Finding summer love in Vancouver

Summer love. Whether it's the Beach Boys, Justin Timberlake, or Grease's Sandy and Danny singing about it, most people dream about finding love in the summertime. Heck, even Vancouverites, who are often regarded as not outwardly friendly and approachable most of the year, we too want to find steamy, summertime romance.

According to Paddi Rice, president and founder of Executive Search Dating, a Vancouver-based matchmaking firm geared towards busy professionals, there's no time like summertime when it comes to finding love.

"I think one of the great things about the summer is, first of all, people are just in a better mood, partially because it’s warm out," Rice told the Straight by phone. "Particularly, this year, people would say they were quite disappointed by how the spring went, and so now that the weather's here, I think people are just naturally in a better mood, which I think obviously helps.

"Also, in the summer, a lot of people's work schedules are a little bit more relaxed. A lot of people are either taking vacation or thinking of taking vacation, and this being Vancouver, I think there are a lot of Vancouverites who choose to take their vacations here in the city because they spend all year waiting for the nice weather to come."

So with all of this long-awaited sunny weather and free time finally here, what's a single girl or guy to do? Rice suggests heading outside and finding a casual group activity to partake in, such as joining a beach volleyball league.

"The only note on that is that if you're using it as a chance to get out there and meet some new people, always try to join events that are co-ed," Rice says. "Not just because of the obvious reasons, but also that it does tend to make it more of a social thing rather than competitive."

Rice also suggests taking the focus off of finding a match, and not going out with the mentality that you're actually going to meet somebody. If and when you do eye someone who sparks your interest, Rice insists on keeping it simple, and approaching the person by saying, "Hi, how are you," or offering a sincere compliment rather than using a cheesy pickup line.

"Really avoid any sort of lines at all, because ultimately it's probably going to come across as a line, and people's guards—especially women's guards—go up when they sense that you're using a line," Rice says.

When it comes to planning dates, Rice says to take your romance outdoors in order to ease dating jitters.

"There's something about having a drink on a patio and being outdoors on a summer evening that kind of relaxes people and takes the pressure off," Rice says. "So there's sort of a natural built-in date venue that not only helps you connect with somebody but helps you relax when you're out there."

Rice also suggests heading to a barbeque, packing a picnic, testing your sea-legs aboard a sailboat, or chilling out at an outdoor concert as other easy, date-friendly activities.

"I find when you go see an outdoor concert at Malkin Bowl, Deer Lake Park, or what have you, it seems to be not as an intense music experience, and it seems to be more conducive to meeting people," Rice says. "It's almost like just hanging out in the park."

So with the number of romantic dating spots abound in Vancouver—especially in the summertime—why do Vancouverites have such a bad rep when it comes to actually dating?

"I think Vancouverites can be a little bit difficult to approach," Rice says. "When you walk into a new place, or you're at a party or a bar, and you're looking around, there's not necessarily going to be a lot of people waving you over to come have a seat and have a drink, which does, to be fair, happen in a lot of other cities.

"Having said that if you are able to bridge that divide and go up to somebody, the good thing about Vancouver is that we are Canadians, and inherently extremely polite, and so it's totally counter to our culture to be rude to somebody."

Rice also attributes the booming online-dating industry to some of Vancouver's dating woes.

"There's probably more online dating going on in Vancouver than in any city in the world. I think that might be contributing to the frustration out there on the dating world because online dating is kind of like one massive singles bar," Rice says. "There's probably tons of dates going on in the city, but it's more about quantity and not as much about quality."

So if you're newly (or chronically) single in the city, consider taking your search off-line and outside this summer. Perhaps, learn to kayak, enjoy some drinks on a sun-drenched patio, or finally take-in one of those outdoor festivals happening almost every weekend this summer. Then, when you're not necessarily looking for it, summer love might be yours.

"I always say, enjoy yourself, have a good time, laugh, talk to people, be nice to the wait staff, don't just talk to single people, and talk to friend," Rice says. "Then, you create a virtuous cycle that's very alluring."