Yesterday I posted ideas on how to meet a romantic partner, outside of soul-sucking dating apps. Here is my post on Instagram. 2,830 likes and 261 comments later it’s clear this hit a nerve. Reposting it here with some resources my readers shared:
Can we talk about dating apps? Yeah, let’s not.
I can’t help but think there has to be a less soul-sucking way to meet someone!?
– what if we all tried to level up as friends and played matchmaker once a month?
– what if the dogpark had an unofficial singles section?
– what if there was a piece of clothing/accessory that indicates someone is single and open to meeting someone?
– what if friend groups pull together and create a database with their most awesome single friends and write a pitch about them?
– what if the first train on any subway train is only for singles?
– what if in giant high-rise buildings certain elevators are reserved for singles
– what if we organized events where everyone who is invited is single but nobody knows they are attending an undercover singles event. (And the group is recommended by friends aka vetted.) @hugc, @lessthanamazing and I organized such an event a few years back. Should I bring it back?)
– what if there was an event where people made presentations on their single friends. “PYF” (Pitch Your Friend)
– coffee shops have differently colored coffee cup lids for singles
– once a month singles dress monochromatically, all red for the day. (Gaaaah sooo fun!)
(Granted some of these ideas could possibly be very awkward. But ideas beget ideas!)
Do you have ideas to add or have you met your partner in an unexpected, fun way? Please share!
In the comments I learned that:
Apparently in Norway when you go hiking in the mountains, green buffs or hats mean you are single, and red mean you are in a relationship. SO GOOD!
In Bavaria, Germany, it all comes down to how you tie your bow on your Dirndl that indicates if you’re married, taken, single or even widowed.
Dating services, events some of my readers shared:
Meet The Otter
Paired by the People
You Should Date
Have an interesting story on how you met your partner? Have additional ideas to add to the above list? Comment below!
Yes to all of the above! I did organize a secret single party and people did not really mingle…tried the coupling up of friends, it didn’t really work.
I once emailed my closest friends and told them I was up for being set up with someone with 6 core shared values. Went on a blind date, felt super proud and this inspired other friends to try the same technique.
Also, an acquaintance met her husband at the gate at SFO while walking her very peculiar alien-looking cat on a leash. He stroke up a conversation, the rest is history. That might be my favorite story.
Good luck and have fun!
Sep 19th, 2022 / 4:00 pm
I can’t help but feel that your dissatisfaction with the current options is going to spawn a new business.
Sep 20th, 2022 / 2:30 am
Oh please use your amazingly creative brain to fix this! Online dating is shit! A decade ago I had some success with asking my friends to set me up with friends in their circles. Harder as I get older. I’m still thinking of a shameless social media post promising an all expenses paid trip to Bali for the person who introduces me to someone I date for more than 6 months!
Sep 20th, 2022 / 9:50 am
I love all these ideas and couldn’t agree more that there’s got to be a better way to meet people than online apps! So after pondering on it for a couple years, I finally decided to do something about it and just days ago launched a small business to help singles (and others) make connections outside! Check out instagram @freshairflort if you’re looking for a fun new way to start conversations and connect with others more organically.
Sep 20th, 2022 / 4:48 pm
I met my current boyfriend on Twitch! We were both streamers – I found him via a channel that was recommended to me. I saw his username that was equally geeky to mine, and followed his channel (and he followed mine). He was married, but turns out he was seperated but didn’t tell anyone until later). We became amazing friends. Debating on dating a few months in, but he wasn’t ready. I respected that and also I wasn’t looking so we just both did our own thing. Stayed friends and 2 years later, started visting each other and now dating and both very happy <3
Sep 22nd, 2022 / 1:37 pm
I think the biggest thing when being single is you have to be open to the idea of a relationship. Many people will say they want a relationship but when there’s a chance ‘I’m not ready yet, or, I enjoy my life as it is’. This was me for years!! Eventually I came round to the idea that for me I wasn’t going to find my partner naturally (what even is that?), so I went on tinder, went on dates and put my cards on the table. Smitten 4 years and still going. Single life is good but getting over that hurdle of committing to relationship is absolutely terrifying, once the leap is made though, life awesome.
Sep 22nd, 2022 / 3:54 pm
I’m a presentation designer HIGHLY interested in expanding the world of presentation design to everyone.
This idea struck a chord…
“what if there was an event where people made presentations on their single friends. “PYF” (Pitch Your Friend)”
I would LOVE to create a template and example of this and have it revisited on this blog. This could be a fun rabbit hole!
Sep 23rd, 2022 / 11:28 am
Here’s an interesting story of how I met my partner:
My sister sat by him on an airplane. Not once, but twice! And back in 2002, the way to keep in touch was sharing their AOL instant messenger handle. So she messages him and says she has an older sister. And she gives him my contact information. Long story short, we meet for a blind date on Valentines Day weekend. (We saw the movie Kissing Jessica Stein). 5 dates later, we flew to Europe together and backpacked for a month. A pretty epic romance! 20 years later still :)
Sep 26th, 2022 / 11:35 pm