DATING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Unfortunately, dating seems to be turning into a forgotten artform.  I don't know what it's like in the straight world, if this is a urban versus rural phenomenon, or that in the 21st century, dating is becoming, well, outdated.  Here in Miami and in most of the major cities I have lived, people really don't date that much.  You meet in a bar or club, you meet on a social networking site, you meet at a party, and that's it.  When I meet someone I like and ask them if they want to go on a date, more and more I get this perplexed look, and then he repeats the question, "You want to go out on a date?"  Like I had asked them for their grandmother's home phone number.

Personally, I really like going out on dates.  I think I'm a pretty good dater.  I keep the conversation light and moving, dress nicely but not too casual, be polite, chose an appropriate restaurant or setting.  (Some dating Don'ts - Don't go to a movie.  A movie isn't a date, it's sitting next to someone in the dark silently for 2 hours.  You can do that when you're in a relationship.  Don't bring your date to a gay bar or club.  It's too distracting for the both of you, not to mention the worse case scenario where your date leaves with someone else they met at the bar on your date).

The hardest part of any date is selecting the right venue (no, not chosing the right outfit, you should have that down).  And yes, a restaurant, going to the beach, a mutually agreed upon concert, a Broadway show, these are all nice dates.  However, I like to try to do different things to really make the date stand out in their mind.  Kind of like putting my signature on an evening.  Steal this idea.  Last night I took my date out for drinks.  Rather than just going to 1 bar, basically, we did a high class pub crawl.  We had 1 drink at 1 hotel bar and then onto the next hotel bar.  This date can work really well in Miami, New York or London, since you can walk or take public transportation.  Drunk driving is never a good way to end a date.

Miami Beach has the perfect area for this.  We started off with 1 drink at the Rooftop Bar of the Gansavoort Hotel, then we had 1 drink at the Setai, then 1 at the Shore Club, and then 1 at the Raleigh.  Along we way we walked, talked, discussed whether we liked the bar, the service, the patrons, which bar we like better......it was a really nice date.  Unique, original, and not terribly expensive (you can alternate who pays for drinks at each bar). Our date ended with a fully moonlite walk on the beach under the stars at low tide.  Perfect.