hobby classes (e.g., dancing) a way to meet women? (Washington: neighborhood, income)
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Hi all. I'm new to this forum and relatively new to DC (been here about a year). Has anyone here had any experiences taking classes for fun in DC/Arlington? I'm talking about things like foreign languages, dance classes, or art classes.
I'm interested in foreign languages, but already speak two fluently and don't have time to study a third. So I was thinking maybe I'd take a social dance class, and was wondering what people's experiences have been like. Also, where do I start looking for a place to take these classes?
I gotta be honest -- I actually don't have much interest in dancing, though I may surprise myself once I start learning. I'd much rather spend my freetime motorcycling, biking, or lifting weights. But my objective is to make friends and meet more women, so I have to do things where there's a favourable gender ratio, and where the setting is social.
I'm a 30-year-old man, by the way, and I've recently commenced an all-out campaign to put myself "out there" -- going to a church, dating online, etc. I even tried yoga, though that didn't go so well -- even though the gender ratio was something like 3:1 women to men, most of the women there were either ineligible or unfriendly. Any other suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks!
Dance classes = excellent choice. There's a club on Columbia Rd. in Adams Morgan that does cheap ($5 or $10 a pop) salsa lessons once or twice a week. I can personally vouch for the fun times and hot dance partners one can meet at Habana Village.
Beyond that I recommend the embassy wine tasting circuit. Now that I'm no longer dating I don't do this so much but I've been to some great wine-tastings that are hosted at some of the embassies. For example, there was a N.Z. tasting at the N.Z. embassy, a port tasting at the residence of the Ambassador of Portugal, an Israeli tasting at the embassy of Israel (had to supply my passport info in advance because they security check everybody before letting you in the gate - and this was BEFORE 9/11). I've also been to Italian wine & food tastings, Spanish wine & food tastings (those were both great because local restaurants participated too - Galileo was represented at one and Jaleo/Cafe Atlantico at the other). There's at least one, maybe two big Aussie tastings - I think one is in the Reagan Bldg. and the other is at the Aussie Embassy. I wish I could even remember how I got on all the notification lists. Try calling Snyder's of Capitol Hill and MacArthur Beverages (two wine stores who supply some of the better embassy & private cellars in DC) and ask when they or one of their distributors is going to be doing a wine tasting. Also try googling various combinations of "wine-tasting" "wine" "DC" etc. and get on some mailing lists.
Do you like live music? Check out the 9:30 club and/or The Black Cat on any given night to meet a fellow music lover.
Take a cooking class. There are lots of them in DC, but the one that comes to mind is Roberto Donna's class.
Join a bookgroup. The Big Bear coffeehouse hosts regular book-readings and a book group over in Bloomingdale (kind of a transitional neighborhood, but metro-accessible and a seriously awesome coffeehouse).
Good luck. 30 is a good age to be in DC: old enough to have some disposable income and young enough to enjoy disposing of it.
In general, I don't like the idea of doing X in order to obtain Y. This could apply to various activities, groups etc with the ulterior motive of meeting women in mind. I recommend that you join groups that represent activities and interests you enjoy. If they allow you to make friends with the ladies, so be it. However, I would not recommend engaging in these activities with the purpose of meeting women.
Thanks for the tips, guys. LIS123, I don't have any "ulterior" motives, as that word connotes dishonesty or deception. I work 60+ hours at my job (although I do enjoy it), my coworkers are 95% men, and my hobbies are things like powerlifting and motorcycles. At my age, there are just as many (if not more, at least in DC) women looking for hardworking, nice guys like me as there are guys like me looking for likeminded women. I wouldn't ever do something I'm COMPLETELY uninterested in; I see it more as stretching the limits of what I'm used to. Ifmeeting members of the opposite sex is one of the reasons for people to do things, I don't see anything wrong with that. Thanks, and have a great day.
Thanks for the tips, guys. LIS123, I don't have any "ulterior" motives, as that word connotes dishonesty or deception. I work 60+ hours at my job (although I do enjoy it), my coworkers are 95% men, and my hobbies are things like powerlifting and motorcycles. At my age, there are just as many (if not more, at least in DC) women looking for hardworking, nice guys like me as there are guys like me looking for likeminded women. I wouldn't ever do something I'm COMPLETELY uninterested in; I see it more as stretching the limits of what I'm used to. Ifmeeting members of the opposite sex is one of the reasons for people to do things, I don't see anything wrong with that. Thanks, and have a great day.
I will recommend local Meetup groups as well. This is a fantastic way to meet a diverse (racial, ethnic, etc) group of folks including women. Good luck sir, I've been hoping to put myself out there but my job eats ALL my time.
For MeetUp, I'd recommend the groups that are focused on various interests (i.e. fitness, museums, languages, cooking, etc.) These groups are not that active. The more active groups are those that are large and socially oriented (going out, etc.) I did not like the large social groups at all. They're basically meat markets.
If you're fitness oriented, you can try to meet people at the gym. It can be intimidating, as you don't want to interrupt someone's workout (esp when they have headphones on), but it's worth a shot. I haven't met too many people at the gym, but those I have struck up conversation with have been fairly receptive.
Pardon my use of the word ulterior. I didn't like using it at the time, but couldn't think of anything else.
Some people recommend charity or volunteer work. I'm not that courageous but, in general, strangers have been fairly nice when I try to chat them up. You could certainly try the usual bookstores, coffeeshop, etc. While I don't recommend approaching every women you see and find attractive, you really never know until you try. If you're assertive and carry yourself in a confident manner when you go out, you should have some success.
If you are religious or seriously seeking spirituality, try a singles groups at an area church. If you are not, don't bother. Women will see right through your motives.
How do you find out which embassy is hosting wine/food tasting?
Sorry to cut in the topic, I just thought going to wine tasting is really neat, especially if it's hosted by the country representative!
95% of men? I need a job in your company... I am single female, older than you, and everywhere I go there are women everywhere! I tried meetup groups. Like LIS123 stated, I wouldn't recommend that as a way to meet anyone. I think as long as you go and start a conversation with a girl, you have excellent chance of meeting new people and find someone.
Hey JL2010, I just found a group on Meetup that goes to embassy winetastings. I don't yet know what it's like, obviously, but I added myself to the email list. Do a search on the Meetup site and you'll find it.
To answer your question, my field is pretty techy/mathematical and doesn't attract many women. My office is an island of men in downtown DC -- we men are definitely out there. Best of luck!
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Thanks!
