Can You Date Sober? What Is A Good Drink For A First Date
When sorting a first date, it can feel like you only have a couple of options to pick from. The default is to ask someone for a drink, but what if you don’t drink alcohol or are trying to limit how much you drink? This one aspect of your lifestyle can suddenly become a huge barrier for your love life, and at The Inner Circle we don’t think that’s ok.
A 2018 study showed that a third of 16-24 year olds are now teetotal, with 50% saying they hadn’t had a drink in the past week (up from 35% in 2005). There is a rapidly growing cultural shift moving away from alcohol, so what does this mean for first dates?
We’ve put The Inner Circle’s Spots feature to use to make a list of alcohol free date ideas, based on actual dates people have been on. So here are some suggestions on how to woo, without needing a Woo Woo:
1) Something Active(Bowling, Ice skating, mini golf)
Something like Bowling or Mini golf is a great way to get the conversation flowing, and the heart pumping. One of the reasons alcohol is useful on a date is it lowers your social inhibitions. Embarrassing yourself by doing an activity that you're not comfortable with can have the same effect. As weird as it sounds, once you're out your comfort zone it can much easier to relax and be yourself.
2) A Comedy show
There’s a lot of temptation to go to the cinema for a date, or depending on your city even go and see a show. This isn’t always a great idea though, as you can end up sitting in the dark for 2 hours and not actually talking. With something like a comedy show, you get regular breaks, lots of conversation starters, and laughing together is a great way to connect.
3) A Food/Farmers market
The fastest way to someone's heart is through their stomach. If you’re lucky enough to live hear a decent outdoor food market or festival, make the most of it! Meet your date there for a walk in the hustle and bustle, and share a snack together.
4) A walk/light hike
You don’t have to do anything too intense, but it’s been scientifically proven that your brain is more active when you’re on the move. A walk through a cool area or a hike in a park is a great way to connect. If you’re both highly active people, you can even dial it up and go for a run together, but that really is a personality thing and not recommended for everyone.
5) Coffee/tea date
It really is the safest of bets. You can get to know someone, one on one, in an intimate yet public setting. Tea is great, coffee can make conversation flow faster, there are no downsides to getting to know someone over a hot drink.
The only thing left to do is find someone to ask! And the best place to do that is of course The Inner Circle. Register for free here to enjoy in depth profiles that let you date people who share you approach to life, not just alcohol.
*** Using The Inner Circle during the COVID-19 outbreak ***
The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) may present a risk to those meeting offline in some regions. At The Inner Circle, we are encouraging all of our members to stay informed and follow the World Health Organisation guidelines. Please take the most up to date information from your local health authority into account when deciding to meet anyone via our platform over the coming weeks, and avoid any unnecessary risk.
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