What a world we live in today, back in the day, courtship and meeting people were limited to the people in your immediate vicinity.
Your choices were pretty much limited to the guys and girls that lived in your neighborhood and if you were “friend-zoned” enough and the gist got around, you were exiled by your “loser reputation” into being the guy or girl that had been rejected so many times that no one in that community thought you were worthy of their time, company, or love.
Fast forward to the future, with sites like Tinder (if only the free love generation had Tinder), social media, the internet, smart phones etc. There is no longer a need for anyone to have to live as the “village hermit”, so break out of that friend-zone, grab your backpack, and head outside the confines of your immediate community.
There are more ways than ever today to re-invent and re-start yourself. We have never been of the opinion that girls or guys in any one country suck. We try at the Partytrail not to wallow in bitterness.
We simply believe there is someone for everyone. You just have to get off your behind and go find them. In saying this, we have listed some ways in which you can unbox yourself and truly blossom through travel.
9 Ways To Meet New People While Traveling.
Spoof your location on Tinder
So you are about to head to a new location where you know no one. What if we told you that there was a way you could arrange as many dates as possible in another part of the world from the comfort of your couch.
Tinder and many other dating apps work by serving up prospective matches based on satellite global positioning systems.
Ordinarily, the maximum distance you can search for a potential mate on Tinder is 100 km or miles depending on what country (U.S.A, please go metric) you live on. The problem is, what if you are not “hot sh#t” in your town and your chances of leveraging your charm, personality, and exotic appeal are next to nil.
Your swipe success rate on Tinder inadvertently will be very low. Based on our belief that there is someone for everyone, if you go global in your search for a soulmate or companionship, you will find that the qualities that people in your immediate vicinity find unattractive might be very well appreciated in another city, town, or country. So we encourage you to give this a try and watch you global connections and matches soar.
Learn another language
There is nothing more limiting than being able to communicate one dimensionally, think of all the friends in China you would have if you could speak Mandarin, the friends in Italy you would have if you could speak Italian.
If you want to date or make friends outside the confines of your immediate community, then you best be learning another language. We have found that nothing impresses a girl or guy while you are on the trail more than being able to hold a decent conversation in his or her language.
There are some countries where we have found this will get you a long way. Italy, Spain, Russia, and most of Latin America seem to have a strong draw towards anyone who can speak the native language.
Besides learning a new language, research shows learning a new language helps re-invigorate your mind and keeps those brain cells agile into old age.
Hostels
Hostels are many things, a cheap alternative to a hotel, a place to make new friends, a place to find fellow travelers to explore a new city with.
There are also countless stories of people who ignited romance during an outing on a hostel pub crawl. In fact, in Krakow, Poland, at the Mosquito hostel, (post on Poland is in the printing press) there was a couple who met earlier at the hostel and decided to fly back from North America to have their wedding reception at the hostel.
We promise you hostels are not only a place where bed bugs reside. You might just get bitten by a love bug or two during your stay.
Festivals
These are a great place to meet potential friends and soulmates. The Fullmoon party in Thailand, Tomorrowland in Belgium, Coachella in California. The great thing about festivals is that you are guaranteed a group of “18 to 35” year olds who are into an activity you are also interested in.
The festival itself has done the sifting through the crowd for you. So you are guaranteed no lame-o’s in the crowd. An added benefit to “love hunting” at festivals is that you and your potential mate already have something in common; “DARN GOOD MUSIC”.
Finally, how cool would it be to tell your kids, “Mum and Dad met at Tomorrowland in Belgium”. Score!!
Travel Alone:
We advise you ditch your home crew and travel Solo. Why?? You ask! Well, you have two options when you travel solo, either die of loneliness, or get out there and mingle with other travelers.
From our experiences traveling, we have found that there is no faster way to meet people on the trail than traveling solo. Since you are already out of your comfort zone and the restraints from cliquey old friends are not there.
You are forced into a position where you have to meet new people or get crushed by solitude. What would be the point of spending a few hundred dollars, pounds, euros, dinars or whatever your currency is, on a plane ticket if you don’t get out there and socialize.
Join a pub crawl:
So you get to a new city, you know no one, you go out a couple of times, even try to mingle and you hit a brick wall every time.
It’s time to hit up google and type in “pub crawl + whatever city you are in”. If it is a frequented holiday destination,chances are, someone in that city was smart enough to put together a pub crawl of that city.
These are an awesome way for travelers and expatriates new to a city to get to meet other people in a fun and casual environment.
Join an online expatriate community
There are websites out there like internations.org and meetup.com that are dedicated to connecting expatriates. They host events where they encourage interaction between the attendees.
Go to enough of these events and you will find yourself becoming a well adjusted local in no time with lots of friends, new contacts, and potential dates.
Get involved in a sporting activity:
Be it yoga, basketball, football, whatever sport you fancy, playing a sport with a bunch of strangers is a great way to meet people regardless of their background.
The more contact there is in the sport, the more you will be able to break down the awkwardness that comes with trying to get past the defense people put up when someone new is trying to get into their social circle.
So if you are new to a city, try to find out where the local gyms, basketball courts, and so on are. Don your gear and go test your competitive edge against others. Do this regularly enough and watch your contacts list while traveling grow.
Join other travelers on a city tour:
You are a history buff, she, or he is a history buff too. You thought the French revolution was the best thing since sliced bread and that Marie Antoinette had it coming. He or she does too. Half the work has been done.
Start a conversation about the historical pieces, Art, Literature or whatever else tickles your fancy during the city tour and Voila! You just made a new friend. It is so easy to get an “in” with comments like; “Wow! The Greeks were so smart, makes it seem like we have regressed with all the stuff they were able to accomplish”.
The fact that your prospective acquaintances are also on a city tour means they are just as curious and interested in culture as you are. This means striking up a conversation and getting to meet them will not be hard at all.
Well we hope we were able to enlighten you and make you realize, the world is your oyster and that the friend-zone is a place, granted all the opportunities the modern world presents, should by now be a thing of the past. We advise you to get out there and go see all the opportunity that awaits. Good luck!!!
In the next 9 ways series, we share tips on staying safe while traveling. Till the next post…….stay upbeat and keep basking in Wanderlust!!
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