- Avoid exchanging numbers too soon
- Inform your friends and family about our plans to ensure someone waits on you later in the evening
- Have a backup plan (by arranging meetup with friends) to leave early in case the other person looks suspicious
- Select a public place for initial dates to ensure you can leave the table/date if things become uncomfortable
- Avoid riding home with them after the first meetup, even if it’s via a ride-sharing app
Lastly, give your relationship a few weeks or at least a month of in-person outings before visiting your partner’s house or letting them into your place. These strategies protect you from unwanted advances online and offline.
People invested in starting serious relationships should not rush into a date. Instead, you should wait patiently. Give your connection a couple of weeks (2-3) before scheduling a real-life meetup. It gives you ample time to get to know one another through regular messages.
That said, don’t let more than a month go by without meeting this special someone. The longer you wait, the more you hesitate and overthink the situation. You also start building a mental persona of how the other person thinks and behaves. If the real person doesn’t live up to those expectations, you might wind up being disappointed.