Where to Go on Your First Date

Where to go on a first date is an age-old question. Cavemen had it made. They firmly believed in kidnapping and taking their date to a filthy cave out in the middle of nowhere. Those were what was known as the good old days. Nowadays first date destinations and plans are a little trickier.

First, let’s cover where NOT to go on a first date.

The old standby of dinner and a movie is a really poor choice for a first date. How will you get to know the lady if you are sitting in a darkened theater with a movie being shown? If you choose the movie, there is probably going to be a lot of frantic car chases and a lot of blood involved. Neither is conducive to creating a memorable evening.

Also, don’t take your date to your parent’s house! She will know right away that you are a mama’s boy and you will never see her again.

Don’t take your date to a sleazy bar with a motel out the back. You will scare the poor woman to death. She will jump out of the car and hitchhike back to town believing that she would be safer with a burly truck driver than with you.

Some Suggested Places to Go on Your First Date

Begin with a simple lunch or coffee date. You want to keep the date casual so suggesting meeting up for lunch or coffee can be a good start. This way, if the date didn’t go so well, you can end the date there but if you enjoy each other’s company, you have the rest of the day to spend getting to know each other better.

A coffee date provides plenty of face-to-face time in a relaxed and neutral environment which, believe it or not, is known for inducing warm interpersonal feelings. Pick a place with some atmosphere and where it is not too noisy. You don’t want to be shouting at each other in order to be heard.

If it is the season for it, an amusement park or a theme park is a good first date idea. It doesn’t matter how old you are, we can all be big kids at heart. There is so much you can do at amusement parks and theme parks that most likely you will forget about the dating pressure and just have fun.

Most well-populated areas have an array of museums covering many different subjects. Visiting one that is dedicated to something that you have in common with the woman is another good first date idea.

Another idea is to try some mini-golf. Playing putt-putt has an almost cliché, overly wholesome feel to it, but that can actually work in your favor — it shows you don’t take things too seriously, which is an attractive trait. You’ll have plenty of laughs over the course of 18 holes, and afterward, you can move on and treat her to — what else? — a couple of ice cream cones.

Take her on a picnic. Picnics have a lot going for them when it comes to building attraction. First, you demonstrate your skill and ingenuity in assembling the food you’ll bring, and if you choose the right spot with say, a splendid view of the sunset, your brownie points will be impressive. Anywhere in nature is bound to arouse positive and potentially romantic feelings. If you have some Botanical Gardens nearby, they’re a great place for a first date. But be careful not to go anywhere too secluded though. You don’t want the lady to worry about your intentions.

Final rules for where to go on a first date:

1. Make it affordable. You don’t want to signal a high level of financial commitment from the start.
2. Somewhere where you can easily communicate without too many distractions.
3. Plenty of face-to-face time where you can make eye contact. Don’t sit side by side.
4. Somewhere novel and unusual is always a big turn on.
5. A place where there are things going on around you to comment on, in case the conversation takes a turn toward awkward silence.