The Ideal First Meeting Place for Online Daters
It’s your first date in real life after some time talking and flirting online. It’s natural to feel a bit anxious about it. Ultimately, all virtual roads lead to this first face-to-face meeting (“eyeball”, if you will).
That is unless you’re a serial cyber dater, in which case you should be avoided at all costs.
Kidding aside, one of the most important things you should plan on is where your first meeting place should be. While it’s understandable that you would want to make it as romantic and as memorable as it can get, you have to bear in mind several essential things prior to your meet-up, such as security, convenience, and safety. Below are five tips on where to hold the ideal first meeting place if you’ve been dating online and want to take it to the next level.
Meet halfway. Assuming that you live in different zip codes (otherwise, you wouldn’t have been chat buddies for long), determine the best halfway point between you so it’s fair to both of you, distance-wise. Also, consider the sort of transportation available for you to get there. There should be a train or bus route, or plenty of taxi cabs to take you to the agreed-on venue so you won’t have problems going home afterwards.
Avoid noisy venues. You’re going to be doing a lot of talking, presumably. But even if you’re not (hopefully your lapses into silence are comfortable ones), meeting up in a cozy coffee shop or bookstore that allows for prolonged stays is a lot better than, say, a rock concert or a crowded club with thumping music.
Talking over coffee or tea is a long-time and honored tradition because it’s conducive for heart-to-heart conversations. Forget about bonding over loud music. For your first-time face-to-face meeting, a quiet and serene environment is the way to go.
Make sure there’s ample parking. This may seem like an odd tip, but so much time has been wasted on finding proper parking space once the date is all set. Sure, you may arrive at the place on time, but if it’s one with no parking lot or it’s dangerous to leave your car a couple of blocks away, it can prove to be a really big mood-dampener.
Research on the venue and its parking provisions ahead of time. It’s going to be embarrassing to your date if your car gets towed for illegal parking.
Or, you can choose to leave your car at home and commute to the place…provided it’s convenient and safe to take public transportation to and fro.
Choose a place with flattering lighting. First impressions last. Select a venue for your first time meet-up that is kind to your complexion, will cast dramatic shadows on your face, and provide an overall soft
kind of lighting that can be romantic. Coffee shops, fine dining restaurants, and other cozy settings can set the mood for the date, and can serve as great launch pads for if you both want to take the date to another venue later.
Pick out someplace you can both have fun. Conversations are okay, but if you want to go for a light and enjoyable sort of date, why not try unconventional places you can bond over, such as a miniature golf resort or an art opening? If you still have energy to hop to another venue, research on possible ones open the same day as your meet-up, and invite your date to go there out of the blue. If they’re up to it and are into you, they’ll appreciate your effort into injecting fun into your date and preventing it from becoming dull and predictable.