Five Often-Overlooked Places to Meet Single Men

As a self-employed single woman, I have to make my own opportunities for meeting men to date since I don’t get dressed up everyday and hang out after work downtown like I used to when I had a 9 to 5. No one can flirt with me from my home office! So, I feel like I have to put out more of an effort to meet guys. One thing I often hear from ladies is that they want the man to come to them, which is fine I suppose, as long as you make sure you position yourself to get seen in the first place! Believe me, nothing’s gonna happen if you just sit in the house waiting for God to send a good man to knock on your door. I know most of us like the fairy tale of meeting someone “by chance” in church or the library or something, but I’m a big fan of taking action and making your own opportunities for dating.

So, here are five places you might not typically think of as great places to meet single men. To be honest though (and deep down, you already know this), you can meet a great guy anywhere. I don’t understand why folks make such a big distinction over where you meet a man. Good guys are everywhere. So are bad guys.

Anyway, on with the list! And please let me know what you think in the comments.

Nightclubs

Now that I’m back from Jamaica, all I want to do is go out dancing every weekend. Last weekend I went out to a reggae club for the first time in a long while and I actually allowed myself to be open to giving out my phone number to the guys I danced with. What I’m realizing is that meeting men at the club is much different now at 28 than it was when I was younger. I met four guys in one night and all of them actually called me within 48 hours! I never really tried to meet men at the club before because I always thought guys went there to “collect” numbers to drive their ego. But maybe once they reach a certain age, they actually use them? In any case, I already have a lunch date with one of the guys I met. Turns out he’s a biologist, totally not what I expected as the kind of guy I would meet in a club. But then again, scientists gotta get their dance on, too!

Specialty Grocery Stores

Here in the Washington, DC area, Wegman’s is rumored to be a very popular place for black singles to shop, hang out and hook up. My local Whole Foods often has health-conscious brothers roaming the aisles as well. For that reason, I’ve stopped going to the store in sweats and flip flops. I don’t get overly fancy with it, but I make sure I feel pretty pushing my grocery basket. If I’m feeling flirty, I’ll ask a tall cutie to help me get an item down from the top shelf, which has been a great way to break the ice and start up a conversation. Never know who you might meet!

Professional Conferences

I go to a lot of conferences in many different parts of the country and there are always several single cuties in attendance. The great thing about meeting men in a professional setting like this is that you already know you have something in common and presumably he’s as serious about his career as you are. Also, the nature of conferences makes it easy to set up an opportunity to meet after the sessions are over, maybe for dinner or a drink. Even if you live in different regions, it’s always nice to be able to exhange information for when one of you is “in town.” It’s amazing how frequently that actually happens due to the way many of us travel often for business. I used to go out with this guy in Indianapolis every time I was in town – it never went anywhere, but it was fun to have someone entertain me while I was there.

While Traveling for Vacation or Business

This follows from the previous one about out-of-town conferences. If you’re traveling for any reason really, that can open you up to meeting new people out of your usual element. Once I even met a guy on the airplane! We were sitting right next to each other and had a great conversation about work and travel. It was a natural opportunity to get our flirt on and see what we had in common. I used to rule out long-distance relationships, but now that I’m traveling more, the possibilities are wide open! Depending on how long I’m staying in a city, I’ll usually try to find something to do there like a happy hour or local event where I might meet someone interesting.

Online Dating Sites

I’m always astonished at how many of my fellow sisters are still on the fence about trying online dating. Online dating is just another method of meeting potential partners. Although there are still many misconceptions about online dating, the fact is that it’s quickly becoming one of the best ways to meet a significant other. Like I always say, if your current strategies aren’t working for you, maybe it’s time to try something new! What I’ve found is that the same men you meet online are often the same ones you’d meet at the club, library, church or grocery store. I’ve actually met guys at different social events here in DC and later spotted their dating profile online. Seriously – 1 in 5 singles have dated someone they met on a dating site, so it’s not a new phenomenon. If you’re thinking about giving online dating a try, I’ve put together this Brief Guide to Getting Started with Online Dating that has three helpful sections on which dating sites I recommend, how to write your profile and tips to maximize your online dating experience in terms of when/how to meet as well as safety concerns

Like I said above, you can find single men everywhere, these are just a few you might be overlooking. I think it’s more about having a mindset that’s open to meeting someone new that makes dating successful. In my experience, the more men you meet, the more dates you get!

What are some unusual places you’ve met men in your dating journey?

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