Single in Richmond, VA? 9 Places and Apps to Find a Date
Some years ago, a single 25-year-old professional relocated from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, for a finance job. Aside from coworkers, he knew no one, and before long his weekends were lonely and dull. He hit bars, hiked trails, and read local blogs, yet he never found his place in the social scene.
“I am having a major culture shock trying to adjust to the Richmond lifestyle,” he said on a discussion forum. “It seems like it’s really hard to meet new people.”
The 25-year-old posted on City-Data.com asking Richmond locals for advice. The thread soon veered into an argument about how closed-minded Richmond people are, and nobody offered newcomers a thorough answer about meeting people. Until now, that is. Below you’ll find nine ideas for meeting Richmond singles and growing your social circle in this historic Southern city.
Richmond Dating Sites
These days, nothing beats online dating for meeting singles quickly and effectively. Within minutes, you can build your profile, choose your search settings, and start chatting. Sifting through the network to spot local singles who fit your criteria goes fast. Every site below is free to join and lets you flirt with singles who are just your type.
Best Singles Site
We rate Match as the best dating site, since it has the longest history (it launched in 1995) and more success stories than any rival. Its clever matching algorithm, which draws on personal data to pair compatible people, has kept it popular and relevant all this time.
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: “Match pairs a large dating pool with search filters specific enough to make that size useful rather than overwhelming.” Our Review »
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Singles | 49%51% | 14.6 Million | Try Match FREE |
Over 50 & Senior Sites
Singles over 50 favor OurTime over other dating sites. Its simple search layout suits a generation that grew up without swiping and messaging. Meeting people on OurTime doesn’t call for a computer science degree. Finish your profile, and the site starts suggesting local date prospects on its own.
- Relationships: Dates and Relationships
- Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more
- Our Experts Say: “OurTime makes dating after 50 feel simple, with senior-friendly search tools and an easy-to-use layout.” Our Review »
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mature Singles (50+) | 48%52% | 8.9 Million | Over 50? Try It FREE |
For Black Men & Women Only
The 2010 census found that 50.6% of Richmond residents identify as black or African-American. Your chances of landing a biracial or black date locally are pretty good, then, particularly if you jump-start your search with BlackPeopleMeet. The niche site counts thousands of black singles among its members.
- Relationships: Deep Relationships or Just Casual Dates
- Match System: Search by location, age, more
- Our Experts Say: “BlackPeopleMeet.com is the one of the largest and most popular dating sites for black and biracial singles, and the site is used by more than 5 million people a month.” Our Review »
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Singles | 47%53% | 5.7 Million | FREE Trial for New Users |
Hookup & Sex Site
Care more about short-term fun than a long-term relationship? Think about creating a racy profile on Adult Friend Finder. This hookup site urges daters to drop the coyness and start lining up steamy encounters with swingers and singles. Its real-time messaging helps people flirt and find sex partners whenever they want.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: “Make no mistake: this site isn't about making friends, it's about finding hookups and casual encounters. No adult site has a larger or more active user base of those seeking discreet fun.” Our Review »
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Singles | 65%35% | 25.5 Million | 3 Months @ $19.95/Mo |
Popular Dating Apps
Smartphones have fundamentally transformed how we work, live, play, and date. There’s no longer any need to track down a computer to check your dating profile and answer new messages; a dating app keeps you connected wherever you are. Apps rely on matching algorithms and location-based searches to simplify meeting someone special. Richmond singles, download these apps to kick your love life up a notch.
- Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
- Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
- About the App: Match is built for browsing rather than swiping. You can search by location, age, and interest, then take your time reading profiles before reaching out. The app is free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
OurTime
- Relationships: Dating and Relationships
- Match System: Search by age as well as zip, gender, more
- About the App: Made just for single seniors, OurTime is one of the most well-known niche dating apps. It’s a fun and straightforward app with simple swiping features. Once two people swipe right on each other, they can communicate. For more match options, visit the ConnectMe and I’m Interested pages.
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
eharmony
- Relationships: Long-Term Relationships, Marriages
- Match System: Get daily match suggestions
- About the App: Responsible for 4% of marriages in the U.S., eharmony is among our top picks for relationship-minded heterosexual singles. To become a member, add the app to your phone (iOS or Android) and then take its 29 Dimensions® of Compatibility Matching Quiz. It’s absolutely free to do both these things — as well as receive matches and communicate during other special events.
- Browse Free:View Photos Now
Richmond Singles Bars
Back in 1935, Richmond was the first city to commercially produce canned beer, and people were hooked. Prohibition had ended just two years earlier, and beer had never been cheaper or easier to drink. Today, plenty of people still kick back at a neighborhood bar with a cold one, toasting their right to have fun. Singles flock to Richmond’s favorite bars to meet people and find dates over a round or two.
Rogue
Rogue opened in 2013 and has since become Richmond’s leading cocktail bar. A glance at the drink list is all it takes to win you over. Its mixologists regularly roll out new craft cocktails to go with the seasonal menu, and that inventiveness has earned plenty of local fans. Can’t decide? Name a flavor profile (spicy, bitter, savory, floral, fruity, and so on) and request the Dealer's Choice. You’ll get something memorable that gets the juices flowing.
GWARbar
GWARbar sets itself apart with its homage to the heavy metal collective that formed in Richmond in 1984. It sits just around the corner from where the band first came together, and its gory, colorful, blood-splattered decor honors the passion, grit, and music of the metal scene. Choose from a towering gravy burger, cauliflower nuggets, or a chicken-and-waffle sandwich on the bloody menu, and you’re guaranteed to walk away with a good story.
