Best Places To Meet Singles

Men's Dating

7 Best Places to Meet Singles (2024)

Hayley Matthews

Written by: Hayley Matthews

Hayley Matthews

Hayley has over 10 years of experience overseeing content strategy, social media engagement, and article opportunities. She has also written hundreds of informational and entertaining blog posts. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Bustle, Cosmo, the Huffington Post, AskMen, and Entrepreneur. When she's not writing about dating news, relationship advice, or her fantasy love affair with Leonardo DiCaprio, she enjoys listening to The Beatles, watching Harry Potter reruns, and drinking IPAs.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

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The best way to meet single men and women is to go places you don’t normally go and do things that are a smidge outside your comfort zone.

A lot of us get into daily, weekly, or monthly patterns where we stop growing and striving. Go to work, hit the gym, run errands, hang out with friends, go home, repeat. Spend time around the same people day after day. If that sounds like you and you’re single, it can be hard to get your relationship status to change.

However, we’re here to help break you out of that dating rut and find some hot dates in your area. Whether you’re interested in meeting single women or single men, these seven tips can definitely point you in the right direction.

1. Dating Sites & Apps

Hands down, there’s nothing easier, quicker, cheaper, or more convenient for meeting singles than online dating. More than 40 million people have tried it, they have thousands of sites and apps to choose from. Most platforms offer free memberships, and you’ll receive matches within minutes of signing up.

A couple of our favorite sites/apps are Match and EliteSingles, and we’ve created some graphics so you can learn more about each:

Match has been around since 1993, and the site officially launched in 1995. It is one of the longest-running dating sites in the industry. That’s why Match is able to say it’s responsible for more romantic connections than any of its competitors.

★★★★★
4.9/5.0

Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships

Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more

Our Experts Say: “Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

EliteSingles emphasizes quality, not quantity, so you’ll feel right at home if you’re looking for an educated, commitment-oriented partner. Almost 90% of members have at least a bachelor’s degree, nearly 100% are 30 or over, and close to 100% want a relationship.

★★★★★
4.8/5.0

Relationships: Serious Relationships

Match System: Search, Receive Partner Suggestions

Our Experts Say: “EliteSingles is a leading dating site just for busy, single professionals. More than 80% of members have earned a college degree, and most are looking for a serious commitment...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

What Match and EliteSingles both have in common is they don’t charge singles to create a profile, upload photos, view and like profiles, receive matches every day, and flirt in a number of ways.

2. Local Events & Meetups

Most cities don’t leave their singles all alone hanging in the wind — most offer singles events and groups for everything from hiking, gaming, and mixology to watching movies, practicing karate, knitting, and kickball, among other things. You’re guaranteed to meet people if you sign up for some of these activities.

Photo of people at a bar

Check out Meetup.com or Eventbrite.com for happy hours, marathons, and other events near you.

Meetup.com, Eventbrite.com, and Yelp are just a few sites worth visiting, or you can just enter a couple phrases into Google (e.g., “meetups near me” or “running groups in your area“).

3. Volunteering Opportunities

Nonprofits, charities, shelters, churches, and other organizations usually welcome all the help they can get, so if philanthropy is an interest of yours, try volunteering. You’re killing two birds with one stone because you’re making a difference in your community, and you’re connecting with people who have shared beliefs and lifestyles.

Photo of people volunteering

If you enjoy philanthropy, volunteer some of your time to a nonprofit, and the people you meet will have similar beliefs and values.

We really like VolunteerMatch and GreatNonprofits because these sites allow you to sort organizations by type, location, and a ton of other filters. You’re sure to find the right opportunity for you.

4. Adult Classes & Educational Programs

We continue to become more well-rounded people if we keep learning even after we’ve graduated high school and/or college. That’s why we recommend that singles sign up for some educational classes in their area — not only to add a new skill set to their repertoire but also to come together with other interesting people.

Photo of people cooking

Most cities have cooking, photography, dance, and all kinds of other classes where you can learn something new and meet people.

It doesn’t matter if you’re into baking, painting, welding, yoga, ballet, or computer programming — there’s a class out there for you. And a special someone may be out there for you in one of those classes as well.

5. Co-Ed Sports Leagues

Practically every community college, university, rec league, and other similar organization has a variety of co-ed and/or intramural sports teams for softball, swimming, Ultimate Frisbee, flag football, lacrosse, hockey (both ice and street), etc. Again, Google really comes in handy here. In your search, include the sport you like, your city, and the word “co-ed” or “intramural.” You’ll have so many options that you won’t know what to do with yourself.

Photo of a couple playing soccer

Google “co-ed sports teams” or “intramural sports groups,” and you’re sure to see a ton of results.

Another great aspect of joining a sports team is that someone will often mention grabbing drinks after a game or practice, so everyone can get to know each other on another level.

6. Parties, Clubs, Bars, Etc.

Going to a club, bar, or party is a tried-and-true way to meet singles. Even if you’re not a heavy drinker or a great dancer, you’ll find lots of opportunities for romance in these social settings. If you see someone you like, offer to buy them a drink, ask them to dance, or challenge them to a game of beer pong or Connect Four.

Photo of people partying

Sometimes the old standby of going to a bar, club, or party is a good way to meet singles.

You can loosen up with a drink in hand and a cutie by your side at the local hot spot. It’s even easier to go up to a group of men or women if you’re also with a group of friends. There’s less pressure, and you can rely on your friends to be a good wingman along the way.

7. Social Media

This tip may seem a bit odd, but plenty of couples, including celebrity couples, have met on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or another social media site. You’re interacting with a lot of people on these sites anyway, so why not try to make some of those interactions romantic in nature?

Photo of a woman on social media

You don’t want to do this in a creepy way, but sometimes interacting with people on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help you get to know them.

Now, you want to be careful with trying to meet a date on social media because your likes, comments, and messages can get creepy real quick. Start off slow, don’t stalk or harass people, don’t take things personally, and keep the conversation PG (unless you both want to go there).

There are Millions of Singles in the World — You Just Need to Know Where to Look

Routines are comfortable and can make life go smoothly — you just don’t want to go too far the other way, especially if you’re single. Know what I mean? One of the best ways to change your dating situation, if that’s what you’re looking to do, is to shake things up. To start off, you can simply try one of the tips above, see how it goes, and then try another when you’re ready. Good luck!

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