1. Wanderlove

One of the silver linings of Covid was how it made us appreciate the little things so much more: our friends and family, our everyday freedoms, and our innate love of travel and exploration. That revitalized sense of wonder for the world is fully manifesting three years on, and folks are combining it with their dating adventures in the form of wanderlove. Bumble surveyed 10,000 singles and found that 33% are now more open to dating outside their city. So if you’re not having a whole lot of luck in your vicinity, try expanding those location parameters. Now more than ever you’ve got a good chance of matching with someone willing to take a change on long-distance love!

2. Infladating

Prices have been skyrocketing lately. Pretty much everyone’s feeling it, and singles have been recalibrating their criteria for what makes a great first date as purse strings tighten. A candlelit dinner at a high-end restaurant is fabulous, but for some daters it doesn’t make much sense at the moment. Plenty of Fish found that 48% of Millennials and Gen Zers are now suggesting more inexpensive dates in a trend they’re calling infladating. So don’t be afraid to suggest some creative and budget-friendly rendezvous to your prospective date. If they’re interested in spending time with you, the ins and outs of the date itself are just detail anyway, right?

3. Dry dating

More and more people are embracing sober life, so it’s only natural for that trend to spill over onto the dating scene as well. We’re seeing an increasing number of nonalcoholic brands, jaw-dropping mocktails, and even all-dry venues. 29% of Americans believe the culture around dating and drinking is shifting, and 34% of daters worldwide are now more likely to try dry dating than before Covid. Seriously smooth latte followed by a stroll in the park, anyone?

4. Ethical sexploration

Here’s one for the non-monogamists. Attitudes toward having more than one partner are changing. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone you see on dating apps is already involved with someone—most aren’t—but non-monogamy, or ethical sexploration, is on the rise for sure. Even if that’s not your scene, whatever your thing is, it’s now more likely than ever there’s someone out who’s into it too, as daters worldwide are expanding their perceptions surrounding sex, intimacy, and dating.

5. Open casting

Lots of us believe we have a type. But as we saw with ethical sexploration and all the transformations that entails for society, singles across the globe are rethinking what they want out of a relationship—and reassessing what “type” could embody their checklist. Bumble found that 38% of singles are now more open to who they consider dating, while 28% are paying less attention to what others think about the kind of person they should be getting involved with. So why not try open casting yourself? Dating outside your comfort zone could just be a game changer. And if you need a hand getting started, well—you’ve come to the right place.

Maclynn is a boutique, multi-award-winning introductions agency with offices in New York, New Jersey, California, and London. We’re world-renowned for bringing together highly compatible singles within our vast network of attractive, intelligent professionals, and our matchmakers are relationship experts in their own right. Get in touch today, and prepare for genuinely meaningful dating—just like you deserve.