If your first dates are always all about grabbing a few beers after work, you might want to think again. A recent survey found that meeting for dinner is a much better idea — if you want true love, that is. Here’s why a dinner date means you’ve got a better chance at finding real romance:
- You can actually talk. Sure, you can chat over alcohol, but why not get a burger along with your glass of Chardonnay? You’ll have a more chill, drawn-out first date and can really have a conversation… which is basically the point of a first date, right? Hopefully you’re not sitting in total awkward silence for an hour plus, but even if you are, you’ve probably been through worse.
- You’re not distracted. Cool first date activities seem to be all the rage these days, but really, if you’re totally distracted by mini golf or a movie, how can you really pay attention to the person you’re supposed to be getting to know? Sharing a meal is a great idea because it blocks everything else out.
- You won’t walk out halfway through. Of course you can leave if the guy is really a total jerk. But when you’ve been going on more crappy dates than magical ones, it’s pretty easy to get jaded and frustrated and figure that if you’re bored in the first 20 minutes, you should just leave. If you meet for dinner, you’re basically forced to stay for at least an hour and you can give the guy the respect he just might deserve.
- You calm down. Do first dates give you hives? Obviously, right? Usually when you start talking to someone, you realize that you were worried for nothing because even if it’s not the greatest love connection on the planet, nothing bad will happen. Dinner is great for calming anxiety because you get a chance to slow down and take a deep breath (or a million).
- You really get to know the guy. You’ll know if he’s super weird, a picky eater or complains a ton. Or all of the above (ugh). People tend to show their true colors when they eat. Plus you’ll know if he’s a true gentleman and offers to pick up the cheque or forces you to pay in a really creepy, rude way.
- It’s obvious if things are going somewhere. If you order a second drink and he seems itching to walk out the door, it’s obvious there’s no second date in your future. You’ll save yourself a ton of time and tears if you can read the signs on your dinner date.
- Dinner is classic for a reason. Dinner and a movie is the oldest, most traditional date that there is. If you skip the film part and go for dinner, it’ll tell you whether or not you really want to date this guy. Sometimes you just have to forget all the dating BS and go back to basics. You just might meet your soulmate.
