Finding a date outside the bar

Libby Peck offers tips for singles wanting to mingle without booze.

I find it kind of funny that I have absolutely no desire to write about bars for The Temple News’ Bar Guide. I mean, that’s what I talk about in every other column – why should this be any different? Well, with a boyfriend, my savings account nearly depleted and my weekends dedicated to regaining sanity and sleep, the bar scene is kind of in the back of my head.

After all, my supply of fashionable sequined tops and skinny jeans is running low, and to be honest, I find no pleasure in wearing heels. I already have to be in Center City twice a week for my internship, so I can’t really afford the cab fare to go back on weekends. And why would I want to pay three bucks per glass of Bud Light when I can volunteer at the Philadelphia Craft Beer Festival for free?

For those of you as thrifty as me, and those of you who really hate the bar scene but still like to pick up attractive singles in your spare time, here are some suggestions on places other than bars to go singles-hunting.

Go to a grocery store
Really, any grocery store. The people who work at the FroGro (that’s the Fresh Grocer for those of you out of the loop) seem to be, uh, especially friendly toward us Temple students, and if you’re an artsy type, you probably have a Craigslist “Missed Connection” begging to be written about you after perusing the organic produce at Whole Foods. Bonus: If he’s grocery shopping, it probably means he has a place to call his own. Or he’s doing a favor for a bed-ridden parent. Your call.

Get on the Internet
Sure, you can stalk people on Facebook, but that seriously limits the possibilities of your hookups to people you already know. Get on assorted dating Web sites and Craigslist. Have I bashed online dating before? Yes. Does it work? Yes and no, depending on the case, just like relationships that began in bars. But like anything, use discretion. And hey, if you don’t end up meeting up with that hot Drexel engineering student or the anonymous self-proclaimed Center City lawyer who posted a picture of his penis on Craigslist, at least you can’t say you didn’t try.

Go read a book
Or at least pretend to. I can’t be the only person who’s noticed the smorgasbord of literate hotties littering the café in the Rittenhouse Square Barnes and Noble. Rather than scurry away from the crowd with your chai latte in tow, find an empty seat across from an intriguing specimen, ask if you can take the empty seat, and eye-make-love the afternoon away over your copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Walk a dog
This is especially for you males out there – if there are, in fact, any straight males out there reading this. Have you seen the crowds that dog owners attract on Beury Beach when the weather’s warm? Girls flock to cute animals like Tiger Woods flocks to blondes. If you don’t have a dog, borrow one and walk it somewhere with a grassy area. If you’re dog sitting, then it’s like you’re getting paid to get laid – which is an epic win, if I do say so myself.

Study
If you don’t study, go where the studiers go: Club TECH. You can easily have fun with StumbleUpon as you stare at the cute Cecil skater sitting across from you and hope that at some point you’ll pay attention to the Blackboard tab that remains open and untouched in your browser. If you decide to be that annoying person in Club TECH who is consistently doing anything but homework while you’re there, you might as well get a date out of it. Taking a smoke break with a new TECH friend could easily turn into a snuggle session – once both of you are finished with that PowerPoint that you never actually started. Oops.

And if any of these suggestions don’t work for you – or you’re just too lazy to try – head to Pub Webb. It may be a bar, but it’s also a good last resort.

Libby Peck can be reached at elizabeth.peck@temple.edu.