketing" in it counts - stop until you do.
You might also take a look on Flippa for something which has been started and has potential. Perhaps you might find someone offloading a site which he/she simply doesn't have the time for but gets decent usage.