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Is community college hobby classes best place to meet new friends and women?

Hello. I am need of feedback. I have just graduated with my MBA this past spring in 2008 and am in the mode for finding a new girlfriend and some new friends. I ended up breaking up with my girlfriend in the beginning of last year and I didn’t date too much due to my focusing on completing and graduating with my degree. I am 33 years old and I have seen many changes with my close friends over this past year as well. One of my best friends that I went to graduate school with has another year of school left before he graduates but he and his wife have a daughter that just turned 2 years old last year and are expecting a new baby this coming spring. So obviously I can’t hang out with him and his wife too much anymore because since his family is expanding and they will be tied up with alot of things. One of my other friends that I know real well, they just had a baby this past October so they are preoccupied with their time as well. And finally one of my friends is moving to New York next month for a job relocation. So it looks like I am losing alot of friends to their commitments. I, on the other hand don’t want to be sitting at home feeling miserable due to all of my friends going their seperate ways. I looked into some hobby classes such as photography, ballroom dancing, cooking and cycling classes that are being offered in the beginning of this year 2009 at the local community college. I am not a bar person and I know alot of my friends told me to stay away from bars when even it comes to meeting women due to some of their attitudes in the bar. I am a social drinker but only if I am at a party with alot of friends. I also don’t believe in the online dating thing because some of the times you don”t know who you are exchanging information with. So I am going to pursue the community college classes. Does anyone think that this is a great place to make new friends and of course meet a woman that can be a potential girlfriend? I also like to go to coffee shops because I heard that is the best places as well. Please anyone give me their feedback on these plans and if they are a great direction for me.

You know, I have to say that this sounds like a really good idea. In the end, whether or not you’re going to end up finding an ideal date, you’ll be improving your skillset, which is going to make you more interesting to women, and the classes you’ve listed all have possibilites, though in my opinion, some more than others, as I will list below. Good luck!

First off, community colleges have a greater than average concentration of non-traditional age students (22+), and so you’re likely to find someone within your age range attending a class on photography, ballroom dancing, cooking or other hobbies. For students within the traditional age range, these will likely be electives, and they’ll probably be very busy with school/partying anyway.

Ballroom dancing is a good idea, as well as cooking. Dancing is a partner exercise, in and out of the classroom. And it adds class. Cooking has definite possibilities at home especially – and you’ll eat better too. For one, they’ll help you on future dates even if don’t find one in any particular class. How many guys do you know who can comfortably dance to Strauss, pair fine wines or cook gourmet, international food? Secondly they’re not isolated activities. People in photography or other art classes are typically going to be doing a lot of solo work for their portfolios. That would mean that in class, they’ll likely only have moments to spare to talk when they aren’t taking notes or tinkering with their camera. However, it can still work. Cycling could be fun – you’ll certainly meet active, health-conscious people, but its another activity where someone is focused on their own apparatus and driving it to their own goal. You can steal a kiss in the dark room or discuss the meaning of life while biking up the mountain trail, but odds are learning the Viennese waltz or the foxtrot, or learning how to whip up a real crème brûlé will grant you better odds, and pay off later whether you meet her in class or are quietly sipping a coffee in the library.

As a single who’s spending a lot of time now in clubs and bars here with friends, I agree that the bar atmosphere is better for a one night stand than for a date, but than again it depends on luck of the draw. Coffee shops are another solitary environment where you have to take an extra conversational leap to initiate a non-contextual conversation with a stranger mulling over their coffee and newspaper. Anywhere you go that doesn’t give you context to be part of conversation with a stranger grants you lower odds than one where you belong. However, a more likely idea would be to hunt for some extracurricular group associated with your subject:

"Artistic, amateur photographers of [Your Location]"
"Cycle Marathon for Diabetes 2009"
"Dance the Night Away! Ballroom Dance Team"
"Le Cuisine Parisien – French Cooking Club"

And join. Than, if you do meet a special someone in one of your courses, whether it be snapping candid shots or dancing the mambo, you have a backup locale; you can invite her to one of your groups and out of the classroom setting. Plus, who knows if you’ll meet your date in one of the clubs, wherein your extra coursework would also give you some background and experience.

All in all it sounds like a win-win way to keep busy and to swing some dates.