richmond dating sucks for young single professionals (transplants, home)

[Laur]

Also, for those who think Richmonders are closed-minded, I don't know who you are hanging out with, but I don't find that to be the case at all. Look a little harder.

[surrounded_by_morans]

Originally Posted by Laur

Also, for those who think Richmonders are closed-minded, I don't know who you are hanging out with, but I don't find that to be the case at all. Look a little harder.

whoa, i guess he's right guys - everyone complaining in here is just a sad ugly boring loser who is not putting enough effort into making new friends.

thx for the insight.

[Laur]

Originally Posted by surrounded_by_morans

whoa, i guess he's right guys - everyone complaining in here is just a sad ugly boring loser who is not putting enough effort into making new friends.

thx for the insight.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to say.

And, I'm a she.

[surrounded_by_morans]

Originally Posted by Laur

Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to say.

And, I'm a she.

Pardon me, ma-lady. So the topic of this thread is dating for young single professionals - Are the guys flocking to you? Or are you saying not enough guys are flocking towards you? Where do you go in Richmond to meet the opposite sex? Could you please tell me more about your experiences? You must have a really colorful personality - What activities do you do in Richmond, besides drink, shop and go to Maymont Park?

Thanks for your contribution.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by ShadowBat

Blaming a whole city for being single is completely backwards thinking. If someone is not flirting or outgoing, you must not be as interesing as you think you are or as attractive as you think you are. I could go on, but I already feel dumb for replying to this. On another note, so many women are quick to scream sexual harassment, that some dudes might be afraid to make the first move unless they feel that they are getting a surefire signal to approach you or send you a drink. I still think people who complain about not being able to meet anyone have problems within themselves they choose to ignore or aren't aware of. Richmond isn't NYC by any means, but it's not Mayberry either. There's a whole metro of over a million people that could be your next possible romance. If you can't find someone, you're not looking hard enough.

Yep. I'm going to have to agree with Shadowbat on this one. I spent a couple years close to Richmond back in my military days, and just last week was back again for a job interview (so might be moving there soon) and I was shocked at how much the city had changed. I also didn't remember everybody being so dang NICE. I swear, everywhere I went people smiled, said "hi", held doors for me, chit-chatted with me, and did other little things that showed civility, which is more than most people in my midwest town even do (and midwesterners are supposed to be "nice"!).

The potential co-workers I spent a day with interviewing were all great people. After my interview I spent a lot of time exploring Richmond and ended up downtown and stopping in a nice little restaurant and bar called LuLu's. I sat at the bar and had three women (including the bartender) enraptured for a couple hours with my stories and what-not. They sure seemed very friendly to me.

It's about the look and vibe you yourself give off that makes the most difference in how people respond to you, so before you go blaming an entire metro area of 1 million people for being "close-minded", you might want to look in the mirror and assess what you are doing wrong and what you might change.

[Laur]

Originally Posted by surrounded_by_morans

Pardon me, ma-lady. So the topic of this thread is dating for young single professionals - Are the guys flocking to you? Or are you saying not enough guys are flocking towards you? Where do you go in Richmond to meet the opposite sex? Could you please tell me more about your experiences? You must have a really colorful personality - What activities do you do in Richmond, besides drink, shop and go to Maymont Park?

Thanks for your contribution.

While I assume all your questions are sarcastic, I will answer them anyway, for others.

I have no trouble meeting guys. I meet most new members of the opposite sex at bars and through River City Sports & Social Club. And through friends, but that doesn't help someone is who still building a social circle.

I hardly ever go to Maymont. I buy the Thursday paper every week to get the "Weekend" section, so I can see a list of all the goings-on in town. Last weekend I went to the wine festival. Saturday I'm having brunch at Godfrey's with some friends, and then going to the Byrd for a showing of Back to the Future. Last night I went to a Scandinavian wine tasting in Carytown.

Richmond is not a big city. But I get really tired of people, no matter where they live, saying it's impossible to meet people in (some city), or that there's nothing to do. Unless the city is really minuscule, you probably just need to look harder for events and social group activities. That's the thing about smaller cities, you often have to actually look these things up, but they are there.

[KathyR]

Maybe there are a lot more women than men in Richmond, so the odds are tougher? Or at least more in the socioeconomic class you are hanging out in.

[Skratch]

Richmond = closeminded, and where do i begin with in richmond, where can you even meet the opposite sex in richmond?

[RichmondGuy]

What I've learned is that it's common to hear women on a national scale complain about it being "hard to find a good guy" but in reality these girls are turning guys down left and right!

Because they feel they're so fabulous, they consider only the top 20% of guys out there, and will still happily share that guy with other women, rather than DARE consider a guy from the bottom 80%.

While I will say I'm not really worried about closemindedness, (I am a straight, white educated male, so I'm not worried about selling a lifestyle or religion to anyone) I will say that Richmond is legitimately a hard town for guys though, unlike DC. In Richmond, guys line up to talk to the one or two girls even at whatever social venue it is. There generally just aren't single girls around, but a WHOLE lot of dudes. Try walking into a bar in the fan, like 3 Monkeys on a Friday night. You'll see tables of 2 guys and 1 girl, 4-5 guys and 2 girls, or groups of couples out together.

In DC or NYC there are tons of single girls out and about, and plenty are approachable too!

[ystasino]

Originally Posted by surrounded_by_morans

I just had a thought about people in Richmond, perhaps it's the affluence scale which keeps us in our comfort zone. In DC or NY, you're dealing with a much more affluent crowd, more classy. In Richmond I feel there is a greater mix of affluence - to the point where people don't want to associate themselves with the other classes. When you go to a popular DC nightclub - you're with a lot of young professionals with similar jobs and pay, where in Richmond you've got VCU kids, old school punks, potheads, rednecks, wiggers, gangs rummaging around outside the nightclubs to worry about - i think there is a greater amount of fear when it comes to meeting new people in Richmond compared to DC or NY (and sometimes I don't blame them - met more people i'd rather not associate with than i would associate with). People just aren't as open in Richmond because Richmonders are constantly worried about tarnishing their own class and their identity. It's hard to have friends in a different class or cliche. It's an old civil war town being transformed into an art city, but it's still an old civil war town...people might not know what they are, but in Richmond, they know what they are not! but not to be confused with diversity - in DC the diversity adds to the curiosity and openness to different people and cultures - in Richmond, people just seem to make fun of diversity. but, lets face it - what does Richmond have that would makes someone want to leave DC or NY (besides a quiet suburb to buy a house and raise a family and live happily ever after...)

I'm on this boards because I am contemplating a move to Richmond. I grew up in a different country and have lived in Baltimore for more years than I care to admit and I'm almost 36. I have dated in DC extensively and met lots of very diverse people.

However, many of the people in DC have a liberal-lawyer "I've arrived to save the world" attitude (I'm culturally liberal and don't date conservatives) that is impossible to tolerate. And many of them just push paper for the government or some non-profit making $80k for not very much work.

So I feel that while DC has a great diversity of well-traveled, well-to-do people whose biggest interest is "fine dining" that scene is far from perfect.