Best and Worst Places for Newly Single Women to Meet Men

If you're just coming out of a divorce or a long relationship, it can be beneficial to know some good and bad places to meet men. Let's look at common ways to meet men.

Common Interest Groups

Join a club or sporting league of something you are interested in. Unless it's knitting, there's a good chance you'll encounter some single men through this activity. Go to concerts of musicians you really like. It's okay to go alone, maybe you'll meet an interesting guy. The best part of this approach is that you know you have at least one thing in common before even knowing their name.

Online Dating

This can be both a good and bad way to meet men depending on if you know what you're doing. Realize that probably 95% of men you'll encounter online have one or more of the following negative traits: an interest purely in sex (player), a crappy personality that renders them needing to use the Internet to find women or someone who doesn't even check their dating profile. But if you can filter out the 95% and get to the 5%, online dating can be a pretty good way to meet men.

Through Friends

This is a very popular method; the matchmaker method. Be careful, though. Dating friends or friends of friends is certainly convenient but it can also cause drama. Sometimes it's a good idea to keep a delineation between your friendships and romantic interests.

At Work

I strongly advise against dating co-workers. A lot of people do it because it's very convenient and also kind of sexy in a way since it has a "forbidden" element to it, but there are enough downsides to this approach that it should be off-limits. Things will go well at first, but after you reach the "comfortable" stage, dating a co-worker can be hell. You never get a break from that person since you see them at work and at home. Moreover, it can feel like you're always at work since you basically never get a break from being around a co-worker. Leave these men alone. Keep a strong dividing line between co-workers and romantic interests. You are two different people: the professional you and the personal you. Don't mix them up, it's just not worth it.

At the Gym

Typically a lot of men you'll encounter at a gym are single or at least available. People tend to have a stronger interest in taking care of themselves and staying in top shape when they know they're on the dating market.

Neighbors

Dating a neighbor is another one of those trick dating methods where the downsides ultimately outweigh the convenience. Most people don't realize this at first. While it's easy and comforting to date someone who lives next door to you, it's far from ideal. Ultimately you'll find that it feels like you basically live with someone you just started dating. It's an invasion of your space. You won't be able to get away or feel like you've gotten away from the other person unless you take a vacation. Keep your home your personal "you" space and don't let anyone into it on a whim.

Bars/Clubs

To be sure, you can certainly encounter some good, interesting men to date at bars and clubs. You can also encounter a lot of douchebags though just looking to get laid. Usually the nature of the bar determines what the men are prone to be like. If it's super trendy and a big "hot spot", chances are a lot of the guys there are just interested in casual encounters. If it's a little less pretentious and down to earth, who knows, maybe you'll meet the next Mr. Right.