Top places to avoid on a first date

When you make the choice to take your online relationship offline, one of the most difficult decisions you will need to make will be where to take your date. Meeting in public is advised, but this still leaves you with so many choices, some of which will be better than others.

Here, we explore some of the worst places to take a date. 

Cinema

The cinema is probably one of the most typical date hotspots in the world, but it's also one of the worst if you're going on a date with someone you're just meeting for the first time. The whole purpose of your first date is to get to know the other person, and you can't exactly do that sitting beside them in the dark for three hours with a film playing in front of you. Keep this for a later date if you can.

Theatre

Similar to the cinema problem, taking someone to the theatre for a first date will leave you unable to get to know them. Sitting concentrating on a play or other performance will leave you both still feeling like strangers at the end of the night, and that doesn't bode well for securing a second date. That's not to mention the fact that many people aren't that into plays and the theatre. It might make you seem cultured and suave, but it may also turn the other person off you altogether.

Fast food

Who doesn't love a burger? Fast food is great, but only at the right time, one of which will never be your first date with someone. The whole point of your initial meeting is to impress someone and make sure they want to get to know you. As good as a Big Mac may seem, though, your date in the local McDonalds just screams cheap, and your date will feel the same. If you are taking them out for something to eat, try to go somewhere a little more upmarket. 

Nightclub

It seems like something of a ludicrous suggestion, but apparently there are people who are of the opinion that a nightclub constitutes a good place to meet someone for the first time. It has all the same problems as the cinema, what with the loud music and the darkness, as well as a lot more. Asking to meet someone in a club paints a picture of you as a party animal and someone who's only interested in going out, and that's not what you want your date to think when they are deciding if they want to meet you again. 

Other issues with nightclubs as a first date choice include the fact that they can be filled with drunk people out having fun, which really won't be the best sort of atmosphere for your first date.

Your place

If you should happen to invite someone to your place for a first date, chances are you won't actually get as far as ever meeting them. It's a suggestion that most people would not agree to, so knowing why can help you understand that you should never ask this. The main reason is that you really don't know this person. Even if you've spoken to them online for some time, you don't really know what each other are really like, so an invite to your home can come across as quite creepy and is unlikely to paint you in a good light. 

Bar

Another popular choice for a first date is to head to a bar, and while this is fine, you have to think about what it says about you. You don't want the first place that anyone, let alone a potential date, associates you with to be a pub, after all. It's fine to meet someone in a pub for a drink – it can be a low pressure environment, and it allows you the chance to speak and get to know each other, but you should move on after a while and do something else. Have a nice walk or go for something to eat, but you don't want to be spending the whole of your first date in the pub. 

Sports

Sports are exciting and can be great for bonding with someone, but like many other places, they should be kept for another date later on. No one looks at their best all sweaty and tired out after a game of tennis or badminton, after all, and while you may think paintball is one of the most exciting activities around, it's never a good idea to be injuring your date, even in the name of fun. If you do have to partake in sports on your first date, make it something simple like ten-pin bowling. It's competitive and fun and gives you a great chance to talk and get to know each other.