Best way to meet women my age in a new city? (bars, gay)

[Nell Plotts]

I don't recommend bars as a place to meet people. During the summer Thirst Thursday in the Pearl would be an exception.

The coffee shop in Powell's Bookstore has potential.

The suggestion that you find activities that you enjoy increases the possibility of meeting a girl with similar interests. If you are in your early 20s even attending college sporting events has possibilities. Take a class, even something that could improve your professional skills.

[danwilsonbsee]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

I don't recommend bars as a place to meet people. During the summer Thirst Thursday in the Pearl would be an exception.

The coffee shop in Powell's Bookstore has potential.

The suggestion that you find activities that you enjoy increases the possibility of meeting a girl with similar interests. If you are in your early 20s even attending college sporting events has possibilities. Take a class, even something that could improve your professional skills.

I disagree. Out of the four couples that I hang out with regularly, three of them met in local bars. Two met in Henry's and one met at Ron Toms. If you have a personality and confidence you can absolutely meet people out on the town. Sports and other social activities are also great places. I met my wife playing hockey (she was there with friends of another guy on my team). So soccer is a big deal here, same with adult rec leagues for sports like volleyball and dodgeball in the summer. Things like the naked bike ride, beer fests, hash house harriers (not what you think, beer runs before heading to a bar) etc. are all places 20-30 somethings hang out. If you have a few guy friends willing to be adventurous it's that much easier to meet a group of girls.

[Minervah]

Er....I don't think I would want to meet someone first time at the naked bike ride. But to each his/her own.

When I first moved to town, I found that special interest groups worked best for me. I joined the Portland Science Fiction Society because I am a SciFi nerd and I met other SciFi nerd. I met lots of guys there. Of course they were like the guys on the "Big Bang Theory" but that was fine by me.

Bars, not so much. I hung out with friends at "The Horse Brass" and met great people there. That was my bar exception because it was also a hang out for the SciFi crowd.

Sports are great too. Even spectator. My friend and I used to go to baseball games when the Beavers, the first ones,were playing. We met lots of guys there.

I joined other groups that no longer exist because that was over thirty years ago but you get the general idea. Find what you like and find other people who like it too. Volunteer. I know I was always impressed by guys who gave their time volunteering.

One word of caution though, don't act like you're on the hunt. Be there to be there if you know what I mean and not like you're on the hunt. That's a turn off. I may be old but I still remember.

[jjpop]

May I just suggest that you don't discount your roommate's girlfriend's friends for a possible connection? When you're in the first half of your 20s, that's a time when you're figuring things out for yourself and your parents' influence is starting to wane. Some of them may be looking for someone exactly like you!

[Ankhharu]

Whatever you have an interests in (photography, biking, hiking, sports, cars, etc) there is a meetup group of some kind. Just about any kind of hobby you can think of probably has a gathering of some sort. Find these people online and find out where they are meeting up to enjoy, discuss, etc whatever hobby it is. This will give you an opportunity to meet people and since you have a common interests, you'll have something to talk about. You'll have a chance to meet a woman in 2 ways. One, in the hobby group or two through any friendships that you are able to secure with others in the group. A great way to meet a mate is through friends. This is without a doubt the most successful method for me. The vast majority of the woman I've met have been through friends. I've met woman at other places but the success rate is much lower and the rejection level much higher. Not to mention, the woman I've met through friends tend to be of higher quality (if you are friends with good people). Good people tend to surround themselves with good people. Not saying you won't meet devious mates, liars, cheaters, etc through friends, just saying the odds shift in your favor this way as you attempt to avoid the mine field that dating tends to be.

[Steve Pickering]

Bars should always be the last choice. Any gal who is looking for a slobering drunk to come along and pick them up is not the kind you want to meet anyway.

[VTHokieFan]

Try online dating as well.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Bars should always be the last choice. Any gal who is looking for a slobering drunk to come along and pick them up is not the kind you want to meet anyway.

Nice girls/women go to bars. The key is they don't usually stay late though. 8-10pm is your sweet spot for making with the nice and charming routine. After that it usually just gets too drunk and annoying to be worthwhile. I've certainly been guilty of being past my 2 drink sweet spot before as well. Some is good but More is definitely not better when it comes to the cocktails.

[EnricoV]

Maybe there's a Ms. Santa at the upcoming SantaCon event.

[jhnp]

Believe me I feel you I am new to Portland as well and to meet single women is next to impossible, in a nutshell this is the information era unfortunately here in the States you can't meet women in public places no more your chances of getting a phone number are astronomically hard unless you have some serious game. Go online your best bet foreign women if you have a decent job from what I see there's not many singles In Portland. It's funny Portland claims to have everything except one thing singles bars they will make so much money.