What to do for first dates?

Answer 1

By far, the most popular place for a first date is a coffee shop. For one thing, no alcohol is served here, which eliminates the potential of drinking too much to bolster your courage and sociability (and then making a complete jerk out of yourself). It's also easier to walk away from this kind of date after a brief exchange.

On the other hand, if you don't like this person enough to commit to a 2-3 hour date, maybe you aren't really ready to meet them, and you should just go back to happy hours. Since this can be such an awkward situation, the first date should include some activity.

This gives you something to do and think about besides trying to impress your date; if you don't really like your date, at least you can enjoy the activity (something you might not ordinarily do by yourself); you don't feel the need or pressure of selling yourself in a short space of time it shouldn't feel like a job interview!