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Dating in Melbourne

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A recent poll by market research firm Mintel found that 47 per cent of men aged between 18 and 34 in the UK had used a dating website or app in the year to December, compared with 25 per cent of women of the same age.

First dates are now like a job interview for who wants to see you naked

How many times is one supposed to mention that you have three siblings? But there’s a way to change the intensity and find some magic.

  • Roby D'Ottavi

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Pitch Perfect Match’s Selani Adikari is sick of using dating apps, and she’s sick of dating without using apps. She’s not the only one.

This year, dating apps died. What’s next doesn’t have to be scary

Approaching a potential partner IRL means taking a risk. Do we have the skills to go beyond swiping left or right anymore?

  • Bronte Gossling
The relationship landscape is shifting as many seek new ways of partnering, or abandon the notion altogether. This series examines how each generation is navigating this new environment.

Rosters and situationships: Has Gen Z abandoned love?

The first in our generational series “Is this the end of love?” examines dating for the youngest adults in the dating pool – Gen Z – and how they navigate ghosting and breadcrumbing among other norms.

  • Cindy Yin and Emily Kaine
Josie with one of their dating flyers.

‘Try dating Josie’: A Melbourne single’s unique approach to finding love

A diehard romcom fan has posted old-school flyers around inner Melbourne in a quest to find dates.

  • Sophie Aubrey
Affordable date ideas mean couples on a budget can still find ways to connect.

Affordable date ideas for couples on a budget

Cost-of-living pressures have put fine dining off the menu for many, but a coffee date may not wow a potential new love. Here are some more imaginative options.

  • Cindy Yin
A magic coffee is poured at Bowery to Williamsburg cafe.

I don’t own a puffer jacket or drink coffee. But this is how I know I’m a legit Melburnian

When guys on Hinge or Bumble asked me who I barrack for, I was stumped. When pressed to decide, I left the apps instead.

  • Maida Pineda
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Carly Sophia recently went on Hinge and had no matches, and then got a flood once she’d paid for a subscription.

Dating apps are sheer hell. But I’m not ready to go ‘boy sober’, either

It takes every ounce of mental strength to not believe I am destined to end up with a man who thinks “doing” countries is a personality trait.

  • Carly Sophia
Love for sale: Lifting the lid on dating apps.

Love for Sale

Dating apps promise genuine connections and fairytale endings. But this investigation by Clay Lucas has revealed dodgy practices and environments where misogyny flourishes.

The State Library could be turned into a ‘third place’ in the evening.

State Library should stay open at night for booze-free chats

Melbourne needs more third places. After 6pm, the library should say “laptops away” and turn the space from study zone into a place for booze-free conversation.

  • Simon Taylor
Elyne Le Faou in Melbourne.

As a visiting Frenchwoman, I find Australian men to be not at all what I expected

Living in Melbourne and working in hospitality, one cultural difference with France was immediately apparent: men’s behaviour towards women.

  • Elyne Le Faou