Houston is a beautiful city with all kinds of opportunities to meet and enjoy people, but if you're brand new to the city, you the idea of meeting new friends, let alone joining the dating scene, may feel overwhelming. Don't worry! Whether you're looking for friends, fun dates, or the love of your life, you can find them in Houston. Here are a few ideas and resources to get you connected right away.
Ideas that work anywhere:
• Do what you do. Keep an eye out for kindred spirits in your everyday life. If you moved here for work, you may or may not be comfortable looking for a date at the office. If you are, enjoy this pool of new people. If you'd like to avoid dating someone you work with, think of your coworkers as potential friends—maybe even friends who could introduce you to your next date. If you've come to Houston for college, you can't help but meet people in class and in extracurricular activities. Stay open, and let the people who are already in your life get to know you.
• Match.com is still out there because it works. Online dating can be fun, and many successful relationships, even marriages, have come from it. There are many other sites to try beyond Match.com, of course, and each has its own style and pool of people. To find out which is right for you, and how to play the online dating game, check out advice blogs like Online Dating University and Little Red Rails Online Dating Guide. Both have reviews of dating sites, too.
• Find friends and lower-pressure dates through Meetup.com. This site makes it easy to meet people who share your interests. Just search Meetup.com for Houston-area groups and events that sound like fun to you. Some groups are specifically for singles, but most are for anyone who shares a common interest. You'll meet like-minded friends, and you can decide in a casual, easy way whether you'd like to date anyone you meet there. Meetups are also great ways to get to know Houston.
Houston-specific resources:
• Go out for sports. Meet people while you stay in shape and enjoy your favorite sport. To find a league, check with the City of Houston's Parks and Recreation Department, the Greater Houston YMCA, or Sportsvite for Houston.
• Take a class. Leisure Learning Unlimited, Inc. is Houston's place for fun classes for adults. Take a cooking class, learn to dance, improve your business skills, or remodel your house. It's all here! Again, doing something that's fun for you is a great way to meet not just anybody, but people who really share your values and interests.
• Join a local singles group. To choose from several types of Houston-area dating events, visit the Houston page of Singles on the Go.
Whatever you love to do, and whether you're looking for friends or a fling or the love of your life, there are people in Houston who would love to meet you. Welcome to Houston.
Posted by Melanie Belasco Levy on 09/23/11
