Seeing as the dating scene is famously bad, single folks moving to DFW from out of town are naturally wary about taking part in it. One transplant took to Reddit to put out some feelers, noting that Dallas doesn’t seem like a “mingle friendly” city where you can approach strangers with ease, and asking how the dating apps work out around here.
Dating App Usage in DallasThe responses were bleak yet hilarious.
byu/WorriedGarage6711 inDallas
“You know how dating apps suck in general? [It’s] like that here except somehow made worse by the rampant superficiality and wealth/status obsession of this city,” one commenter lamented.
Most of the thread is in agreement that Dallas isn’t the kind of place where cute strangers feel approachable.
“I’ll agree that Dallas doesn’t really feel like a ‘mingling’ city,” wrote one user who identified himself as a 32-year-old man. “At the parks, on the Katy Trail, in Uptown, Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts, Downtown, it just feels like I’m going to bump into someone interesting and just have a great time, but it never happens.”
The original poster explained later in the thread that this isn’t the case in other places where she’s spent a lot of time, such as New York. Another commenter has already cut their losses and said they’ll try dating again whenever they move back to New York or California.
CommentMany took to the comments to vent about how users could often not be bothered to write more than a single sentence about themselves, making it harder to spot potential deal breakers before matching with someone.
byu/WorriedGarage6711 from discussion
inDallas
“I don’t want to spend who knows how long talking to someone [...] that smokes, or is religious, or Republican or into BDSM,” wrote one Redditor.
“[For real,] sis,” another responded. “If I had a dollar for every variation of ‘step on me’ that’s been sent as an opener over the years, I could probably afford rent in Uptown.”
Women in the thread who are interested in men repeatedly take issue with the fact that men don't use dating apps as a way to connect with someone new, but as a sort of Doordash for hookups that feels dehumanizing.
Comment“90% of the matches either send a dick pic or ask if you’re tryna smash immediately,” one comment said.
byu/WorriedGarage6711 from discussion
inDallas
The venting would often veer off topic from the original prompt, with people offering up theories as to how things had gotten so bad.
“COVID killed the dating apps everywhere,” wrote one commenter, affording Dallas a little grace. “It went from people trying to find something, even if it’s just hookups in some cases, to people just yearning for attention and wanting to use others for entertainment and it hasn’t really switched back.”
Even the people who met their spouses on a dating app don’t necessarily have good things to say about them.
“I met my fiancé on Hinge,” said one woman. “Granted, I dated a lot of duds before I met him, so your mileage may vary.”
CommentThe original post was a call for advice and some commenters did come through. The consensus? Delete the apps and brave the real world.
byu/WorriedGarage6711 from discussion
inDallas
“I tried the apps for a few months but had a similar experience that others expressed here,” one man wrote. “I pretty much exclusively meet people at social gatherings (mostly bars and concerts). There’s lots of single people in Dallas so you don’t have to look too hard.”
“Don’t limit yourself based on assumptions as to what Dallas is like,” read another comment. “It is very diverse and not everyone is a religious, sports-loving Republican.”
Concerts are a running theme with commenters who met their partners offline, as are apps geared toward meeting groups of people with shared interests, such as Geneva or MeetApp, or even meeting people the old-fashioned way: speed dating.
For those still more comfortable swiping at home, the apps’ lukewarm defenders say that persistence and a good attitude are key.
“Took some time and ‘near-missus’ (pun intended), but I eventually met my wife on Bumble in 2019,” one man commented. “If you have the right mindset and approach, dating apps are great for finding your person.”
“Accept the apps for what they are,” wrote another commenter, who went on to explain that it’s impossible to have fun on the apps if you take them too seriously.
CommentIf all of this seems too complicated, one commenter broke down their approach to Tinder quite frankly: "Don’t be not attractive."
byu/WorriedGarage6711 from discussion
inDallas
Dallas may still be a waking nightmare for people who are just looking for someone normal to go out with, but at least there’s also some solidarity. For what it’s worth, the people in this thread seem like they have a lot in common and might consider just going out with each other.
