So you made a success of it, you found a match online and now you’re meeting up? Congratulations! The hardest part of the journey is over and now the fun begins. But remember that first impressions do count and if you’re not careful, you could still mess things up at this stage. With this in mind, here are my top tips for your first face-to-face:

Firstly, make sure you choose the right venue; this may seem obvious but the choice of location can really make or break a date. Ideally you should choose somewhere that’s public, with people around but where you can still hold a conversation.

Meeting at your house or your date’s house is a definite no-no, this not only sends the wrong signals for a first date, but could potentially be unsafe – however well you think you know someone online, they could still turn out to be a real world psychopath. Even worse, they could be really boring and fail to take the hint when it’s time to leave!

Cinemas are often regarded as good venues for dates, but think about it – you’re stuck for up to three hours with your date in a place where you can’t talk or even look at each other properly; is that really the best environment to make an impression? Likewise the main dancefloor at Ministry of Sound is not ideal for an involved conversation.

Of course, this is not a definitive rule, you might have got chatting in the first place through a shared love of films or dance music, but for the majority of meetings a small intimate café or quiet pub provides the perfect environment for a little light conversation, some flirting and plenty of eye contact for that all important personal connection that is the key to a successful date.

Time of day can be an important factor for a meeting as well. Think about what kind of date you want to have. What do you know about your match already? Is he or she an all-night party animal or an afternoon tea on the lawn type? Studies show that our intentions in online dating are perceived differently depending on the time of day we choose to interact, and this also applies to ‘real world’ dating.

If you’re serious about looking for a long term partner and you think this match could possibly be ‘the one’, you should consider meeting earlier in the afternoon or evening. This gives the impression that you are a more sober and dependable character, and that your intentions are honest. If you’re more into playing the field, or are aiming for a more casual and ‘fun’ relationship then meeting up later in the evening should be fine.

Of course the time of day and venue have to also work together; cafés, art galleries, perhaps a visit to the aquarium are all classic afternoon or early evening activities, leaving time for you to continue to a bar or restaurant later if things are going particularly well. Late night dates are better suited to more upbeat or raucous activities such as gigs, ten-pin bowling or maybe a spot of salsa dancing.

Once again, there is no definitive formula that will help you to choose the perfect setting for your date, think about what you know about the person you’re meeting up with, what the two of you have in common and try to choose a date scenario that reflects this. Above have fun, relax and be safe!

For more tips on face to face meetings see part 2 of this article

Croydon Hounslow works for a free dating site in the UK

Most of the Internet dating advice available is for the person who has never participated in Internet dating before. Standard dating advice about how to begin Internet dating, what precautions to take when dating online, and how to move relationships from the Internet to the real world are all widely available. However, what about those people who need dating advice because Internet dating is something they enjoy but something just isn’t quite working for them? Thousands upon thousands of people have been using the Internet as a means of dating for years now, and those people need a different type of Internet dating advice than the Internet dating advice available for the novice Internet dater. Finally, that Internet dating advice is here.

Dating advice for the experienced Internet dater generally relates to three different major complaints. Either you aren’t meeting people despite your frequent use of internet dating services, you are meeting people but they are the same type of people over and over again, or you’re meeting new people and forming new relationships but they only seem to get to a certain relationship phase and then they fizzle out. People struggling with any of these three scenarios can benefit from some basic Internet dating advice.

Complaint number one for whom experienced Internet daters often seek dating advice is: “I’m online all the time and I’m not meeting anyone.” These are Internet daters who are putting in an honest effort at finding a match online but just don’t seem to ever find anyone who meets their needs. There are three different reasons for this. One is that you might be too picky. One is that you might not be expressing what you need clearly. And the last is that you might be on the wrong sites. You should figure out exactly what you are seeking from an online relationship, but be realistic about it. Your profiles and posts should clearly express what you are seeking. And if you still aren’t finding it, you should try using different sites. There are specialty sites for all different types of people and you should consider one of these if general sites aren’t working for you.

Complaint number two for which people seek dating advice is: “I’m meeting the same people again and again”. Most often, these complaints come from the people who have Internet access all throughout the day at work or school. You know who you are. You post and peruse Internet dating sites almost like it’s a full time job. The problem with this is two-fold. First, you are most likely reading every profile that comes across, which means that you are either seeing the same people online all of the time or you are seeing so many people with the same interests that everyone is starting to blur together. Second, you might be stuck in a rut, posting the same thing about yourself again and again, so that you’re only drawing interest from the same type of people. The best Internet dating advice for you is to limit your use of Internet sites for a while, trying to explore all of the options within one or two sites before moving on to another site.

Finally, many experienced Internet daters seek Internet dating advice because they meet and date a lot of people online, and they’ve had some success with relationships, but after a certain point, the relationships just fizzle out. Unfortunately, the answer here is not a simple one and the dating advice might not be what you want to hear. Internet dating is designed to help you meet more people who meet your needs. However, it’s a matchmaker, not a miracle cure, and if you have problems maintaining relationships, you might need more than dating advice to help you out. Don’t worry; you’re actually one step ahead of the game because you’ve moved on from needing Internet dating advice to being able to really work on the issues that are holding you back.

John Garret believes that a successful man or woman gets validation from his/her life, not from relationships with other singles. And you should seek confident women/men that are not needy. www.moderndatingsite.com/Internet_Dating_Advice.html