I have Tinder gold and it's every English speaking country I tried in, so US, UK and Canada.
Effort and strategy means being witty and interesting (to women) and engaging in emotionally relevant (for women) conversations and making calculated risks. Chad doesn't have to, but normies do if they want to get laid.
All I know is if I looked like an average guy, I could have an attractive girlfriend and as many on the side as I'd care to put time and effort in getting. It's undoubtedly harder than it was 7-8 years ago, but sex and female affection are valuable to men so of course they're not going to just fall into your lap (unless you're Chad but you're evidently not).