Dating Advice for Singles in Tayside

Most dating advice is written for nobody in particular. This is written for people dating in Tayside — where the pool is smaller, word travels, and a bad first date can mean bumping into someone at the supermarket a fortnight later.

Write a profile that starts conversations

The best profiles give people something to ask about. Name the walk you do on a Sunday, the team you follow, the thing you are bad at. "Easy going, love a laugh" tells a reader nothing and gives them nowhere to begin.

Use photographs that look like you

One clear photo of your face, one full length, one doing something you enjoy. No sunglasses in all of them, no group shots where nobody can tell which one you are, and nothing from eight years ago. The point of a photo is that the person recognises you when you walk in.

Message like a person

Read the profile, pick one thing, ask about it. Two lines is plenty. Copy-and-paste openers get ignored, and so do messages that only comment on appearance.

Meet sooner rather than later

Long message exchanges build a version of someone that the real person then has to live up to. Once it is going well, suggest a coffee or a drink somewhere public in Tayside within a week or two.

Keep first dates short

An hour for a coffee or one drink. If it is going well you can always stay longer; if it is not, you both get your evening back. Tell a friend where you are going, arrange your own way there and back, and trust your instincts.

Expect a few misses

Meeting the right person usually means meeting some wrong ones first. That is not failure, it is the process working.