Looking for love? Here’s where to find your soulmate in Leeds (or your next situationship)

Dating in Leeds means precariously navigating your way through swarms of aspiring DJs and econ bros who will try to sell you crypto at a Hyde Park house party. With every passing RPP Tuesday, you feel your hopes of meeting the love of your life slip away.

So, here’s a list of the best and worst places to find love in Leeds to get you through the summer and the next academic year. Whether you’ll be a sparkly-eyed fresher or a disillusioned graduate, there’s hope out there as long as you know where to look (i.e. not the smoking area at Fruity’s on a Friday night).

With that being said, let’s start with the no-gos: The worst places to find love in Leeds.

Mischief

Looking for love at The Warehouse on a Wednesday night will surely lead to VK-fuelled regret and hazy yet painful memories of getting with a man dressed as a pink hippo or, god forbid, a rugby boy who drank his mate’s urine 45 minutes ago “as a joke”.

Econ lecture

Filled with men who believe they’re going to be the next Elon Musk because they spent the summer working for their dad at Deloitte. Yes, they will be rich, but they will also tell you that “poverty is a mindset”, as if their dad doesn’t pay their rent, phone bill and transfer them £100 a week for creatine.

Hinge

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Where every prompt is variations of “6’3, if that matters”. Hinge is impractical for a few reasons. Firstly, you’ll definitely match with that one guy in your seminar and spend the next 11 weeks avoiding eye contact. Secondly, Leeds Hinge is notoriously unserious, and you will probably get ghosted by an emotionally unavailable, tote-bag-carrying man who isn’t over his ex (who is likely your mutual friend). And thirdly, he definitely is NOT 6’3.

Briggate Maccies at 3am

Though I have partaken in many inspiring conversations whilst queuing for Maccies after a night out, I wouldn’t recommend it for finding your future husband. Unless you want to tell your kids that your meet-cute with their father involves him slurring his words over a McCrispy as he tries to convince you to go back to Lupton with him, steer well clear.

So, if they’re the spots to avoid, where should we be whiling away the hours searching for our soulmates?

First-year flat (hear me out…)

This one could come under best and worst places. Dating your flatmate could start with an utterance of the phrases “we’re just keeping it casual” and “no strings attached”, and end with one of you moving out in January. Alas, my own flatcest story began one fateful night in March and, to the surprise of literally everyone we know, continues today. Call it love or a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome, we’ve now been together three somewhat happy years. So, commit flatcest (what’s the worst that can happen?).

Call Lane bars (the indie ones only)

A great place to avoid freshers. Potentially an acquired taste: For those who love a good negroni and men who exclusively text in lowercase. Chances of being knocked out by a VK bottle are very low and chances of being chatted up by a postgrad drinking a whiskey sour are relatively high. Good conditions for meeting the love of your life, or at the very least a sugar daddy. For maximum efficiency, stick to Neon Cactus & Oporto.

Parkrun

Since everyone and their mum seems to be training for a half marathon and documenting their every move on Strava, what better place to meet someone than Parkrun? Compression socks and pheromones. Consistency is key for meeting the love of your life. Tension builds as you successfully make eye contact each Saturday until finally one of you makes a move and you make plans to grab coffee at Coffee on the Crescent after the run. Worse comes to worst, friendzone them and you’ve got yourself a new running buddy and Strava friend.

Woodhouse Moor in June

Summer is Leeds has arrived. Everyone is drinking warm tinnies on the grass and pretending to read. All of a sudden you get hit in the face by a football, courtesy of the man who claims to be an amateur player but has only ever played for his secondary school’s B-Team. He runs over to apologise and offers to buy you an ice cream. Maybe it’s the concussion, but you’ve agreed to get a drink with him later at Hyde Park Book Club. This is the start of a blossoming romance.