Penny Lane Pub
The O'Neills brought a taste of Liverpool to Virginia when they opened the Penny Lane Pub in 1979. Six nights a week it’s open until 2 a.m., and on Sundays it closes at midnight. This friendly two-level tavern draws local singles in search of a sociable pint, a traditional English meal, and perhaps some pool or darts. Being family-owned, the Penny Lane Pub treats everyone like they belong. Between the red phone booth and the passionate football (soccer) fanatics, you’ll feel like you’re unwinding with old friends somewhere in the U.K.
Rosie Connolly's Pub Restaurant
Rosie Connolly's Pub Restaurant, a genuine Irish pub, is named for the owner’s grandmother, who was raised in Ireland and longed to move to the States someday. Tommy Goulding made her dream come true in 2004 by opening a pub in Richmond. These days, it pours 12 pub drafts and 18 Irish whiskeys alongside hearty, old-fashioned Irish comfort food. Locals also count on Rosie Connolly's for live music and karaoke nights. With such a friendly vibe, it’s easy to while away hours here.
Wonderland
Wonderland is a quirky bar with loads of character. At this laid-back, colorful dive, you can score a cheap drink and a kick-ass meal. Its chicken wings and waffles alone justify a visit. Finding this hole-in-the-wall means venturing off the beaten path, but lots of first-timers love it enough to become regulars. It’s the sort of bar where everybody chats with everybody, and an upbeat, polite staff makes sure all guests have a blast and drink their fill.
Richmond Speed Dating
Richmond built one of the earliest electric streetcar systems anywhere, cutting the time it took to cross the city. In the early 20th century, that was a big deal. Speed dating does much the same for modern singles. These quick-fire events get men and women to their destination far faster than the usual one-date-at-a-time approach. Squeeze dozens of mini-dates into a single night, and you can find relationship material in no time.
Richmond Singles Events
Singles events provide a focused setting for forming lasting relationships. At these parties, meetups, and mixers, active daters can size up potential dates and befriend people with similar goals and interests. Richmond offers a decent number of singles social groups spanning every age, background, and belief. Browse Meetup to find the right group for you.
Richmond Singles Clubs
RVA has turned out plenty of iconic musicians, Chris Brown, Jason Mraz, and Fighting Gravity among them, and it’s also home base for GWAR, the heavy metal band whose following is fanatical. From gentle crooners to hardcore shock rock, downtown Richmond has nearly every style of music on offer. Nightclub crowds are diverse, but lots of clubgoers are single and hoping to connect on the dance floor. Read Yelp’s reviews to find your neighborhood’s most popular spots to rock out.
Richmond Chat Rooms
If talking to people face to face right away makes you uneasy, a chat room might be the perfect dating ground. It’s relaxed and pressure-free, and you’re free to mingle at your own pace from home. The anonymous setting has a flirty feel, letting singles be honest and upfront while swapping personal stories and making friends online. Joining doesn’t require a long profile, so hopping in and out of conversations is easy.
Richmond Personals
Plenty of people mix up online dating and dating personals, but the two aren’t the same. Personals strip away many of the extras dating sites are famous for and keep things basic: a short profile (called an ad), search filters for location and age, and a messaging system. That’s pretty much all. Rather than using matching algorithms to suggest specific profiles, personals leave that job to you. The simple setup suits singles who want to get right down to business and set up a date fast.
Volunteer With a Cause You Care About
Volunteering lets you meet compassionate people while working on something that matters to you and improving others’ lives. Richmond’s volunteer community is busy and always open to newcomers, so no special qualifications are needed to dive right in.
Plenty of volunteer groups in Richmond pitch in in all sorts of ways.
To encourage locals to get involved, the city’s official website posts neighborhood volunteer opportunities. These teams join forces to make the world a bit healthier, cleaner, and happier. Taking on big volunteer projects around town is a great way to make good friends. Choose work that excites you, and you’ll be able to pass that passion along to the people around you.
Volunteer work brings to mind ladling soup or collecting litter for most people, but it can involve plenty of fun activities too. Every year, the RVA Street Art Festival counts on volunteers to plan, set up, and keep order at the event. Sign on to back the art community through this educational, nonprofit festival.
Go With the Flow & Meet People in River City
Relocating can be hard, particularly for singles, but the right events, friend groups, and resources can help people settle into their new lives. Richmond offers plenty of chances to meet singles who are up for fun experiences and new relationships.
We hope these ideas ease the worries of singles, such as that D.C. transplant (25 at the time), who aren’t sure where to go to find dates and make friends. In the end, every effort you make to put yourself out there moves you in the right direction. Richmond, meanwhile, is a terrific (and completely open-minded) place to begin.
One Richmond resident put it this way in the forum: “I understand your culture shock, and you will likely have to put more effort in here,” before adding, “I’ve also heard people talk about people in Richmond having their circle of friends, but I don’t buy that (from my experience). I’ve found that when I meet people while doing productive extracurricular activities, I meet people very easily.”
About the Author
By: Emma Wilson
Editor-in-Chief
Emma Wilson is the Editor-in-Chief at thecandiddate.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being 'boy crazy,' but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. Emma brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to thecandiddate.com.
Share the Knowledge!
Our dating experts work hard to show you the best dating sites. Want to show your appreciation? Share this page!