Is 8 pm Too Late for a Date? Depends on Your Plans and Circumstances

When you are about to go on a date with the person you really like, you don’t care about minor problems that may stand in your way. But being overwhelmed with emotions is not the best way to react, in this case. Keep your head cold because not all dates are good and safe.

So, people keep asking us whether 8 pm is too late for a date and there is no clear answer to this. But we know some tricks that will help you decide on your own. Please make sure your date is safe for you, especially if you are female. Crime stats are ruthless and the first date is very often the place for crime. So, keep reading to learn how you can protect yourself!

Safety measures everyone should take

Your first date is something cool – you remember those fresh emotions of something new in your life, and you get to know a completely new person who you can have a romantic relationship with in the future. But not everything is so bright.

In 2016, BBC reported that there was a serious rise in sexual offense crimes on first dates and they linked it with online dating. People date online and they just can’t get to know each other well. Then they meet and the criminal enjoys extra trust from the victim. This may lead to really bad things that will ruin your life, so this is worth considering.

Here’s what you can do to avoid such problems:

• always arrange the first date with a person you don’t know in a hectic public place like a café in the central street of your city or a park where a lot of people are walking with their kids;
• never agree to have the first date late in the evening – better find another day when you both have time during the day, you really need a lot of natural light to stay safe;
• never meet with a person if you have any suspicions about his or her mental health, this is the first sign of danger for you and this should be the red flag;
• end the date immediately if you feel that the person is pushing on you and insisting on some things you don’t want to do;
• never agree to go to any remote places late in the evening – you need people to be around you all the time to stay safe.

You may think this is not that important and you will never get into trouble when dating someone. But all those thousands of victims who suffer from sexual offense crimes every year in the US also didn’t think they could get into this situation.

Is 8 pm actually too late for a date?

Yes, we would say that the first date should take place during the day, not in the evening. Natural light is your best friend when you are getting acquainted with a new person. It’s not only about possible crime from another person. It’s also about your comfort and confidence.

It’s much more pleasant for both of you to sit in a vivid café in the center of the city and to have a cool talk than to go to the bar or restaurant where you will barely hear each other. The first date should be not only romantic, but it should also give you the chance to get to know another person and to talk to him or her.

Here’s why we believe 8 pm is too late for a date:

• you will not have the chance to find a place for calm talk, all places will be quite hectic at this time of day;
• most likely, you will go to the bar and the first date will become the time when you drank too much and felt ashamed;
• you will not have enough time – just a couple of hours is always too fast for a date and you won’t have a chance to talk with this person;
• the date at 8 pm means that you are going to have something more than just drinking coffee in a café, so you should be ready for some kind of development;
• it’s dark outside, so walking around the city center and talking with this person will be not that comfortable and safe.

Of course, if it’s not your first date and you are considering drinking a couple of shots in the bar and then coming to someone’s home to have fun, 8 pm is a perfect time. But if we are talking about the first date, this is the worst time you can come up with.

We are pretty sure you will regret this date if you eventually have it at 8 o’clock in the evening. The worst thing that can happen is that you may be engaged in a kind of crime because you just didn’t get to know the person well.

What’s the best place for a date at 8 pm?

If you are still considering the date at 8 pm, you should think about the location. Again, it can be anything if you have already been dating this person for a month or two and are sure that there is no danger. But if you aren’t 100% sure, you should take this into consideration.

Here are the best places for a late-evening date with an unknown person:

• a lively café where you’ll be surrounded by dozens of people;
• a restaurant from where you can easily go home in a taxi;
• a bar in your area where the bartender may even know you well;
• the central street that is perfectly lighted and has a lot of people at this time of day.

No other places are OK. If the person offers to meet in some dark area of the city to have a calm walk, be careful! Also, don’t agree on meeting in unpopular cafes or bars where you may be the only visitors. Avoid getting into a car that is driven by your potential boyfriend or girlfriend. And also avoid walking around the streets that have poor street lights.

How should you prepare for a potentially dangerous date?

Sometimes, life puts us in circumstances where we just can’t do anything but agree to have the first date at 8 o’clock in the evening. What should you do in this case? You have quite a lot of ways to make sure you are safe or at least to minimize the risks of getting into trouble.

Here’s what you can actually do:

• Tell your friends where you are going to be. Your friends will call you sometimes and control that you are OK.
• Keep your mobile phone around you at all times. You can quickly call 911 or call a friend and tell them you are in trouble.
• Take something for self-protection in your bag or pocket. It can be tear gas, a legal stun gun, a small knife, etc.
• Ask someone to sit in the same café and watch you. This is one of the non-convenient but very safe decisions.
• Cancel the date anyway and try to reschedule it for the daytime. If the person rejects it, you should consider this, too.

Are guys safer on the first date than girls?

Well, yes. Stats say that females are much more often in trouble when they are on their first date with a guy that they’ve met online. But males are also at the risk.

We know hundreds of cases when the woman appeared to be the robber. She may poison the man with something that will make him sleep like dead and then she may rob him. We’ve heard about some cases when a guy was kidnapped on the first date but for this, you should be from a very rich family – they will request money from the family in exchange for your life.

To sum up, avoid late first dates and always think about your safety first. Never believe that these bad things won’t happen to you – this is the worst trap you may get into.

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