Summer Sterling moved to New York from Los Angeles looking for a new start. Part of that meant hitting the singles' dating scene and hitting it hard.
"It definitely is the vibe," she explained. "I'm not gonna say I have not had really fun nights out thus far with guys. So, that is the thing though, I feel like everyone right now is in the mood to go wild."
It's just not the same talking virtually as it is meeting in person, said former "The Bachelor" star Pete "Pilot Pete" Weber.
"There's so many times where you try to text someone or communicate with someone else via not in-person interactions," Weber said. "And, there's only so much connection that you can garner from that."
The pandemic kept everyone indoors and isolated. But between vaccination levels increasing in certain cities and the looming threat of another shutdown because of the growth of the Delta variant, singles are fitting in all the intimacy they safely can in order to form bonds.
"There's been a little bit of hesitation, but there's also, I find, not a desperation, but a genuine desire to reconnect and to create new meaningful interactions and to find those moments of conviviality," said Absolut brand ambassador Elyse Blechman. "It's a little bit rough. It's sort of like finding our feet again, but the desire and the human drive to connect is definitely ever-present."
In a recent survey by Absolut conducted by KRC Research, the company found 59 percent of Americans under the age of 35 were planning to go on in-person dates this summer. The company is promoting getting people outdoors and mingling with their #MixResponsibly campaign.
"PDA is now a massive experience," Blechman said. "I mean, we're living our lives outside, We're living our lives in these alfresco moments. We don't have this luxury of our quaint. quiet dark spots, those velvet couches we may have imbibed on before. So, I kind of love it, this feeling of living out loud, loving out loud, and sort of doing whatever you want."
The plethora of options has made people excited to mingle, said dating coach and owner of Love Strategies Inc. Adam LoDolce.
"During the pandemic, the only way to go on a date was to go for a walk in the park, which is what most of my clients were doing," Love Strategies LoDolce said. "Now that things are opening up again, people are going out, they're going to restaurants, and they're really connecting with people."
Co-owner of Manhattan bar The Flower Shop Dylan Hales said business has been booming. They have had more customers in 2021 than they did at the same time in 2019.
"It was the perfect storm in terms of when restrictions got lifted when the weather got better when vaccination rates went up," he said.
That need to physically be with people is part of what the app called Meetnorth was counting on when it launched, said founder Jack Anner. The app uses location-based data to help people find others with similar interests in the direct vicinity.
"Socializing has to be a lot more meaningful because you don't know where your next interaction is going to come from," Anner said. "If we do get shut down again you've got to make it count."
Love Strategies' LoDolce said business has increased thanks to people trying to suss out the dating scene after being on pause. Once people start in-person socializing again, it's like riding a bike — but you have to get out there first which can be intimidating, he admitted.
"The people who are still struggling are the ones who are fully vaccinated, who are in a state where you can go out and socialize, but they are still using the coronavirus as an excuse for not going out," LoDolce said. "Many reason it's because they're nervous to just get out of the house."
The number one rule this summer is to take your time, LoDolce stated.
"Do not commit to someone on the first date, okay?" he said. "There's a tendency to want to dive right in if you click with someone. Slow it down."
But never say never, The Flower Shop's Hales said. You may find your soulmate along the way, even if it's at your local hookup bar.
"We have many stories of people that have met at Flower Shop, and now they're engaged or now they're married," Hales said. "We've had people propose to their partners here."
